If there’s one thing the Japanese and British have in common, it’s the love of an after-work drink. While Brits are all about a trip down the pub, for Japanese workers the Tokyo nightlife is where it’s at. Where is all this preamble heading? Well, Seiko have just launched the newest additions to the Presage Cocktail Time series, the Star Bar ‘Night Time Tokyo’.
Chances are you’re already familiar with the concept of the Presage Cocktail Time, Seiko’s accessible dress watch collection with dials inspired by famous cocktails and drinks. However, the latest edition, available in two sizes either 30.3mm or 40.5mm, is based on a brand-new cocktail rather than a historic favourite. It’s specifically based on the ‘Night Time Tokyo’ drink, concocted by the Head Bartender at Star Bar, an international award-winning venue in Tokyo.
The dial of the watch features a suitably atmospheric and moody design. It has a swirling, uneven gradient that shifts from black to grey beneath a chaotic, scratch-like texture that’s designed to evoke images of ice pushed up against the side of a cocktail glass. The gold-coloured hands and hour markers then represent the flash of lights in the dark skies of Tokyo at night. It’s the kind of landscape you can imagine Akira riding their bike through.
Adding to the feminine leaning of the smaller 30.3mm edition is a ring of white gems set around its periphery. It introduces an additional texture to the display that isn’t unpleasant but on the whole I prefer the clean design of the larger model. The larger model is also more widely available as it’s limited to 9,000 pieces while the smaller is limited to 6,000 – though with those numbers neither are exactly what you’d call exclusive.
Powering both versions of the Seiko Presage Cocktail Time – Star Bar ‘Night Time Tokyo’ is the calibre 4R35, one of Seiko’s standard, accessible movements. It has a 40-hour power reserve and runs at an accuracy of +45/=30 seconds per day. Not spectacular stats but solid enough for an entry-level mechanical timepiece. And it is indeed entry-level with the 40.5mm edition priced at £480 and the 30.3mm one with its extra decoration slightly more at £570.
Price and Specs:
More details at Seiko Boutique.
Hi, do you know what the material of the “white gems set around its periphery” of the SRE015J1 are? Are they diamonds like the SRE007J1 ? Thanks in advance!