The history of Seiko began in 1881 when Kintaro Hattori opened a shop in Ginza to repair and sell timepieces. In 1913, his company produced Japan’s first wristwatch, the Laurel, and has advanced the art of watchmaking in the ensuing years through both technology and craft.

The 1913 Laurel

Today, Seiko celebrates the 110th anniversary of the Laurel with the release of commemorative timepieces from the Presage, Prospex, Astron, and 5 Sports collections. Each watch demonstrates the high quality of modern Seiko watchmaking while looking back to Japan’s first wristwatch for inspiration.

Presage
Three new watches are introduced in the Presage collection and pay tribute to Seiko’s original wristwatch with designs that mirror that of the Laurel to varying degrees.

The first new creation joins the Presage Craftsmanship Series and closely follows the design of the Laurel in nearly every detail. Its pristine white enamel dial is the work of master craftsman Mitsuru Yokosawa and his team. Featuring a dial with a red “12” and classically styled blue hands, much like the Laurel, this creation is powered by Seiko’s high-performance Caliber 6R27. Crafted to stand the test of time, the lustrous white enamel dial displays the date at 6 o’clock and the power reserve at 9, while the case uses a recently updated design to emphasize the finely crafted dial and offer a slimmer look on the wrist.

Also from Presage, a new creation in the Sharp Edged Series features an angular, modern case and a subtle red mark at the 12 o’clock position on the inner ring in honor of the Laurel. The faceted hour and minute hands combine with the dial’s asanoha or “hemp leaf” pattern and the case’s sharp angles for a refined and modern look that exudes precision and quality.

The last of the Presage creations is a Style60’s GMT powered by Caliber 4R34. Here, the blue hands, including the one for the GMT function, stand out against the dial while harmonizing with the classically styled case and bezel to provide excellent legibility and an unmistakable mid-century appearance. An inner ring with a small red mark at 12 o'clock enables precise indication of the minutes and seconds. Thanks to an application of Lumibrite on the hour and minute hands, the time is always easy to read, day or night.

Prospex
Prospex remembers the Laurel with two new creations, one built for sports timing and the other for traveling to new frontiers.

The first, a Speedtimer solar chronograph, is an analog chronograph capable of measuring elapsed time to 1/100th of a second. The sub-dial hands at the two, 10, and 12 o’clock positions are a vivid shade of red in honor of the Laurel. And like the early Seiko inspiration, the dial is a bright white. Black sub-dials provide this Speedtimer chronograph with a layout that enhances legibility while making a subtle nod to vintage Seiko chronographs.

The other Prospex creation is a Seiko Alpinist that features the latest GMT movement from the tried and trusted 6R family of movements in which the power reserve has been extended to 72 hours or three full days. As with the 1913 classic, blue-colored hands are set against a light-colored dial. A red mark on the compass ring reinforces the connection to the Laurel while indicating the cardinal direction north.

Astron

Born with the world’s first commercially available quartz watch, the Astron name is, much like the Laurel, synonymous with innovation. Powered by the latest Astron GPS Solar movement, Caliber 3X62, the new creation features an updated design with a faceted titanium bezel that debuted this year. The simple white dial is a tribute to the Laurel, and the inner dial ring is punctuated by numerals every five minutes, with a single red “60” at the 12 o’clock position in honor of the Laurel. A lone sub-dial indicates the receiving process of GPS signals as well as the watch’s charging status, leap second data receipt, and in-flight mode.

This watch connects automatically up to twice a day* to the GPS network to maintain its precision of one second every 100,000 years.

*When the dial detects sunlight, the watch connects to the GPS satellite network and adjusts automatically to the correct time. If the watch is hidden from light, it remembers the time of its last successful manual connection and attempts to receive the GPS signal again at that same time.

5 Sports

And finally, the 5 Sports watch features a dial with accents chosen in honor of the Laurel. The hands, for example, are blue, while red numerals are used for the 24-hour scale. Stylish, functional, durable, and fun, this self-winding creation features indications for the day and the date in addition to the time. It comes on a handsome five-link bracelet crafted in stainless steel.

Each creation comes with a strap made with leather from Leather Working Group-certified tanneries, either as the main form of attachment or in addition to the bracelet pictured. All the watches will be available at the Seiko Boutiques and select retail stores worldwide as limited editions from October 2023.

Seiko Watchmaking 110th Anniversary Limited Editions

Seiko Presage Craftsmanship Series

Caliber 6R27
   Frequency: 28,800 vibrations per hour (8 beats per second)
   Power reserve: 45 hours
   Number of jewels: 29

Specifications
   Stainless steel case with super-hard coating
   Enamel dial
   Dual-curved sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating
    on the
   inner surface
   See-through screw case back
   Diameter: 40.2mm, Thickness: 12.8mm
   Water resistance: 10 bar
   Magnetic resistance: 4,800 A/m
   Leather strap with three-fold clasp with push button release
   (Leather material sourced from LWG-certified tanneries)
   Recommended retail price in Europe: €1,400
   Limited edition of 1,500

Seiko Presage Sharp Edged Series

Caliber 6R55
  Frequency: 21,600 vibrations per hour (6 beats per second)
  Power reserve: 72 hours (3 days)
  Number of jewels: 24

Specifications
  Stainless steel case with super-hard coating
  Dual-curved sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on the
  inner surface
  See-through screw case back
  Diameter: 40.2mm, Thickness: 13.0mm
  Water resistance: 10 bar
  Magnetic resistance: 4,800 A/m
  Leather strap with three-fold clasp with push button release
  (Leather material sourced from LWG-certified tanneries)
  Recommended retail price in Europe: €1,150
  Limited edition of 2,000

Seiko Presage Style60’s

Caliber 4R34
  Frequency: 21,600 vibrations per hour (6 beats per second)
  Power reserve: 41 hours
  Number of jewels: 24
  GMT function / Independent 24-hour hand adjustment function

Specifications
  Stainless steel case
  Box-shaped Hardlex crystal
  See-through screw case back
  Diameter: 40.8mm, Thickness: 13.0mm
  Water resistance: 5 bar
  Magnetic resistance: 4,800 A/m
  Leather strap with buckle
  (Leather material sourced from LWG-certified tanneries)
  Recommended retail price in Europe: €670
  Limited edition of 3,500

Seiko Prospex Speedtimer 1/100 sec Solar Chronograph