Seiko Prospex 4R ‘Shog-urai’ is a Samurai and Shogun Fusion

If you’re read our complete guide to every Seiko model you’ll know that Seiko and their collectors love a nickname. Over the years every small variant within a collection earns a thematically appropriate nickname from the community and often Seiko embrace it. For example, one of their most popular collections is the Samurai, so named for its sharp facets, which has a variant known as the Shogun with chamfered edges and a more luxurious appearance. Now though, these two models have been hybridized together to create the new Seiko Prospex 4R ‘Shog-urai’.

To my eye, the ‘Shog-urai’ is much more Samurai than it is Shogun. It has sharply angled lugs akin to the Samurai and the crown is taken directly from that model. The same is true of the bezel, which has the smaller, rougher grip of the Samurai around its edge as opposed to the chunky grip of the Shogun. In fact, the only design element of the case that really reads more as Shogun than Samurai is the line of the curve from the crown guard down to the lug, which is a continuous smooth line instead of being sharply angled back towards the case.

There isn’t really a signature size for either model beyond being roughly in the 43mm area and the Seiko ‘Shog-urai’ is smaller than both. It’s presented at a diameter of 41.7mm in steel with a thickness of 12.3mm. The water resistance rating, as with the majority of Seiko divers, is 200m.

It would be nice to see that increased to 300m and Seiko have shown with their recent 1965 Diver that they are working on improving their water resistance. While we’re talking about cases, it’s worth noting that one of the three ‘Shog-urai’ references, SRPL15K1, has a black coating for a full black aesthetic.

Sticking with the SRPL15K1, its dial is also black while the dials of the SRPL11K1 and SRPL13K1 (both with exposed steel cases) are red or black respectively. Looking at the dials in general, this is where I feel there is the biggest fusion between Samurai and Shogun.

Seiko’s Samurai model typically has long bar indexes while the Shogun has circular ones. The ‘Shog-urai’ instead has squat pencil shaped markers with rounded tips, feeling like a genuine half-way point between the two designs. They’ve also gone for a plain matte finish as opposed to one of the many out there textures that have graced the Samurai in the past.

Beneath the surface is the 4R35 automatic movement with a 41-hour power reserve. It’s an absolute classic work horse movement that we’ve seen across dozens if not hundreds of watches. It’s also nice and accessible, which helps keep the watch’s price low at £560 on bracelet or £520 on rubber strap. Refreshing in the wake of the pricy Marinemaster and King Seiko launches also released today.

More details at Seiko Boutique.

​Oracle Time 

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