The Red Special Seiko 5 is, naturally, dominated by a bright red dial with a slight gradient effect at the 6:00 end. A black accent stretching from 8:00 to 11:00 mimics the curves and color scheme of May’s guitar, and gives the dial a unique, asymmetrical flair unlike anything else in the Seiko 5 Sports line. The watch comes in a presentation box that’s meant to look like a guitar case, and nylon strap is modeled after May’s guitar strap.

Part of the appeal of the new Seiko 5 Sports line is the wide range of styles that could conceivably appeal to almost anyone. While there are some oddball or niche designs in the collection, the Red Special is a different animal altogether, with it’s specific tie to a single celebrity musician. While there are no doubt enough Queen fans worldwide to justify the production of the Red Special, I think Seiko deserves some kudos for bringing this kind of hyper-specific special edition to what is essentially their entry-level line. Many saw the influence of the modding community present in some of the more offbeat Seiko 5 Sports designs, and that kind of creativity is certainly represented in this limited edition as well.

Technically speaking, the watch is identical to the Seiko 5 Sports watches introduced last year. The movement hacks and hand-winds, the case is water resistant to 100 meters, and, somewhat controversially, the rotating dive bezel lacks a lume pip at 12:00. While many in the Seiko community were upset that the Seiko 5 Sports (essentially the replacement for the much loved SKX007) lacked the dive pedigree of prior watches, this piece is a very specific limited edition, and shouldn’t be evaluated as a pure tool.

The Red Special edition of the Seiko 5 Sports watch is available now, and limited to 9,000 units. Seiko