Guest Bum Matt Kessler-Cleary reviews the Seiko SRPJ35
If, through this article, I am introducing you to the Seiko Turtle, then welcome to one of the watch world’s more interesting rabbit holes. If, however, like me, you have spent enough time in said rabbit hole to be considered a resident, well then … hello, neighbor!
Despite my extensive intellectual experience with the lineage of Seiko’s iconic testinude-monikered watches, I’m a bit embarrassed to say that not only have I never owned a Seiko Turtle, but until a couple of months ago, I’d never handled one in person. Someone who fancies himself as a dive watch fanatic, having never actually held one of the most venerable variants of the genre? A blasphemy that required absolution, absolution in the form of the recently-released SRPJ35, colloquially known as the Tropical Lagoon Turtle ($525 at Smyth Jewelers).
Others have already written excellent historical recountings of the Turtle’s lineage in Seiko’s lineup, and I encourage you to let those tomes light your path down the Seiko Turtle rabbit hole. The extremely condensed takeaway is that the modern variations of the Seiko Turtle relaunched officially in 2016, have their roots in the 6306 model launched in 1976. The 6306 was itself an evolution of the 6105, the iconic “Captain Willard” model, but with a more symmetrical case design. The key takeaway is that the modern Turtles have deep historical credibility within Seiko’s legacy of highly functional, and highly quirky, professional diving watches.
The Tropical Lagoon bears the most updated of Seiko’s Turtle designs within this nearly 50-year legacy, which came to market around 2021. This update to the Turtle lineup included slight changes to the Turtle’s case, boosting the width from 44.3 mm on the older SRP777, to a full 45mm on the SRPE93, which is a direct replacement for the SRP777. This change also came with a slight dial update, as the newer models mostly gained a small lume plot at 3 o’clock, to the right of the day-date window. I say mostly, because there are some versions of the SRPE93 out there that have the larger case dimensions, but lack the 3 o’clock lume plot. The wise among us would scoop those up, and sell them for hefty profits in a few decades, as few things excite collectors to shell out unreasonable sums of money more than an acutly niche variant of a known watch model. Otherwise, the general aesthetics of the Turtle’s case shape, hands, dial, and bezel all carry over from the SRP777, to the SRPE93.
The Turtle’s case, whether in whichever historical form you consider it, is all subtle curves, whatever angle you view it from. The lug-to-lug span arcs both upwards as it follows the 12-6 line of the case, and outward along the diameter of the watch. It is a similar, though not nearly as beautiful, effect as the front fenders on an Alfa 33 Stradale, and a design approach that harkens back to an era of design when curvature reigned supreme over more orthogonal aesthetics. The case flank is mediated by a precipice, above which the case is brushed, and below which it is polished. When viewing the watch from above, the brushed portion is all you see, as the polished underside sweeps fairly aggressively under to meet the caseback.
This aggressive undercut is what makes the Turtle wear so much more comfortably than its 45mm diameter would lead you to expect. It isn’t quite the magic of Seiko’s Tuna cases, whose lug-to-lug dimensions are short enough that the watch wears almost like a very thick coin, or as the moniker suggests, a small-portion tuna can. The Turtle’s 48mm lug-to-lug distance is still short enough to allow the watch to wear reasonably well on many wrists, and comfortably on some. I won’t mislead you, though, into thinking that this most modern Turtle case is light on the wrist – it is a big watch, both visually and physically, and the watch will continually remind you that it is still on your wrist. Perhaps good for diving, and certainly good if, like me, you want to be reminded of a watch you love, but if you don’t like the experience of wearing large watches, you’ll want to look elsewhere.
Case dimensions are not what set the Tropical Lagoon apart from other modern Turtle models, as the SRPJ35 shares its general architecture with the SRPE93 platform upon which it is based. The case, bezel, hour hand, seconds hand, dial, and sloped rehaut all carry over from one watch to the other. How does the Tropical Lagoon differ from the archetype of the SRPE93? In short, everything that makes it colorful. Among these florid flourishes are a teal minute hand, a bezel insert with matching teal covering the first 20 minutes and royal blue covering the remaining 40 minutes, and color-matching day and date wheels. Yes, from-the-factory color-matched day and date wheels on a mid-level Seiko. I wouldn’t hold out hope that this is a sign of Seiko coming around to color-matching all of their date wheels – in this case, it is more easily attained with the Tropical Lagoon’s black dial – but it is still a nice touch in line with what makes this version of the Turtle special: the excellent use of color.
No, color is not new to Seiko, a company not known for the paucity of limited editions. While not entirely current, this decidedly helpful list will give you a sense of how widely the Turtle’s color schemes have varied over the years. As you can see from that list, Seiko has released many special edition variants over the years, and from that list, you’ll also see that Seiko’s use of color is not always, to be kind, well resolved. On the Tropical Lagoon, the company used a subtle touch to great effect. Were the day and date wheels to be white, like on the more plain SRPE93, the teal minute hand, and the colorful bezel insert, would look too busy. Instead, the all-black dial serves as a neutral base that enables the brighter-colored elements of the design to pop. Overall, this watch is a good example of cohesive design, in which small decisions make for outsized impact on the comprehensive design of the watch.
At this point, you may well question if my fawning over the Tropical Lagoon’s vivid colors suggests I’ve been blinded, literally and figuratively, to the watch’s shortcomings. Allow me to allay your concerns with but a few words: this Seiko comes on a bracelet. You won’t see that bracelet in any photos for this review, though, which isn’t because I have an agenda against bracelets (I prefer them), but because the supplied bracelet is from Seiko’s in-house production line of not-good bracelets. I assure you that I tried to size the bracelet specifically for this review, and I also assure you that in doing so, I made every effort to not-so-delicately force the collars from the pin-and-collar system back into their designated slots. I regret to inform you that I failed in this task and that the collars – due to their minuscule size and my tendency to throw things once they’ve surpassed my patience threshold – will one day be vacuum food. I’m far from perfect, and the same can be said for the bracelet the Tropical Lagoon comes with.
When considering the entire watch, how does the Tropical Lagoon hold up against some of the the heavy-hitters of the modern turtle lineup – the classic SRP777, the golden delight of the SRPC44, the unobtainable cool modernity of the SRPD01 Grey Dawn, and even the charmingly-odd SRPD45 Sea Grape? Given that the most common response the watch has received from fellow watch lovers is to ask whether it is a modded watch, it seems the SRPJ35 has an uphill climb ahead to reach the pantheon of great Turtles. I’d be surprised if the Tropical Lagoon ever comes to rival some of Seiko’s more legendary limited editions, including those mentioned above. In a way, it is almost too mainstream to stand out in the crowd.
Despite the model’s apparent lack of popularity – or knowing my iconoclastic tendencies, because of its lack of popularity – the Tropical Lagoon’s odd colorway has entranced me. I could also see this special edition Turtle becoming a platform for what it is oft mistaken for modding. If it remains less popular, and prices drop accordingly, it offers a lot of value for someone looking to make even slight changes. Seiko has handled one of the more common mods with the use of the black day and date wheels, reducing the need to even open the watch. If the SRPJ35’s vibrant colors are too bold for you, go ahead and swap in a more traditional all-black bezel insert, and you have a fairly stock-looking Turtle, but with a bold teal minute hand to make it easier to track elapsed time when waiting for the pharmacy to finally fill your prescription, or while diving, whatever the reality of your life necessitates. For my money, I’d leave the Tropical Lagoon in its stock form — minus the bracelet, which should be recycled, or used for shims — and enjoy the colorful, functional charm the watch exudes.
Squint hard, and through a set of the rosiest-tinted of glasses, you can see the Tropical Lagoon as a sign that Seiko is bending the long curve of iterative design toward several of the trends that have gained popularity in the micro brand space the past several years. Tasteful use of bold color choices? Present and accounted for. Color-matched day and date wheel? Check and check. The bracelet is still lacking very far behind what even middle-pack microbrands provide these days. The crystal is still Hardlex, rather than the oft-celebrated sapphire, but the vibe it gives off is consistent with the tool-oriented roots of Seiko’s mid-range dive watches. Whether the Tropical Lagoon actually is a sign of things to come from Seiko, or not, I’m more than content with enjoying the watch for what it is to me: the fun-loving black sheep of a legendary watch family.
Matt is a lifelong watch lover but fell deep down the rabbit hole of horological madness in 2018 while listening to watch podcasts during 4-hour roundtrip commutes to work. His collection is mostly sports watches, likely due to an unfulfilled childhood dream to be Indiana Jones, and ensuing delusions of grand adventure. He lives in Northern Virginia with his wonderful wife, who, through sheer strength of spirit, manages not to fall asleep as soon as he starts talking about watches. You can follow him on Instagram at @Mattkaysea.
