Seiko x BEAMS Collaborate On Prospex 'Monster' Dive Watch SKX781

Seiko is keeping its collaborative momentum alive with a new release developed with Japanese clothing and lifestyle brand BEAMS. This is not the first time these two Japanese brands have worked together, with their last collaboration coming in the form of a Seiko 5 Sport model just last year. This time, the focus shifts to the Prospex collection, with the "Monster" Reference SKX781. This vision takes a slightly unexpected route by creating a two-tone color palette with a gold-plated bezel, gold hands, and gold-plated center links. All of this joins the classic Seiko Monster design language, making for one of the more eccentric examples of the diver ever created. 

Seiko has a knack for collaborating with other Japanese brands, in particular those that capture a dimension of Japanese culture, from style to automotive. This approach has proven quite fertile, bringing some of the more compelling, if niche designs we’ve seen from Seiko. BEAMS is known for its clean aesthetic that generally sticks to blacks and whites when it comes to collaborations, including the Seiko 5 released last year, so this Seiko represents a deviation in more ways than one.

The look established here by Seiko and BEAMS uses a matte black base dial and warm gilt accents found at the hands and the hour-marker surrounds. The distinctive Monster bezel also gets a gold coating that gives it a polished appearance, while the gold center link in the bracelet brings home the kinda-sporty-kinda-fancy '90s vibe that works about as well as a pleated pair of jeans. It will no doubt be popular with the hippest among us, though it may find a more polarized reception elsewhere. 

The underpinnings of the watch will be familiar to Seiko fans, from the design of the bezel and hands, to the automatic Caliber 4R36 pulling duty on the inside. This keeps the price around $550 as pre-orders open this week. Just 300 individually numbered examples of the SKX781 are planned for production, and availability is exclusive to BEAMS, so keep an eye on that company's site when the watch launches on April 18.