There are plenty of watch brands that boast famous clientele, but Seiko is one of a few that can claim Bruce Lee as theirs.
Famously known for wearing and owning a Seiko 5 watch, Bruce Lee is honoured in the Japanese watchmaker’s latest release, the Seiko 5 Sports Bruce Lee Limited Edition.
Seiko Honours Bruce Lee with 5 Sports SRPK39K1 Limited Edition - Credit Seiko
Actor, martial artist and cultural icon, Bruce Lee revolutionised martial arts in film, popularising the art of fighting all around the world. At a young age, he became renowned for his speed and precision in combat, earning him the nickname “The Dragon”, something that would later be reflected in some of his biggest movie titles. He became the first Asian-American to achieve international fame and redefined action cinema with films like “Enter the Dragon” and “Fist of Fury”. Lesser known to some, Bruce Lee was also a Seiko watch wearer.
Internet sleuths can do amazing things, one of them being the ability to identity watches strapped to the wrists of celebrities in dated, low-resolution images. Although it’s not confirmed, the Seiko watch Bruce Lee is believed to have cherished is that of the Seiko 5 6139-6010. He is thought to have worn it almost constantly from 1969 to until his death in 1973. The design makes a lot of sense, being an automatic winding chronograph with a study metal bracelet and legible dial. No doubt it will have come in handy timing his fighting scenes.
Seiko Honours Bruce Lee with 5 Sports SRPK39K1 Limited Edition - Credit Seiko
This year, the Seiko 5 Sports watch marks its 55th anniversary and in turn, we’ve seen several new releases as part of the brand’s celebrations. Of them all however, the new Seiko 5 Sports Bruce Lee SRPK39K1 Limited Edition watch has us the most excited. Not because it’s anywhere remotely close to the rendition Bruce Lee wore himself – that would be even cooler – but because it embodies everything we love about our favourite martial arts hero.
Seiko are always pretty clever when they create their icon-inspired editions like this, and they clearly take their time to consider the many traits and features of the person to reflect it in the watch design. This philosophy certainly applies to the Seiko 5 Sports Bruce Lee watch which has been purposely engineered to be a durable, stealthy sports watch for lovers of the actor. The 42.5mm wide and 13.4mm tall case is engineered from stainless steel with black super hard coating.
Seiko Honours Bruce Lee with 5 Sports SRPK39K1 Limited Edition - Credit Seiko
The iconic 4 o’clock screw in crown remains at 4 o’clock and for the black bezel, Chinese characters are engraved around its circumference to represent the spirit of Jeet Kune Do, a well-known Bruce Lee phrase that translates to, “Using no way as way; having no limitation as limitation.” The case back reveals the same characters and the Jeet Kune Do logo.
The dial is also done almost entirely in black, embossed with Bruce Lee’s dragon artwork and set with gold toned hands and indices with luminous inserts. Powering the hours, minutes, seconds, day and date complications is the Calibre 4R36 automatic winding movement, the very same found in the majority of Seiko’s 5 Sports watches. It boasts 24 jewels and a power reserve 41 hours.
Seiko Honours Bruce Lee with 5 Sports SRPK39K1 Limited Edition - Credit Seiko
Completing the Seiko 5 Sports Bruce Lee watch is two straps. The first is crafted from black leather with silver stitching and has a special back with a white and gold dragon pattern inspired by traditional Kung Fu clothing. The second, and my personal favourite combination, is a bright yellow nylon strap with a black horizontal stripe. Fans of the actor will recognise this strap as a direct reference to the famous yellow and black tracksuit Lee wears in “Game of Death”.
The Seiko 5 Sports Bruce Lee SRPK39K1 watch is technically a limited edition, but with 15,000 pieces available, I don’t think it runs the risk of selling out immediately. It retails at an extremely reasonable price of £450 and will be available for delivery in October.
Seiko Honours Bruce Lee with 5 Sports SRPK39K1 Limited Edition - Credit Seiko
This is one of those watches that won’t appeal to everyone, but if you’re a long-time watcher of Bruce Lee and you want to embody his charm, confidence and coolness, wearing a watch like the Seiko 5 Sports Bruce Lee SRPK39K1 will certainly help. Should it be classed as a limited edition with 15,000 pieces available? Probably not. And would it be even cooler for Seiko to recreate a faithful interpretation of the model he wore during the 1970’s? Absolutely. But this new novelty is nonetheless very cool, and cleverly integrates more than enough design traits to remember the legend.
Technical Specifications:
- Brand: Seiko
- Model: 5 Sports Bruce Lee SRPK39K1 Limited Edition
- Price: £450
- Material: Stainless steel with black hard coating
- Movement: Calibre 4R36 automatic winding
- Complications: Hours, minutes, seconds, day, date
- Dial: Black with dragon image
- Size: 42.5mm wide, 13.4mm tall
- When the reviewer would personally wear it: On a dress-down day with a cool pair of military boots and a leather jacket.
- A friend we’d recommend it to first: Someone with a love of Bruce Lee!
- Best characteristics of the watch: I love the black and gold combo, especially the NATO strap. It’s also well-priced for a “limited” automatic watch.
- The worst characteristics of the watch: This isn’t going to appeal to everyone and probably doesn’t need to be a limited edition with 15,000 pieces available.
