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TweetEmailIf you're looking for a moderately priced, high quality, very cool, and totallyunique looking watch to surprise someone with this holiday season (or even to surpriseyourself with), you might want to check out something from Seiko's newSportura collection. The inspiration for the Seiko Sportura design was highperformance sports cars, and each watch clearly has the feel of a complex but exhilaratingdashboard in the type of car I will probably never be able to afford.The Seiko Sportura collection consists of four models (SLQ017, SNL015, SNJ005,and SNA451), each with its own unique look and feature set, and eachin a different (but relatively affordable) price range. All the watches in theSportura collection start off with the following set of features: Jet black dials.Scratch-resistant, anti-glare sapphire crystals.Screwdown casebacks and crowns.Stainless steel bracelets (also available in leather, however).Double-locking clasps with push-button release.Water resistant to 100 meters (10 BAR, 10 ATM, or 330 feet).Japanese quartz movements (though only two of the pieces in the collectionactually require batteries).Very bright luminous hands and markers.Now that we know what all the watches in the Seiko Sportura collection have incommon, I'll cover each watch individually, startingwith the least expensive.The Sportura Alarm Chronograph (SNA451)At $575 retail (assume all these watches can be had for 20-25%less than retail), the Alarm Chronograph is the most affordable member of the Sporturaquartet, though it still has plenty of nice features:Battery powered Quartz movement.12-hour alarm.Second time zone display. The alarm face at the six o'clock position can beset to a different time zone.Chronograph capable of measuring up to 60 minutes in 1/5 secondincrements.The Alarm Chronograph is definitely the most conventional looking of the Sporturacollection. In terms of functionalityand layout, it is very similar to the Seiko Chronograph I have in my collection(and in fact happen to be wearing right now). Both are great watches.Additional resources:SporturaAlarm Chronograph product page.Operationguide (PDF).The Sportura Large Screen Analog-Digital (SNJ005)Second in line in terms of price ($650, retail) is the Analog-DigitalSportura. The look is very similar to that of the Alarm Chronograph except forthe large black LCD behind the analog hands which gives this watch a high-techlook the other watches in the line don't have. Features include:Battery powered quartz movement.Digital alarm.Digital stopwatch. Measures up to 100 hours in 1/1000 second increments. (No,that's not a typo — I verified it with my own eyes. Someone should let Tag Heuerknow that the Microtimer hascompetition.)World time (28 cities around the world) with digital city name display.Fully automatic calendar.If you're shopping for someone who is a frequent traveler, this is probably theone to consider, although if all they need are dual time zones, both this and theSportura Chronograph are possibilities. Additional resources:SeikoSportura SNJ005 product page.Operation guide not available.The Sportura Kinetic Chronograph (SNL015)The Kinetic Chronograph contains a quartz movement, but interestingly,no battery. The idea of Seiko's Kinetictechnology is to capture the best of both the quartz and automatic worlds:the accuracy of the quartz movement with the convenience of an automatic watch(no battery). Seiko kinetic watches generate their own power by an oscillating weightrotating in response to wrist movement, then they use that energy to power a Japanesequartz movement. Very innovative, and very high-tech.Features of the Sportura Kinetic Chronographinclude:Automatic power generation (when fully charged, the watch should run for aboutfive months).Chronograph capable of measuring up to 45 minutes in 1/5 secondincrements.Energy depletion warning.See-through caseback (you can actually see the weight rotating as it generatespower).As you can see, the Sportura Kinetic Chronograph is where the design of the Sporturaline really diverges from the mainstream. Personally, I think this watch hasan amazing, very bold look that is sure to draw not just glances, but plenty ofcomments. Keep in mind that this is a fairly large and especially longwatch, however. I actually had one sized for my wrist the other day just to geta good feel how big it really is, and I found that it extends slightly past thetop and bottom of my wrist at its narrowest point. Admittedly, my wrists are alittle on the skinny side, so I think the watch would sit just fine on most men'sarms, but this is definitely something to consider before buying. Retail for theKinetic Chronograph is $995.Additional resources:SeikoSportura SNL015 product page.Operationguide (PDF).The Limited Sportura Kinetic Chronograph (SLQ017)At an MSRP of $3,500, this is by far the most exclusive watchin the Sportura line. Even if your significant other is worth the $3,500,you may have a difficult time finding this model since only 400 are being shippedto the US, most of which need to be special ordered. It's a superb looking timepiece,though, and clearly a great addition to any watch enthusiast's collection (no,unfortunately I don't own one myself — at least not yet). I actually wrote anentire article on this watch a couple months ago, so checkit out for all the dirtydetails. If you've already written this one off based on price and availability,but are still interested in glancing over the features, here's a quick summary:Automatic power generation (when fully charged, this watch should run for aboutone month).Stopwatch that measures up to 12 hours and 6 minutes in 1/10 second increments.Energy depletion warning.See-through caseback.Additional resources:Seikolimited Sportura Kinetic SLQ017 product page.Operationguide (PDF).TheSLQ017 in more detail.

Divers may want to take a look at a Seiko watch, which comes with a bright orange dial so that time can easily be viewed while swimming to the ocean bed.Dubbed the Sumo, the Seiko SBDC005 offers a "very nice" design, according to Watch Report, as well as an attractive finishing technique to the side of the timepiece and a smooth acting bezel.It is the orange dial which has caught the most attention of reviewer James Stacey though, which he points out that it "really pops, it is bright and rich and really makes this watch feel like a dive watch".Seiko has also made sure that this is a watch which can be worn no matter the extremity of a diver, as it supports up to 200m of water resistance.Recently, the watchmaker has unveiled the Ananta Spring Drive Moon Phase, which offers accuracy in measuring the time – thanks to 288 unique movements – as well as a practical moon phase indicator, Hodinkee recently reported.