FTG Collector’s Notebook #002
Seiko Let Collectors Choose Its Next Prospex — And Blue Won
September 7, 2026
Watch companies constantly tell collectors what they should want.
New dial colors arrive. Limited editions appear. Heritage models return. Then collectors decide whether any of them actually matter.
This time, Seiko reversed the process.
Instead of simply designing another Prospex limited edition behind closed doors, Seiko invited enthusiasts around the world to vote on what the next version of its 1965 Heritage Diver should look like.
Four watches entered.
One came out on top.
Daytime Blue.
And in October 2026, the winning design becomes a real watch: the Seiko Prospex HBC011, produced as a numbered limited edition of 4,500 pieces worldwide. (Seiko Watch Corporation)
That alone makes this an unusual Seiko. But for collectors, the story behind it may ultimately be more interesting than the color of its dial.
Four Colors. One Winner.
The voting campaign actually began in July 2025 as part of the celebration of the 60th anniversary of Seiko's first diver's watch.
Seiko presented enthusiasts with four designs representing the changing appearance of the sea throughout the day:
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Sunrise Orange — pale orange at first light
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Daytime Blue — brilliant blue beneath the midday sun
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Late Afternoon Green — softer green in warm afternoon light
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Sunset Red — deep red beneath the setting sun
Voting was open globally online, and Seiko also incorporated voting into in-person anniversary events. Participants were allowed one vote each. (Seiko Watch Corporation)
The winner was Daytime Blue.
It's perhaps the safest of the four choices—but also arguably the most natural for a dive watch.
Blue has an obvious connection with the ocean, but Seiko has gone beyond simply painting another Prospex dial blue.
The HBC011 uses a textured dial pattern inspired by Seiko's famous wave mark, an emblem associated with the company's professional diving heritage. Seiko first used that wave mark on the caseback of its groundbreaking 1975 titanium 600-meter saturation diver. (Seiko Watch Corporation)
So underneath the bright blue color is a surprisingly deep connection to Seiko history.
And That History Goes Back to the 62MAS
The shape of the HBC011 isn't new.
That's intentional.
The watch belongs to Seiko's 1965 Heritage Diver family, which traces its design directly back to Seiko's first diver's watch.
Collectors know that original by another name:
62MAS.
Introduced in 1965, the 62MAS was Japan's first diver's watch. It was automatic, water resistant to 150 meters and designed around the principles that still define a serious diving watch: reliability, durability and excellent legibility.
Its reputation wasn't created solely through advertising, either. Seiko's early diver accompanied members of Japanese Antarctic research expeditions during the 1960s, helping establish the credibility that would eventually turn Seiko into one of the most important names in dive-watch history. (Seiko Watch Corporation)
More than 60 years later, the basic design remains remarkably recognizable.
That's part of the charm.
Vintage DNA, Modern Specifications
The HBC011 retains the restrained proportions and straightforward design language of the 1965 watch while upgrading practically everything underneath.
The stainless-steel case measures 40mm in diameter, 13mm thick and 46.4mm lug-to-lug.
Inside is Seiko's automatic Caliber 6R55, operating at 21,600 vibrations per hour and providing approximately 72 hours of power reserve.
Water resistance has doubled from the original 62MAS's 150 meters to 300 meters.
There's also a curved sapphire crystal with an internal anti-reflective coating, a screw-down crown, unidirectional dive bezel and LumiBrite on the hands, markers and bezel.
One particularly useful modern detail is the bracelet clasp. Its adjustment system allows the bracelet length to be changed in six 2.5mm increments, providing up to 15mm of adjustment without changing links. (Seiko Watch Corporation)
The U.S. price is $1,400, with availability scheduled for October 2026. (Seiko Watch Corporation)
And every caseback carries its individual number within the 4,500-piece worldwide production run. (Seiko Watch Corporation)
But Here's the Interesting Collector Question
Seiko makes plenty of limited editions.
Collectors know that.
What makes the HBC011 different is that Seiko didn't simply announce a color and tell enthusiasts it was special.
Collectors participated in choosing it.
That creates a fascinating question:
Does a watch become more collectible when collectors themselves helped create it?
Nobody can know yet.
A production run of 4,500 pieces doesn't automatically guarantee future scarcity, and the words “Limited Edition” certainly don't guarantee future appreciation.
Collectibility doesn't work that way.
But provenance matters.
Stories matter.
And the HBC011 has a story that most limited-edition watches don't.
Years from now, an owner won't simply be able to say, “Seiko made 4,500 of these.”
They can say:
“Seiko gave collectors four choices. This is the one they chose.”
That's a much better story.
Why Did Blue Win?
There's another interesting question here.
Orange would have been more unconventional. Red arguably would have been more dramatic. Green has become enormously popular among modern collectors.
Yet enthusiasts chose blue.
Perhaps that's because collectors weren't voting for the most unusual watch.
They were voting for the watch they could actually imagine wearing.
Blue works naturally with the heritage 1965 diver case. It connects immediately to the ocean. And unlike a more aggressive orange or red dial, it doesn't overpower the historically restrained design.
The result feels distinctly modern without forgetting what the watch is supposed to represent.
A descendant of the 62MAS.
The Collectors Have Spoken
There is something refreshingly democratic about the HBC011.
Watch enthusiasts spend an extraordinary amount of time discussing what manufacturers should produce.
Make this watch smaller.
Bring back that dial.
Use this movement.
Change that color.
Usually, nobody at the manufacturer is asking.
This time Seiko did.
And collectors answered:
Make it blue.
Whether the HBC011 eventually becomes a sought-after Prospex collectible remains to be seen.
But among the many limited-edition Seiko divers produced over the years, this one already has something genuinely different going for it.
It wasn't merely made for collectors.
In a small but meaningful way, it was made by them.
FTG Collector's Notebook is an ongoing series from FTG Watches, exploring the watches, history, technology and unusual references that make watch collecting interesting.
Sometimes the story behind the watch is what makes the watch worth collecting.
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