Seiko Prospex Land Mechanical GMT SPB411

 

Seiko Prospex Land Mechanical GMT Limited Edition SPB411

Over the past few years, Seiko has doubled – tripled? ——Recreation of classic works from the back catalogue. Most of these nostalgic pieces appear in Seiko's Prospex line of professional high quality replica watches, which includes a host of 62MAS/6217 replicas, a host of 6159-7001 re-inventions, and a selection of 6105 "Captain Willard" reissues. While it’s hard not to love Seiko replicas of vintage Seiko dive watches – and Seiko has hit quite a few home runs in this regard as of late – many have been calling on Seiko to explore some of the other shelves in its vast archives. And bring back some other styles. One request we hear over and over again is for Seiko to reintroduce the 6117-8000 Navigation Chronograph. Well, it seems Seiko has been listening, and earlier this year it did just that, releasing the perfect version of the Seiko steel bezel GMT, the Seiko Prospex Land Mechanical GMT Limited Edition SPB411.

Introduced in 1968, the 6117-8000 Navigation Chronograph was Seiko’s second foray into GMT watches and was sportier and more flavorful than Seiko’s first GMT World Time, the 6217. The new Land Mechanical GMT has many well-loved design cues. The brand is beloved by Seiko fans, including its slim cushion-shaped case, crown at 4 o'clock, gorgeous dials, and clean, minimalist aesthetic. In other words, it's the obvious choice for Seiko's resurrection, and with its new 6R54 GMT movement, the time is ripe. Our friends at Russell Jewelers in Richmond, BC were kind enough to lend us one so we could see how it performs on our wrist.

Many of Seiko's recent releases of retro-style luxury replica Watches are more re-creations than straight-up reissues. While there's nothing wrong with that (the venerable 62MAS diver-inspired SPB14X series was a huge success), there's something undeniable about a nearly one-for-one reissue like the new Land Mechanical GMT SPB411. You won’t find Seiko’s Prospex “X” on the dial, an oversized case, or other superfluous changes. At first glance, the only real differences you'll notice are the disappearance of the "Navigator Timer" text at 6 o'clock and the inclusion of an all-steel bezel instead of a recessed bezel.

Ignore the original 6117-8000 navigation timer from the 1960s and you can easily enjoy the benefits of the Land Machinery GMT itself. In a market filled with retro-style watches and GMTs, the Land Mechanical GMT still manages to stand out. There isn’t a single thing that does that – there are a lot of gray dial watches out there, like steel bezel GMTs and five-link bracelet watches. But Seiko managed to put all of these elements together almost 60 years ago, and the watch still looks absolutely stunning today and sits really well on the wrist (FYI, my wrist is 6.75 inches).

One of Seiko’s discount replica watches magic lies in case design, and the cushion case here is no exception. With a diameter of 38.5mm, a lug-to-lug spacing of 45.2mm and a thickness of 12.1mm, the Land Mechanical GMT follows contemporary trends in case sizes, but ultimately it’s the case shape that helps the Land Mechanical GMT endure wear and remain intact over time. Balanced and doesn't move around on my wrist. As a bonus, the stainless steel case has a finely crafted extra-hard coating so it'll look sharp.

Seiko has added some welcome upgrades to the case, modernizing the construction without losing any of its vintage charm. First, Seiko replaced the acrylic crystal with box-shaped sapphire (with an anti-reflective coating on the inner surface), retaining the vintage look with modern scratch resistance. Next, Seiko gives us an all-steel bezel with deeply engraved hours and indices in place of the bezel with printed inserts. Now, if you're worried about bezel alignment (which still confuses Seiko QC), there's no need to worry here because it's a friction bezel. The movement is stiff enough that it won't move, but it turns smoothly and the coin edges are nice and grippy. Finally, Seiko has increased the water resistance to a respectable 100m. While there is no screw-down crown, the crown at 4 o'clock is deeply recessed and protected. replica mens watches

The dial is a deep and dynamic anthracite gray sunburst, making you rethink the idea that gray is dull and boring. That said, the deep red GMT hand breathes life into the gray dial. Sure, the GMT hand is small, but the red color brightens up the entire watch, even if it's not the most legible/functional GMT hand. Speaking of brightness, the Land Mechanical GMT features Seiko’s LumiBrite on the hands, index rings, and bezel. While Seiko luminous is usually impressive, in this case it's hampered by the limited surface area, especially on the luminous pattern on the chapter ring. To be fair, I prefer weak lumens to seeing Seiko mess with the design and add lumens to the applied index. As with the rest of this piece, Seiko shows restraint and doesn't try to "improve" the design too much.

Tying the entire replica watches swiss together is a flat, faceted five-link bracelet. This band is beautiful and, for me anyway, a big step up from the bands in the SPB14X series. It's lightweight and comfortable, fits perfectly on the wrist, and the push-button clasp is simple and compact. That said, the bracelet size is a huge pain in the ass because the links are pin and collared, and placing the collar inside the links and aligning everything to insert the pins is a tedious affair. Fortunately, the link is short as there is only a micro-adjustment hole in the clasp. For those keen on switching straps, note that the Land Mechanical GMT retains the 19mm lug width of its predecessor. While 19mm options are getting easier to find, they're still less common than their even-sized brethren.

Seiko equips the Land Mechanical GMT with the 6R54 automatic GMT movement. We first saw this movement in the Prospex GMT Diver series and later in the Alpinist GMT series. The movement has a 72-hour power reserve and runs at 21.6kbph. The 6R54 is a caller or office style GMT movement with a jumping GMT hand. There’s a lot of discussion about whether call-in or flyer GMT is better, but it really depends on your lifestyle and preferences. Since I personally don't travel much, but do change watches frequently, being able to quickly set the date via caller GMT is preferable to me rather than having the hour hand jump rapidly while traveling. It all depends on your usage.

Many people will be attracted to the Land Mechanics GMT for its history and the model that inspired it, but that’s certainly not a requirement to enjoy the watch; there’s a lot to appreciate about the Land Mechanics GMT watch itself. The Seiko Prospex Land Mechanical GMT Limited Edition SPB411 is a nearly one-to-one recreation of Seiko’s first GMT replica watches on sale (which predated the Rolex Explorer II by a few years) and will likely satisfy those who want to satisfy.
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