The Japanese powerhouse invades Baselworld with a great assortment of new watches due out in 2016.
When thinking about Seiko, most people will think of department store jewelry cases filled with reasonably priced watches. While the lower tier is still a big part of the brand’s business, Seiko has also been in the luxury watch business for quite a few years. Consider it one of the best kept secrets in the watch industry.

At a value per dollar level, Seiko’s Grand Seiko, Astron, and Prospex lines offer a great level of build quality, gorgeous design, and levels of technical innovation that match and even sometimes surpass their Swiss competition. The biggest challenge the brand ends up facing is convincing those not in the know that luxury watchmaking doesn’t only come from Switzerland.

This year in Basel, Seiko’s latest releases are all geared towards changing that perspective. Rather than releasing a mass of entry-level watches as they have in the past, we were presented a small sampling of new releases from each of their luxury lines. After taking some time to examine these new watches first-hand, here are our top six picks we’ll be watching for when they hit stores later this year.

1. Seiko Prospex PADI Kinetic GMT Diver

Seiko’s divers are always an enthusiast’s favorite, and what better way to follow up the hugely popular Prospex SRP777 “Turtle” reissue than with a pair of killer limited-edition divers launched in partnership with PADI — the Professional Association of Diving Instructors? This bold blue GMT diver is a chunky 47.5 millimeters, yet somehow it will still fit well on smaller wrists, as long as you can handle its heft. If you prefer a black dial, you can get your hand on the non-PADI version here and skip waiting until this one hits stores later in the year.

2. Seiko Astron GPS Solar

Seiko’s Astron GPS Solar line received an update in both design and tech this year. For those less familiar, one of the GPS Solar’s strong points is its ability to automatically sync its displayed time to the time zone you’re in. Thanks to the creation of an all-new 8X22 caliber movement, the watch is now smaller and thinner than ever, dropping down to a 12.4-millimeter-thick case, and its dial becomes less cluttered than in previous years by using a single subdial for multiple functions. The entire collection consists of six different designs, all of which feature a titanium case and a ceramic bezel. This particular model was an easy choice for our list, sporting a mother-of-pearl paired with a black DLC case treatment. It’s also the only limited release of the line, with 3,500 units available worldwide.

3. Seiko Marinemaster Prospex GPS Solar Dual-Time

Seiko’s Prospex line has added a number of really solid successes recently, but this is the one that stopped us in our tracks when we saw it. A two-piece ceramic world-time bezel paired with a reflective blue dial and diver-style markers and hands make this piece a serious stand-out. It’s also the first piece in the Prospex line to feature the brand’s GPS Solar technology. Some of the past non-GPS Prospex Solar models are still rightfully interesting (and a fair bit more affordable), but if you’ve got the budget and the patience, this guy is worth the wait.