Seiko Brings Back an Affordable Favorite from the 1960s

If you’ve been searching for this rare vintage reference without any luck, today’s your lucky day.

By Johnny Brayson

Published June 13, 2024

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Updated June 13, 2024

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Seiko has found a lot of success lately in mining its vintage catalog for timely reissues.

Over the past twelve months alone we’ve seen the Japanese brand resurrect its Navigator Timer GMT, its mechanical panda chronographs, its bargain-priced SNXS and more.

Now, Seiko is at it again with another vintage remake, this time bringing back a cult favorite Seiko 5 Sports watch from the late 1960s.

Say hello to the reborn Seiko Kamen Rider.

Seiko 5 Sports Heritage Design Recreation Limited Edition

$450 at Seiko

A Watch Fit for a Superhero

The new Seiko 5 Sports reissue should be a familiar style to collectors of vintage Seiko. The brand made hundreds of styles of these versatile “sports divers” in the 1960s and ’70s. But the one we see reissued today has an additional claim to fame.

The vintage Seiko reference 5126-8090 appeared in the Japanese tokusatsu superhero TV series Kamen Rider, which aired in Japan from 1971 – 1973. The titular “Masked Rider” hero of the series wore the watch when he was out of costume, and decades later, collectors noticed and the previously run-of-the-mill vintage Seiko gained a nickname and a cult following.

The New Kamen Rider

Seiko has very faithfully recreated the 5126-8090 in both its black and silver dial variants. The design is almost entirely unchanged from the original, including the retro Seiko 5 logo at 12 o’clock, the black day-date window, the red lollipop seconds hand, the period-correct 38.5mm case and even the unique bracelet with its narrow, flat links.

The only visual difference, really, is the dial text. Whereas the original read “Water 70 Proof” and “23 Jewels” below the blue “Sports” logo at 6 o’clock, the reissue instead says “Automatic,” “24 Jewels” and “10 Bar.”

The reason for these changes are the modern upgrades Seiko has made to the watch. It’s now water resistant to 100m rather than 70m, and it has a far more contemporary movement in the 24-jewel automatic 4R36 caliber with hacking seconds.

two seiko watches — The new Kamen Rider watches are almost indistinguishable from the original.

Pricing and Availability

Seiko is producing the Seiko 5 Sports Heritage Design Recreation reference SRPL03 (silver) and SRPL05 (black) in limited numbers, but you should be able to nab one if you want since the word “limited” is subjective here: Seiko is making 9,999 of each color.

The watches each come with an additional black leather rallye strap and a throwback red box inspired by the packaging of the original.

Interestingly, Seiko isn’t mentioning the Kamen Rider connection at all with the new watches. Last year, the brand released a 55th Anniversary co-branded Kamen Rider watch that was inspired by the same reference. That watch, however, was more of a tribute and was less faithful to the original design of the 5126-8090 than today’s reissue.

The Seiko SRPL03 and SRPL05 will go on sale next month from Seiko and are priced at $450.