Seiko Prospex - Golden Charm!

Seiko Prospex Aviator is what I call this timepiece.

Why the aviator? Well the timepiece reminds one of aviation style - the aeroplane seconds hand and the altimeter-style date window are some clues.

Somehow, I like the gold version better than the black ion finishwhich I reported previously.

As I have said in my other post, the date window feels a little off (pun intended) with the marker at the 17 minute location as opposed to it at the 15.

And typically, the window should display three dates but the Prospex displays 5.

The bezel has a sand-blasted finishing and gives the watch a more rugged feel about it.

And the crown is protected by the crown guard but it is a normal push in crown without a locking mechanism.

The SRP580 comes with a normal tang buckle and fitted with a leather strap.

I really like the Seiko marque - very well done.

Although it is a Limited Edition, Seiko does not divulge how many are made - these are non-numbered Limited Editions. I find that somewhat odd. But the timepiece is priced right. Priced below $400, the Seiko Prospex is a winner for me.

Seiko Prospex - Oddly Attractive!

Seiko is perhaps the biggest watch company - they sell the most number of watches and has pieces for every price range.

Today I feature the new Seiko Prospex range - a series of Limited Edition pieces. I have two of the timepieces the SRP579 and the SRP580. The SRP579 is what they refer to as Black Ion finish while the SRP580 is gold coloured. Both are steel cases. First the Black Ion finished SRP579.

The 45mm timepiece wears pretty nicely on my small wrist and it is definitely a rugged watch for the outdoor.

While the dial display is more of an aviation style with the altimeter-style date window and the aeroplane seconds hand, the bezel is more of the Landmaster style.

But I find the date window a little odd - the pointer is slightly below the 15 minute mark - notice the red marker somewhere near the seventeen minute mark?

The dial shines like it a sunburst and the markers are printed.

A close up of the applied Seiko mark.

The crown is a “normal” push in crown unlike the diving range where it is a screw in crown. This crown is protected by the crown guard.

The movement is the 4R35 calibre hacking movement. Simple.

Overall a nice piece to own - as with all Seiko timepieces, they are functional.

I shall be doing a separate post on the SRP580 - the gold coloured version.

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.

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.

The steel case on this timepiece is nicer than the earlier ones and even the crown is different from the earlier SARX019.

The crown is signed with an S.

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”.

At the date window is where one sees the “flaw”… some darker shades around the window.

On the back reveals the caliber 6R15 automatic movement. Case back clearly shows the timepiece is Made in Japan.

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.

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.

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

Urushi - A Rare Dial for a Rare Beauty!

The Japanese are well know masters of lacquer ware and when I first heard that they have commissioned a new timepiece in their Presage line, I was excited about it. So when I visited Japan earlier this year, I had to look for it.

Despite going to several department store in my first three days in Tokyo, I was met with one disappointment after another. And then, when we visited Kyoto, I chanced upon it there!

What’s so special about this piece? Well, for one the Presage line in this case features a special dial. The dials are made by artists Seiko commissioned and they are called “tokinowaza” - master craftsman. The art of applying lacquer is a well known Japanese skill and when I saw the timepiece, I was really awestruck! What a flawless dial!

The gloss on the dial is beautifully reflective. The master craftsman making these dials is Mr. Tamura Ichifune, a resident of Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture. According to Seiko press release, the production numbers of these dials are very low - about 15 per day due to the complexity of applying lacquer to the dials to achieve a high gloss and deep finishing.

Even the hands are different - seems like the gold coloured hands have a sandblasted finish. I have not seen such finishing on a Seiko before.

On the display case back houses the calibre 6R15 which is the workhorse calibre for Seiko three handed timepieces.

As you can see, it says “Made In Japan” - in fact, it is Made for Japan! As I understand it, this range is not available outside of Japan thus dubbing some of these as Japan Domestic Model!

The timepiece is 40mm and a similar piece was also launched on Valentines Day 2015 - the SARW013. I saw both the SARX029 and the SARW013 with power reserve and date. I ended up with the three handed model.

Why the three handed model and not the “higher end” SARW013? Well, what’s special about this piece is the Japanese Urushi (lacquer) dial. When one adds the date at the six o’clock position and the power reserve at the nine, it somehow crowds the dial and takes away the beauty of the urushi dial. Even the strap has a matching golden thread matching the hands. In the end, the cleaner three handed timepiece was my choice to show off the dial work.

