Elite Japanese watchmaker Seiko’s Presage Automatic Chronograph Enamel Dial Limited Edition, has been shortlisted in the pre-selection for the prestigious Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Geneve 2016 in the Petit Aiguille category. The final selection will be announced at the Awards ceremony in November this year. The Presage Automatic Chronograph Enamel Dial, draws its inspiration from Seiko’s and Japan’s first ever wrist watch, the Laurel, which was released in 1913.
Both its overall design and its enamel dial echo this famous original. It uses the 8R48 chronograph caliber, which has both vertical clutch and column wheel systems, and incorporates Seiko’s unique three-pointed hammer to ensure the perfect synchronization of the hands’ return-to-zero. It is offered in an edition of 1,000 in celebration of Seiko’s 60 years of automatic watch making.
For over a century, Seiko has developed and refined its mechanical watchmaking skills. Today, all this experience comes together in a new, all-mechanical, collection named Presage. Presage has already been successful in Japan and selected other markets for some time. Now Presage has gone global and takes center stage as Seiko’s leading mechanical watch collection.
The beauty, depth and subtle texture of the enamel dial is self-evident, but what makes this model so special is the fact that each dial is made by skilled craftsmen, led by Mitsuru Yokozawa who ensures that the color of the enamel will last for decades, just as the dial on the 1913 Laurel has done. The finishing of any enamel can easily be affected by weather and humidity, and it is very difficult to control the precise thickness of the enamel as it is laid down on each dial. To meet these challenges requires the very highest levels of skill, and Seiko is honored to have Yokozawa in charge of the finish of every enamel dial for Presage. Only the most exclusive, traditional Japanese craftsmanship will do for this special Presage Limited Edition. Craftsmanship of a very different nature but of the same high quality gives the lacquer dial its deep black luster.
The dials are made in the studio of master craftsman Isshu Tamura in Kanazawa, on the western side of Honshu, Japan’s main island, using the centuries’ old art of Urushi which allows the creation of lacquer whose black color is almost magically deep and which gets harder and stronger as the years pass. The dials are painted and polished by hand several times. It is time-consuming and challenging work, but it is the traditional and best way to create the perfect black color. For Presage, only perfection will do.
Presage is a collection of broad appeal with wide range of calibers, designs and tastes. It comprises 60 models and uses the full range of Seiko’s mechanical calibers, from the accessible 4R, through 6R to the exclusive 8R. Highlights include the 6R27 multi-hand power reserve model and a series using an entirely new version of the 4R57 caliber. This new caliber is Seiko’s first ever with a center power reserve indicator, and is available in a series of five designs, including a limited edition. Every Presage watch has 10 bar water resistance and a sapphire crystal.
