Seiko Takes Inspiration From Blue Glow Of Bioluminescent Plankton For The Blue Tears Samurai

You probably won’t find this Samurai at a dealer in Europe or the US, but it's such a good looking watch it might be worth it to employ a few workarounds to get this thing. The new Seiko Prospex “Blue Tears” HBB006K1 was made with Thong Sia Group and is sold in only five Asian markets. Its theme is the blue glow of bioluminescent plankton at night. It’s a colour variant of a watch you already know, and a very good one.

The case is the familiar Samurai shape: 41.7mm wide, 12.3mm thick, with the sharp lugs and flat facets that set it apart from Seiko’s rounder divers. The unidirectional bezel has a navy insert and a knurled edge. Water resistance is 200 meters with a screw-down knurled crown, and the lugs are drilled, so strap changes are easy. The crystal is Hardlex, Seiko’s toughened mineral glass which is really becoming annoying. It's really not that much of a step up in price to give the watch a sapphire crystal.

The dial is a dark blue sunburst that goes from almost black to bright blue as it moves in the light. The bezel matches it closely, so it all appears as one unified color. The only accent is the seconds hand in a brighter blue. Applied markers and wide hands are filled with lume, and there’s a date at three.

Inside is the Seiko calibre 4R35, an automatic running at 3Hz with 41 hours of power reserve. It’s a reliable workhorse and nothing more. The watch comes on a three-link steel bracelet with faceted links and a folding clasp, and a rubber navy strap is included in the box.

The Seiko Prospex “Blue Tears” HBB006K1 is an edition of 1,200 and is priced at SGD 953.80 (about €665) before tax. It’s available in Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia and Brunei, but I'm sure there has to be a way to get them to your home country easily. See more on the Seiko website.