The 1960s were an important decade for Seiko, which made advances in the measurement of elapsed time by taking part in various international sporting competitions, supporting athletes who required reliable and accurate timing to the nearest one-hundredth of a second.
In 1969, Seiko introduced the Speedtimer, the world’s first automatic chronograph equipped with both a vertical clutch and a column wheel, two features that greatly enhanced the measurement ofelapsed time.
Also launched in 1969, the Datsun 240Z became a worldwide hit, especially in Japan and
North America. With the aim of demonstrating its high performance as a sports car, the
Datsun 240Z began to participate in world rally competitions.
Seiko, sharing Datsun’s spirit for taking on challenges, supported the Datsun 240Z in motorsports activities in the early 1970s. In 1971, adorned with the Seiko logo, the Datsun 240Z with No. 11 on its side conquered harsh terrain as it raced 6,200 kilometers to overall victory in the East-African Safari Rally, widely regarded as one of the toughest races in the world.
Today, three limited-edition watches drawing on a range of Seiko technologies join the
Speedtimer series, paying homage to the shared legacy of the Datsun 240Z and Seiko and
their advancements in the late 1960s and early 1970s. An additional three watches join the
main Prospex Speedtimer series, adding to the automotive spirit of a series built for speed and precision.
Each watch in the collaboration is inspired by the Datsun 240Z, with design elements echoing the car’s iconic chassis in red and black tones and dials that feature different styles of the Datsun logo.
The SPB517, a watch powered by the mechanical Caliber 6R55, features a logo with a red circle and blue rectangle with white Datsun lettering. The SRQ057, powered b ythe mechanical chronograph Caliber 8R48, displays the Datsun name in cursive script, while
the SSC957, powered by the solar V192 chronograph movement, features the Datsun name in block letters.
