Seiko's $750 PADI Anniversary Turtle uses the same movement as its $300 watches

Seiko has announced a limited-edition dive watch priced at $750 — but the movement inside it also powers entry-level models that sell for around $300. The Prospex HBB002 is a 8,000-piece run celebrating PADI's 60th anniversary and a decade of the Seiko-PADI partnership. For buyers who care about what's ticking inside, that price-to-caliber gap is hard to ignore.

The watch

The HBB002 uses Seiko's iconic King Turtle case — 45mm stainless steel with the crown at the 4 o'clock position. It gets a unidirectional ceramic bezel in PADI blue, a sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating, Lumibrite lume, and 200m water resistance with full diver's certification. The dial is blue with a globe graphic drawn from PADI's 60th-anniversary logo. Both a steel bracelet and a silicone strap with the PADI name are included in the box.

On spec, the case and finishing are hard to fault at this price. The problem, as Monochrome Watches notes, lies one layer deeper.

The movement question

Inside is the Caliber 4R36 — automatic, hand-windable, with a 41-hour power reserve and ±45 seconds per day accuracy. It's a reliable workhorse, but as Strapcode points out, it's "mostly found in lower and middle priced Seiko pieces." That includes plenty of Seiko 5 Sports models around the $300 mark.

The issue isn't that the 4R36 is bad — it isn't. The issue is that comparable Prospex models at this price tier typically use the newer 6R35, which delivers a 70-hour power reserve versus the 4R36's 41 hours. For $750, buyers in this segment expect that upgrade.

Oracle Time also flags the 45mm case as a wearability concern — a size that will put off a significant portion of potential buyers before they even get to the movement debate.

Worth it?

The collector consensus is clear: the design premium for a limited PADI collaboration is justifiable, but only if the movement matches the asking price. Chrono24 listings for older PADI Turtle references average £445–£530 on the secondary market in the UK, which gives a sense of where resale value could land.

The HBB002 goes on sale in July 2026 at £650 in the UK and $750 in the US, from Seiko boutiques and authorized retailers. If you're a diver who wants a piece of PADI history on your wrist, this delivers on design. If movement specs drive your buying decision, the math is harder to make work.