Well, here’s a watch announced this month that is bringing some strong emotions out in people. The Seiko x Wena Wrist Pro is a… smart watch…? dive watch…? ( no ).
What the Seiko x Wena Wrist Pro is, is a Seiko SKX case married to a Sony bluetooth smart bracelet. It’s developed by Wena, a Sony funded smart watch company. I don’t know much about Wena, they’ve only been operating in Japan it seems, with not much English language info available.
Black – Limited to 300 watches 
Silver – Limited to 700 watches
The Seiko x Wena looks like a dive watch – timing bezel, Seiko’s famous Lumibrite lumed hands, and clear hour markers. And it nearly is. Unfortunately, a few things prevent it from being dive ready.
It’s Not Really A Dive Watch, Is It?
First, Seiko included a display case back, showing off the 4R35 automatic movement (quite an upgrade over the SKX007’s 7S26). While I love display case backs, here it’s lowered the water resistance from the usual 200 meter to only 50 meters, much lower than the recommended minimum of 100 meters WR for a diver.
Secondly, the smart bracelet. It’s a fancy bit of Sony tech, with a screen that lets you see notifications, answer calls, and enables wireless payments. Needless to say though, this smart bracelet is not up to going for a swim.
Should I Hate The Seiko x Wena?
Why is this watch bringing out some strong feelings with dive watch fans? People have been clamoring for years for an upgraded Seiko SKX007. The 7S26 movement has been showing it’s age. The dial could use a bit of a refresh.
And now, Seiko has kind of done that. But they lowered the water resistance, and are only selling the watch paired with an expensive computerized bracelet. So definitely seeing some pissed off people online.
My take? The Seiko x Wena looks cool. And most people don’t take their divers diving anyways. But $850 for it? No thank you. If it is for you, it’s only currently available on the Japanese market. There’s some links off of Wena’s product page.
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