Seiko SNE573/583/585 Review: The Discontinued Prospex 38.5mm Solar Diver

Seiko divers might very well be some of the most sought-after in the enthusiast community. I say “enthusiast” because they aren’t always the entry point into Seiko, or into watches, for that matter, for the everyday consumer. I would think something like an entry-level Presage or any watch fit for the office is more desired in that regard. But, we don’t call them desk divers for nothing, and I personally have worn and still wear Seiko divers to work, but that’s neither here nor there. In fact, the same can be said of the subject watch for today’s review: The Seiko SNE573 as well as other variants of the 38.5mm Prospex Solar Divers like the SNE583 and SNE585, which were discontinued this past Summer.

Its discontinuation adds it to a hallowed list of watches that have received similar treatment by Seiko, namely the vaunted SKX series, which has achieved iconic status rivaled by a small few watches in history. But we can also add a bevvy of Willard-esque Prospex models to the list including the SPB 153 green Willard – a personal favorite.

When a Seiko dive watch goes the way of the trees, it achieves a kind of immortality and heightened demand that takes a once value-packed product into a new pricing universe, but less talk about price and more talk about a handsome piece of solar diving kit that is no longer commercially available in an official capacity at retail.

Seiko SNE573 Brief History

I use the word “brief” because, well, this watch had quite a short run. It was released in 2021 as a smaller dive watch option to models like the SRPD line at 42.5mm and SRPL line at 38mm, a bit of which resided in the Seiko 5 Sports collection. The SRPE573 differs from those watches in a bevvy of ways that we will get into, but it provided a sort of heritage-infused package that existed outside of the normal automatic offering from Seiko due to its Solar-powered nature.

At its sub-$500 price point, it hit that pseudo- sweet spot that comes with many Seiko divers, bridging affordability with the comfort of knowing that you are getting good design from a vertically integrated house. It was released to moderate fanfare that was only tempered by the Solar text on the dial. It may come as no surprise that most purists prefer their sweeping-hand automatics despite the indisputable difference in accuracy. And perhaps that explains why, in 2025, just four years after its launch, the SNE573 was removed from the Seiko catalog along with a number of its Solar variants.

Seiko Prospex 38.5mm Solar Diver Case

This is where the Seiko SNE573 (and its variants) errs closer to a traditional mid-century “skin diver” format than to most of the burlier Seiko fare. This is due to the 38.5mm case diameter, further bolstered by a slim 10.6mm case height. Add this to the 46.5mm lug-to-lug and the entire package is basically perfection when it comes to being fit for a variety of wrists (okay, okay, perhaps not for the 7.5in-and-up crowd).

The case itself also presents far more conventional than Seiko typically does with its divers, and has a certain 62MAS styling with its lug shape. The one place that gets modernized is via the use of standard crown guards at 3 o’clock, which just adds to the robustness of the overall package.

The SNE573 comes equipped with a black rubber strap where its counterparts the SNE583 with a green dial and SNE585 with a blue dial come equipped on steel bracelets. The strap is quite supple and compliments the contrasty monochromatic SNE573 very well; it includes a metal keeper for a bit more of that premium feel. The steel case is bolstered by a steel, toothy bezel, complete with a black dive-time insert with hash marks all the way around. The sporty look of the bezel is a great complement to what’s featured beneath Seiko’s proprietary Hardlex crystal. 

Seiko Prospex 38.5mm Solar Diver Dial

The dial is a real showcase for what this watch is all about: the existence of a true, no-frills, sports watch in the 2020s. We tend to see brands try to fancy up dial surfaces on dive watches to a point where the bits of luxury take away from the intended ethos: to get very wet at depths we ought not be going. And while most of us aren’t taking this past the shallow end of a resort swimming pool – piña colada in one hand, as we search hopelessly for our sunglasses, which just took a deeper plunge than us into the chlorinated water – it helps to know the watch can handle it.

Once the kid in full snorkeling regalia completes their expedition to retrieve your glasses and return them to you, it’s time to admire this black dial under the glow of the golden rays. That’s when we pick up on the sheer toolish charm of the Seiko SNE573. There is no metallic embellishment here, just pure white painted text, and white, painted surrounds framing in the Lumibrite markers. Legibility is the name of the game here, and you’ll be able to read this watch in every possible scenario from the sun-drenched lounge chair to the windowless fluorescent lighting of a quaint cubicle when that vacation is but a fleeting memory.

Movement

When it comes to solar quartz watches, there isn’t all that much to say about the inner workings other than the fact that they work really well and for a really long time thanks to the solar functionality. This watch utilizes the V147 Solar movement from Seiko which is accurate to plus- or minus-15 seconds per month, far outpacing the accuracy standard of any Seiko automatic diver in the price segment. 

So with it you get the tick and not the sweep, but you also get the added security of solar, which means you really don’t have to worry about that battery. Solar is one of the more slept-on innovations in watches, in my opinion, especially when you consider both the value and longevity components.

Variants

So we have spoken predominantly here about the SNE573 but we briefly touched on the SNE583 and the SNE585, which are effectively the exact same watch but with some fun flourishes by way of either a sunray green or sunray blue dial, respectively, as well as color-matched bezels.

The main difference here is the aforementioned steel bracelets that come on the others versus the SNE573’s strap, but of course, anyone can swap out a strap for a bracelet and the Seiko SNE573 would look plenty good in an all steel format.The colorful versions bring both a fun, and less utilitarian approach to the watch, which allows either to be the perfect summer fun option, but is likely less attractive to the purist who wants that old-fashioned black dive watch look and feel.

Final Thoughts

My most final thought is that it is a true shame to see these models get discontinued. I firmly believe there is a place for solid performing Seiko solar dive watches, and the void left in these watches absences is felt.

In fact, it feels a whole lot like the discontinuation of the SKX series (which saw a much longer production run), in the sense that the go-to tool watch in the specific segment was gone. I am sure Seiko has plans to refill the coffers here, but I would be hard pressed to imagine that we’ll see something quite this pure in its approach taking special note of the Seiko SNE573 there.

Discontinued or not, these are still relatively easy watches to find, though the sub- or just-over-$500 price point will probably now be a thing of the past. The reality is, these were never really smash hits, they were more the indie flick to the SRPD’s summer Marvel blockbuster. With that in mind, I want to hear from you all what you think of the SNE573 and its siblings. Will you miss it now that it’s been discontinued? You can learn more at seikowatches.com