Seiko‘s now global Prospex series serves to highlight the brand’s best consumer tool watch designs. While certainly best known for dive watches, Prospex spans “Sea, Sky, and Land,” with focused and sport-ready products for divers, pilots, and travelers alike. This latest, the Seiko Prospex Radio Sync Solar World Time Chronograph looks to offer a pilot-focused mix of precision and reliability, which doesn’t seem like much of a stretch for Seiko. With a new radio-synchronized caliber and full world-time functionality, this new line of Seiko chronographs looks to bridge the gap between your aging SNA411 and their flagship Astron series.

The Seiko Prospex Radio Sync Solar World Time Chronograph is based around a 47.8mm steel case and will be available in three models, the SSG001 with a steel bracelet, the SSG005 with a calf leather strap and the SSG003, which is like the SSG001 but with a black hard coating on both its case and bracelet (seen above). Thickness is 14.5mm, and water resistance is 100m, with a screw down crown and anti-reflective Hardlex crystal. For those old school pilots that appreciate the flexibility, the SSG00X watches have a bidirectional rotary slide rule bezel along with world time markings on the rehaut.

Using the brand new caliber 8B92, the Seiko Prospex Radio Sync Solar World Time Chronograph’s functionality is largely established by its name. Radio synchronization has been improved for the new caliber so it can receive the calibration signals from further away and is capable of receiving signals from the transmitting stations in Japan, China, Germany, and the U.S. Under ideal conditions, the time is synchronized up to three times per day or at the push of a button. Being a quartz movement, accuracy without synchronization is +/- 15 seconds per month. Further adding to the convenience of this new Seiko movement, the 8B92 is solar-powered and can recharge its internal battery while you enjoy a sunny day above the clouds.

For the frequent pilot or traveler, that radio sync accuracy is bolstered by the inclusion of a 60-minute 1/5th resolution chronograph with split time, a perpetual calendar, a 24-hour display, and world time capability showing the time in any of 25 timezones. It’s hard to top the multi-role capability of a GMT chronograph and the Seiko Prospex Radio Sync Solar World Time Chronograph offers a fuss-free, practical, and very accurate platform to get the most out of its functional feature set.

While the case sizing is quite large, the dial is legible and nicely detailed, and, being a Seiko, we can likely assume the hands and markers will be well-lumed. The SSG00X models are almost Seiko’s answer to a Casio MR-G, with solar power, radio sync, sporty designs, and a handful of useful features. Prices will range between 640 EUR and 730 EUR (roughly $720-$820 USD), with availability starting in August of this year. As long-time fans and users of Seiko’s Prospex models, it’s exciting to see them develop new platforms and expand on their core strengths. seiko-prospex.com