Following on the heels of sister brand Grand Seiko?s own U.S.-exclusive announcement, Seiko has launched two new timepieces of its own that will be sold exclusively in the American market. Both hail from Seiko’s popular Prospex line of dive watches and feature a ?Seigaiha? (or ?blue ocean waves?) pattern on their dials, in either a vivid blue (SLA053) or a deep burgundy (SLA059). The pair follows up another set of U.S.-exclusive models launched by Seiko in 2020, the Prospex Ice Divers, indicating a continued interest by the Japanese brand in producing special pieces for one of its most important markets.

The ?Seigaiha? editions are inspired by, and take their name from, a type of Japanese art that first appeared in the sixth century called Seigaiha. The style is best defined by the layering of concentric circles, which in Japanese culture has gained a particular prominence as a motif in art, fabrics, ceramics, and lacquerware, with each arched wave representing surges of good luck, peace, and good fortune, as well as power and resilience.
Each of the watches also draws symbolic inspiration from other sources ? the blue-dialed SLA053 from the ocean waves under the moonlight, and the burgundy-dialed SLA059 from the first rays of sun brightening the dark seas at dawn. Each piece in this regard is meant to evoke the role of the moon waxing and waning, as represented in Shinto and Zen Buddhist traditions, according to Seiko, as a token of enlightenment, dream...