From Pale Persimmon to Blacked-out Watches
Seiko don't often make salmon dials, so they're always a delight to see
The Precursor
Three very interesting, unique or strange watches this week, depending on your perspective. Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but we can all agree these are certainly three statement pieces.
Seiko SPB467J1 “Araigaki” Presage Classic
The dial is a unique orangey-pink that I’ve not seen before in a Seiko. Dubbed the “Araigaki” (洗柿) for good reason as it translates to “washed persimmon” in Japanese (interpreted to mean “pale”), which is about as apt a description of this dial as you could get. But the eye-catching colour isn’t the only trick up this dial’s sleeve.
Firstly, you’ll immediately notice the heavy dial texturing, designed to look like woven silk, which helps it playfully shift from orange to pink and back again in the light. And secondly, what you definitely won’t notice until you have the watch is your hands is that the dial itself is curved convexly to perfectly match the convex curve of the sapphire crystal. It’s subtle, but it has just enough movement around the edge of the dial to create the impression of a vintage-style acrylic crystal, which is exactly the aim of the Presage Classic collection.
Modern watch enthusiasts will be delighted to learn that Seiko has changed one contentious feature of “classic” watch design: case width. I am delighted to report the SPB467J1 is an unapologetic 40mm wide, as opposed to the standard vintage size of 36mm.
Housed inside is the fully automatic 6R55 – one of the newest calibres in the 6R family. With an impressive 72-hour power reserve, I suspect it will be a popular addition to the 6R line-up.
Full kit and in brand new/unworn condition.
Seiko 7L22-0BA0 Limited Edition Kinetic Chronograph
It’s not going to win any prizes for subtlety. An uncommon blend of copper tones and black is merely the starting point for the visual oddity that is the 7L22-0BA0. Produced in 2012 and limited to 750 pieces, it was, unsurprisingly, only released in Japan. The 45-minute chronograph is activated by two of the meatiest pushers I’ve seen outside of some Seiko Galantes. They feel great though, so their formidable size simply becomes part of the watch’s charm.
You’ll be pleased to learn the movement is just as quirky. The 7L22 “Kinetic” movement is a hybrid between Quartz and Automatic. I won’t go into great detail as it’s been discussed many times before, but unlike a Quartz movement, a Kinetic movement has a capacitor instead of a battery.
A Quartz battery merely discharges energy into the watch, but a Kinetic capacitor stores the energy generated by the kinetic movement of your wrist, just like an automatic, and feeds it back to the watch as needed. However, unlike an automatic that might have a two or three-day power reserve, the 7L22 movement can store up to five months of power reserve in its capacitor. To further distinguish itself from its electrical counterpart, the Kinetic capacitor only needs to be changed every 10-20 years, instead of every 1-2 years like a Quartz battery.
From the back, it has all the hallmarks of an automatic, but it ditches the standard automatic movement accuracy of -15/+25 seconds per day in favour of a +/- 15 seconds per month quartz-style accuracy. In my opinion, it takes some of the most appealing elements of both movement types and creates the perfect hybrid. I strongly believe all Seiko collections should have at least one Kinetic!
Full kit and in very good condition.
Seiko SCED037 Blacked-Out “Ripley”
In space, no one can hear you scream. The SCED037 is a blacked-out limited edition re-release of the grey 7A28 “Ripley,” a watch accidentally made famous by James Cameron’s 1986 film “Aliens.” Unlike almost every watch you see worn in a film now, no deal was struck between Cameron and Seiko. Cameron simply scoured the market for a watch that had the retro-futuristic charm to match the aesthetics of his film.
Luckily for Cameron, Seiko had recently partnered with the king of retro-futurism, Giorgetto Giugiaro. Famous for literally redesigning how most sports cars look, Giugiaro also tried his hand at watches, and Seiko’s 7A28 was born.
Full kit and in near-perfect condition.
Don’t forget to follow my Instagram to see all of the watches above in full cinematic glory later this week.
How can I buy the first watch?