In the end, I managed to source another two pieces making it a total of three.

One more look at this beauty.

The list price of these timepieces are a very reasonable JPY110,000 for the SARX029 while the SARW013 is listed at JPY130,000. Good luck trying to find them if you happen to be in Japan. I also managed to find the SARX027 which comes with an enamel dial. I shall be sharing that in another post.

Seiko Presage - Made In Japan For Japan

The Seiko Presage range is somewhat special - more so the “tokinowaza” range where Seiko enlists the services of a master craftsman to create special timepieces for the Japanese market.

Enters both the Presage SARX027 and the SARX029. The former comes with a white enamel dial while the latter a lacquer (Japanese Urushi) dial.

The SARX027 with the enamel dial.

The SARX029 with the lacquer dial.

So which one do you like? Both are available only in Japan - Made In Japan for the domestic market. A full report to come.

Another Year End Get-Together - Xi Yan Shaw

It is the year ending get-together again and this time around, we hosted it at Xi Yan Shaw - the casual dining restaurant of their private dining sister restaurant in Craig Road. And the theme? Grand Seiko or any Seiko as well as any purchase in 2014.

Xi Yan Shaw is a spin off of the successful Xi Yan Private dining featuring Hong Kong Celebrity Chef Jacky Yu. The restaurant at Shaw Centre is located on the 3rd level and spacious enough to host probably 50-60 pax.

Unlike in the private dining restaurant, this is an open concept casual dining place.

The theme was around Grand Seiko, Seiko and purchases for 2014 so I brought these - my Grand Seiko SBGM003 and my purchase for 2014 being the De Bethune DB9. What about the Parmigiani? Well another friend had recently acquired a similar piece and I promised to let him do a comparison.

6.30pm was when the folks started strolling in and by 6.45pm, quite a group had already assembled.

And by 7pm?

Then the food started rolling in… First up the Salivating Chicken. As I have told many friends, prior to this dish, I never liked century egg - this dish changed it all. Depending on how hot you want it, they can increase the hotness of the dish. Take a bite at the chili padi if you like.

Pork patty with salted fish and water chestnut. Pan fried just nice and the salted fish not over-powering. Sorry I had missed the photo of the radish pizza in XO sauce. Busy mingling.

Deep fried shrimp paste fish fillet with pomelo salad - another winning dish for me. The fish fillet was well fried and still soft on the inside. But actually could not recall the shrimp paste taste. But that is actually a plus for me. To return and try it again another day. But the pomelo sauce complemented the fish well.

This is perhaps the most sinful dish of the night - Sake Dong Po pork with mei cai (seasoned vegetables). The pork is braised till soft to the bite and the mei cai is not the salty type - rather it is slightly sweet. Perfect with a bowl of rice or porridge. So good was the pork I missed taking picture of the next dish - the Yunnan Ham Niang Dou Fu in special broth. This is another must-have dish when visiting Xi Yan Shaw.

More dishes like the Kai Lan with Crispy Olive Leaves, Black truffles pasta with roast chicken - but by then, I was fully into the food. No pix to show for. Except for the last dish - the black truffles fried rice.

And how good was the food? Well everyone was tucking in. You sneeze you lose. You come late… sorry!

And very soon, it was time to display the timepieces for the evening. Seen here are Prof Harry Tan and Sean Wai - custodians of the timepieces on show.

On the left table, Grand Seikos and Seikos on display. And on the right, 2014 purchases.

The Grand Seikos and Seikos are an interesting lot - many anniversary pieces on display. Take a look at the top row. The GS SBMG003 and the various variants including two blue dial Limited Editions. Bottom right features two LE Tunas and one LE Monster, all anniversary pieces. And the bottom left, the LE Enamel dial Seiko Anniversary piece.

And now to the purchases of 2014 - one De Bethune, 2 Parmigianis, one Speake Marin, two MoVas (Bronze Diver and the T2 Tourbillon), one AP Royal Oak ultra-thin, one Jurgensen and JLC, Swatch Sistem 51 and Rolex GMT II make up the rest. No prize for guessing who brought the IWC pocket watch along. And then there is the Sony smart watch 3.

And very year end GTG, we have a special treat. Harry brought the fruit cake baked by Suzanne. Nicely made and delicious too.

Another nice GTG to round off the year. Thanks guys for showing up early! CNY coming up next!