If you’ve ever wondered why some of Seiko’s most famous watches end up with nicknames like Tuna or Turtle, it’s because they have a habit of giving them full names like this: Presage Classic Series in Urushi Black with Roman Numerals. Admittedly it does tell you everything you need to know but it doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue. Perhaps we can call it the Seiko Presage Classic Urushi Roman?
If you’ve never come across the term before, Urushi is a traditional form of Japanese lacquer made with resin from the urushi tree. My personal favourite examples of the technique come in the form of Chopard’s Zodiac cycle, which they completed in full last year. Seiko take a slightly simpler approach by using it to create rich, jet black dials.
They’ve produced several watches in the Classic Series Urushi line already, such as the GMT the difference this time being the adoption of Roman numeral hour markers as opposed to bar indices. It gives the watch much more of a traditional dress watch vibe in the style of Victorian clocks. It looks fantastic picked out in gold, reminding me of another traditional Japanese art, kintsugi, the art of repairing broken items with lacquer and gold. Though it’s actually based on Kanazawa lacquerware. Gold is also used for the 24-hour subdial and central feuille hands.
The layout of the Presage Classic Series in Urushi Black is based on a heritage pocket watch called the Timekeeper. Powering it is the calibre 6R5H, which is the 24-hour display variant of the more common 6R55. It has a 72-hour power reserve and accuracy of -15/+25 seconds per day. It’s housed inside the 40mm steel case with 100m water resistance, making it a practical daily wearer despite its dressy aesthetic.
It’s priced at £1,500, which reflects the craftsmanship involved in the creation of its Urushi dial and the 6R5H movement. If you want to discover some of Seiko’s other traditional crafts, check out their recent Arita Porcelain edition.
Price and Specs:
Model:
Seiko
Presage Classic Series Urushi Black
Ref:
SPB499
Case:
40.2mm
diameter, stainless steel
Dial:
Jet-black
Urushi lacquer, gold-coloured Roman numerals, rail track design
Water resistance:
100m
(10 bar)
Movement:
Seiko
calibre 6R5H automatic
Frequency:
21,600
vph (3 Hz)
Power reserve:
72h
Functions:
Hours,
minutes, seconds, 24h
Strap:
Black
leather
Price:
£1,500
More details at Seiko Boutique.
Oracle Time