Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Seiko Enamel Dial - Another Winner for me

Enamel dial for under one thousand dollars? Well Seiko did it again! They managed to produce a batch in their Presage line with a white enamel dial code SARX027.

As some of you may know, I visited Japan recently and was able to get my hands one some of these beauties. The enamel dial I suspect are machine enamel. Flawless really.
 photo Presage SARX027 01_zpserzfqwsu.jpg

Again, finding these beauties is not an easy feat. Each store had at most one piece in stock and if you had wanted more, you need to order and delivery is probably 4-5 days for them to transfer from other stores. But it was definitely worth the wait. The dial work is shiny with black printed numerals.
 photo Presage SARX027 05_zpspbiwthjs.jpg

The steel case on this timepiece is nicer than the earlier ones and even the crown is different from the earlier SARX019.
 photo Presage SARX027 06_zpsoewy7piv.jpg

The crown is signed with an S.
 photo Presage SARX027 08_zps1mkx3bgv.jpg

A close up view of the dial shows the gleam of the enamel. But not as glossy as the lacquer dial of the SARX029. I have one gripe - that the seconds hand is “not balanced”.
 photo Presage SARX027 10_zpsgqksbdsx.jpg

At the date window is where one sees the “flaw”… some darker shades around the window.
 photo Presage SARX027 09_zpssgtmivbj.jpg

On the back reveals the caliber 6R15 automatic movement. Case back clearly shows the timepiece is Made in Japan.
 photo Presage SARX027 11_zpslge3glpe.jpg
 photo Presage SARX027 12_zpsasbeumsa.jpg

In the end, I manage to get 5 pieces - all accounted for. They have another iteration the SARD007 but that to me is over-spec. It comes with a day indicator at 3 o’clock, a retrograde date at 6 o’clock, power reserve indicator at 9 o’clock. But the “crowded” dial takes away the beauty of the enamel dial.
 photo Presage SARX027 16_zps9ayuzwud.jpg

What I can say is that for an enamel dial piece, the price point is just unbelievable. If this were a Swiss timepiece with an enamel dial, pricing would probably be ten fold at least. But finishing on the SARX027 is definitely not the same standard as that of typical Swiss enamel pieces. But for the price you pay, one cannot complain as this is probably the best value enamel dial timepiece you can get.
 photo Presage SARX027 04_zpspnx8fvpj.jpg

The list price of these timepieces are a very reasonable JPY80,000 for the SARX027 while the SARD007 is listed at JPY150,000.

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