Being one step ahead of the rest does not just mean being the first — it means being the best. Sticking to its philosophy and traditional codes while continuing progress, Seiko unveils the Presage Classic Series in Arita Porcelain blue and Silk white, both encapsulating a taste of its signature “Seiko Blue”. The two limited editions mark 145 years since Kintaro Hattori opened his first shop — K. Hattori — in Tokyo’s Ginza district in 1881. The milestone traces back to Japan’s first wristwatch in 1913 and to the decade of breakthroughs that followed in the 1960s, when the Seiko Blue first appeared.

The first of the two features an Arita porcelain dial glazed in cobalt blue, a hue that had never before been applied to a Presage creation. Its dial is produced under the supervision of craftsman Hiroyuki Hashiguchi and crafted by Toshiaki Kawaguchi at a manufacturer with roots dating back to 1830, a lineage of craftwork that predates the Hattori shop itself by half a century.

Achieving such a deep cobalt hue on a dial this slender demanded meticulous refinement. The glaze had to be carefully balanced to ensure the pattern moulded beneath remained visible without overpowering the surface. It is a delicate process resulting in subtle variations from one piece to the next, lending every dial a distinct character only handcrafted artistry can achieve. The porcelain itself is formulated to be four times stronger than traditional ones, a necessary adjustment for something designed to sit on a wrist rather than in a cabinet at home. Housed in a 39.6mm stainless steel case with a super-hard coating and a dual-curved sapphire crystal, the watch is the result of a collaboration between two craft traditions advancing into modernity, separated by centuries but united in the same pursuit of precision.

The latter Silk White takes its cue from silk with a dial finished in a fine-textured white inspired by shironeri, the same impeccable white produced by refining silk threads cherished in traditional Japanese culture. The watch hands and indices are gently curved to follow the dial’s contour and finished in the same “Seiko Blue” to contrast against the white surface. At 36mm, the case is more compact than its blue Arita porcelain counterpart and is defined by soft, flowing curves and a delicately decorated bezel.

Both watches feature the automatic Calibre 6R51 with a 72-hour power reserve. Each is fitted with a see-through screw caseback, a leather strap sourced from Leather Working Group-certified tanneries, and a three-fold clasp with push-button release. Water resistance runs to 3 bar on the porcelain edition and 10 bar on the silk edition, with both rated to withstand magnetic fields of 4,800A/m. Evidently, both editions serve as a reminder that Seiko’s future is still being shaped by hands that had learnt their craft long before Japan’s first wristwatch existed and further cements their ingenuity in carrying Seiko’s Japanese heritage into a new generation.

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