The Seiko Presage Kintaro Hattori Limited Edition watch hands-on

Introduction

The Seiko Presage Kintaro Hattori Limited Edition SPB441J1 is a passion-inspiring timepiece. This small, beautiful four-hand watch embodies the Japanese mechanical watchmaking’s long-established pedigree and tells a story of pride and relentless spirit.

From Seikosha to Seiko

Before Seiko appeared on a dial, the young Kintaro Hattori laid the foundations for the brand covering today’s global market. In 1881, the 21-year-old man founded K. