Back again this week, this time covering the new Seiko Black Series Limited Edition SPB335. I took this watch on a 3 day canoe trip down the Wisconsin river and tried to make sure I beat it up as much as possible. Tons of time in the sun, water, and sand to get a good feel for how it wears in the elements.
The Tic-Tok Shop is proud to be Milwaukee’s premier Seiko destination. We have over 100 different models in stock, ranging from the $325 Seiko 5’s to the $3,000+ SLA series. Seiko is an icon in the watch world, their collection offers something for everyone at all different price points. My very first automatic watch is a 1st gen orange monster that I’ve had for 10+ years and is still running strong. The SPB335 is one I own in my personal collection, the watch I wore for the review is my own, so rest assured that the one in our showcase is brand new. This is a numbered limited edition piece with a production run of 4,500. I know what you’re thinking, 4,500 sounds like an awful lot for a limited edition, I get it. However, something worth noting is that the entirety of North America usually only receives 10% of that number. For this watch, that means that there are only 450 pieces on the continent.
Watch of the week: Seiko SPB335 black series limited edition
Seiko watches are well known by the nicknames collectors have given to their case design. Monster, Samurai, Sumo, and Turtle to name a few. The turtle case shape is one of the most popular, with rounded edges and a crown at 4 o’clock. To help visualize, imagine the crown at 4 is a turtle’s head protruding from it’s shell, pretty easy to remember. Those that follow Seiko closely know that the traditional turtle case is a bit large. 44mm, 14mm thick, a heavy, solid watch. For some of us, 44mm is a hard size to wear, which is why we were very excited to see Seiko come out with the new “slim turtle” last year with SPB315 and SPB317.
Shown here on a 7.25” wrist, the new slim turtle case shape makes for an easy wear. Something we preach to our customers a lot is that diameter is less important than people give it credit for. Lug-to-lug and thickness make a world of difference. I used to wear a Tudor Black Bay GMT as my daily driver and while that watch is 41mm, just like the slim turtle, but the Tudor is noticeably thicker and longer lug-to-lug, making it feel completely different. Technical measurements as follows:
Diameter: 41.0mm
Lug-To-Lug*: 46.75mm
Thickness**: 12.2mm
Weight: 99.0 grams
*Official publications have the lug-to-lug listed at 46.9mm. We took our measurements with the exact watch we had in the case using a caliper gauge.
**Thickness measured from case back to top of the crystal. Official publications have thickness listed at 12.3mm
First impressions
When we first got this watch in the store, I liked it immediately. Truth be told, the black series that came out last year, SPB253, 255, and 257 didn’t go far enough. Too much brown, too much grey, black and orange have been done ad nauseam (sorry Seiko.) The black series from this year though, have been killer. Black all the way through, and the green/blue/turquoise hands and indices that you can see a mile away. Say what you will for this color pairing being the trendy color of 2023, it’s good looking.
The texture on the dial is something that is significantly better in person than in pictures. Almost like a stone finished texture, the matte look makes the color of the hands and indices really stand out. The strap has an interesting texture, smooth center strip with grippy textured edges, more on that in a bit. The small circle window date at 4 is a nice touch for those of us that want a date, but because the color wheel is matched and the opening so small, I feel like it will still satisfy those who prefer no-date options.
On the wrist, it’s extremely comfortable. Not too top heavy like certain dive watches can be on rubber straps. The inside of the strap has a subtle texture that helps grip the wrist and keep the watch from turning. I have other watches on rubber straps that I feel like I’m always fidgeting with to stay upright. Canoeing a boat for 3 days, I never felt the need to really readjust the watch on my wrist.
Watch in action
I spent over 72 hours wearing this watch during our canoe trip. My main hesitation about owning an all black watch is when the day comes that the black plating starts wearing off. I wasn’t careless with the watch by any means, but I didn’t baby it either, secretly hoping that I might put some scratches in it that put the black finishing to the test.
I used the timing bezel a ton, timing our rowing intervals, food on the fire, and time in between sunscreen application. It’s a 120 click bezel, but it’s somewhere in between friction and clicking. It clicks, but softly, not at all like the snapping click of the Zodiac Super Sea Wolf or Oris Aquis. As long as it does the job, I’m not picky, but there’s something to be desired in the feel of the clicks if I’m being completely honest. I do love the layout, with numbers every 10 minutes, and between 00-15 is a slightly lighter shade of grey.
In the water is where this watch really shines. Comfortable, light, the grip of the rubber strap helps keep it in place on the wrist at all times. The neon indices against the pitch black dial make for perfect reading. The white triangle at 00 makes it easy to find your timing mark almost instantly, all it takes is a quick glance at the watch and you know your timing immediately.
The texture on the outside edges of the strap are what give my pause to put this watch through the same condition. I should have taken a picture of it, but after the trip, the strap was covered in sunscreen and sand in all the little textures of the strap. Luckily I was able to disassemble the entire watch, put it in our ultrasonic cleaner for a few hours, and steam clean it and the watch is now back to 100%, but I can’t imagine trying to clean the watch without that equipment.
As an aside, if you get this watch, or any watch from us for that matter, that gets dirty from wear, we will clean it for you at no charge. If you want it entirely disassembled, movement taken out, case cleaned completely and re-pressurized, it’s a very small fee and from my personal experience with this watch, it’s worth it to have it back in new condition.
Last point here is something that deserves a section by itself, which is the lume. Seiko’s new patented “Green LumiBrite Pro” is incredible. Seiko claims that this lume burns brighter and longer than any other lume it offers. I can tell you that after a day in the sun, it stays glowing all night long. Those of us that camp know that when you wake up in the middle of the night, you have no concept of time. Not only was I able to find the watch in the pitch black, without glasses, in the middle of the night, I was able to read the time without an issue. Anecdotally, this is without a doubt the brightest lume I have ever had on a watch.
Performance
The SPB335 is powered by Seiko’s in-house 6R35 movement, which features a power reserve of 70 hours, 21,600bph, and an accuracy rating of -15/+25spd. Anecdotally, most of the 6R movements fall well within Seiko’s stated accuracy parameters. It is pure speculation, but our guess is that the wide delta in accuracy rating helps keep watches out of Seiko’s service center. We have a timegrapher at the store and if the watch is running to spec in different positions, short of a physical issue with the watch, we know that Seiko won’t touch it.
At the end of roughly 80 hours I found myself at -55 seconds, which was mildly concerning. I’m not the type of person that gets too heavily invested into the accuracy of my watches, save for when it comes time to review them. It could have been any number of things, the shocks from rowing, swimming, knocking into things, it was certainly not a sterile environment where I expected a ton of accuracy. After I got back to the store, I put it on our timegrapher and was consistently timing out at -11spd in different positions with a proper beat rate and no beat error.
Another aside - if you have a watch you feel isn’t keeping accurate time, we will test it on our timegrapher free of charge.
Collector details
As previously mentioned, this piece is limited to 4,500 worldwide. Again, all of North America receives an allocation of about 10%, meaning there are roughly 450 on the continent. On the case back you will find the series number, in this case mine is #96/4500.
Seiko is famous for their limited editions, every year their catalog features a handful of new limited edition models. Something to keep in mind is that with their global network, Seiko could easily sell 10,000+ of this watch, so while it’s not necessarily as limited as something like the new SJE093, which only has 1965 pieces being made and is already sold out, the SPB335 falls in that sweet spot of attainable for those that want one, but limited enough to wear you won’t have too long to think on it.
Final thoughts
The first all black watch in my collection, the first turtle shaped watch in my collection. This watch checks a lot of boxes for collectors, even if the all black isn’t your thing, Seiko has the slim turtle case in the all white limited edition SPB333. While this watch may not be for the masses, those that like the stealth look, the watch is a winner. The lume alone is worth the price of entry if you plan on taking it swimming, diving, or camping at night.
At $950, it’s $150 less expensive than slim turtle SPB313 on the bracelet and $350 less expensive than fellow limited edition SPB333, albeit SPB333 comes on a bracelet and has an extra NATO strap. As of this writing we have one left in stock, and although we are prohibited from selling it on our site, we are always happy to help via email, phone call, or text.
What’s Next?
A few pieces in the queue, but I am hoping to get my personal Oris Hank Aaron Limited Edition watch delivered shortly and hope to do a review on that soon. It’s an incredible watch, and as the Milwaukee based Oris dealer, we are extremely excited about it.
