The Seiko 5 Sports SRPM09 HUF Limited Edition

Seiko has used its 5 Sports collection to reintroduce some of its great designs from the past. Often, they have been collaborative, limited-edition releases that have become hugely popular. With the new Seiko 5 Sports SRPM09 HUF Limited Edition, the brand brings back another funky watch from its archives. The new watch shows inspiration from the classic Seiko 7015-6010 Time Sonar Chronograph from the 1970s. That funky chronograph had a semi-transparent dial that showed the day and date discs. Today’s new limited edition takes that idea and combines it with signature HUF elements. Let’s find out more.

As soon as Seiko announces a reissue of a funky classic, I always search for the original in one of Mike’s Fratello articles. He owns quite a few of the popular models that Seiko released over the decades. This time was no different. Back in 2021, Mike wrote an article on the original Seiko 7015-6010 Time Sonar Chronograph. It’s a fun read that adds a bit more context to the new Seiko 5 Sports SRPM09 HUF Limited Edition. In essence, the principle behind both watches is straightforward. Using a semi-transparent dial, they both offer a view of the day and date wheels below. With some clever additional details, the dial looks like a sonar screen.

The story of the Seiko 5 Sports SRPM09 HUF Limited Edition

But before we dive into the details, let’s take a step back. This new Seiko limited edition is a collaborative effort with lifestyle brand HUF from San Francisco. It’s fun for me to see a collab with this brand. When I was in my early 20s, the brand’s founder, Keith Hufnagel, was a famous skater. At the time, I also loved skateboarding, with Eric Koston and Reese Forbes as my favorites. I never got around to dedicating as much time to skateboarding as my friends did. First of all, that was because I played tennis a lot and didn’t have time to stand on a skateboard. Also, as skateboarding acrobatics would likely lead to injuries that would keep me from playing tennis, I couldn’t take the risk because I played on a team in a league competition.

Nevertheless, I had a deep love for skateboarding. The attitude, the music, and, of course, the artistic wizardry on a skateboard have always intrigued me and still do to this day. In the late ’90s and early ’00s, quite a few pro skaters started brands of their own. One of the most prolific and famous has always been HUF. Founded by Keith Hufnagel in 2002, it began as a skate brand. However, it quickly evolved into a successful lifestyle brand, creating shoes, clothing, and accessories that drew inspiration from the world that had made Hufnagel a renowned name in action sports.

The details of the Seiko 5 Sports SRPM09 HUF Limited Edition

The signature HUF color has always been a special, vibrant shade of green. It has been used for a wide variety of products that immediately stand out. With this watch, it’s no different. Seiko chose this specific shade of green for the semi-transparent dial. Funnily enough, the HUF Green shade looks a lot more like a classic sonar screen than the original blueish-green color Seiko used for the ’70s model. As a result, not only is this LE fun, but it also refines the concept in a way I love.

However, there are more differences compared to the original Seiko 7015-6010 Time Sonar Chronograph. Let’s go over the basics to find out more. It all starts with the familiar Seiko 5 Sports Field series case, which features a 39.4mm diameter, an 11.6mm profile, and a 48.1mm lug-to-lug. Seiko combined it with a 20mm-wide bracelet with a three-row look (using single-piece links) and a folding clasp with push-button release.

The sonar-screen-inspired dial of the SRPM09

Another big difference between the new LE and its inspiration is that the original 1976 Time Sonar was a chronograph. Besides the SRPM-09 not having the actual functionalities of a chronograph, it also has a somewhat different dial design. As mentioned, it all starts with a semi-transparent HUF Green base. It features slim applied hour markers, in contrast to the painted indexes on the original. The larger orange triangular marker, however, is similar in style to the marker on the original and is a nice detail.

Additionally, you will find the same black segments as on the original running across the diameter of the dial at both 3 and 9 o’clock. But where the original model featured the branding, model name, day/date window, and pusher instruction for the chronograph, the new version only features the day/date window and the word “automatic.” On top of that, the original model had a black outer minute ring with white segments and a black upward-sloping tachymeter scale that acted as a tensioner ring. As the SRPM09 is not a chronograph, the 60-minute scale replaces the tachymeter, and the inner ring functions as a seconds scale. Lastly, the lower half of the dial features the HUF logo. Topping it all off are the lume-filled hour and minute hands and orange seconds hand, which contrast nicely with the dial.

Final thoughts on this new Seiko 5 Sports SRPM09 HUF Limited Edition

If you turn the watch around, you are greeted by a semi-transparent display case back in a similar green shade. It features a special pattern resembling a street map of HUF’s hometown of San Francisco and the brand’s original logo in the middle. Despite the busy design, you still see glimpses of the Seiko caliber 4R36 that powers the watch. The automatic movement operates at 21,600 vibrations per hour, has 24 jewels, and offers a 41-hour power reserve. The push-pull crown on the right side of the case allows for manual winding, time setting, and adjustment of the day and date.

Overall, this is a fun modern-day reissue of another Seiko classic. On top of that, it follows the same design aesthetic as the two limited-edition watches that Seiko created with Kosuke Kawamura in 2022. I love that Seiko collaborated with HUF on this special 7,000-piece limited edition, as it brings back great memories of my early 20s. On top of that, the special HUF Green fits the design perfectly. It makes this €410 limited edition more than just a reissue of a Seiko classic. It is also the perfect affordable collaborative effort that will undoubtedly fly off the shelves when it goes on sale in March 2026. Until then, you can find more information on the official Seiko website.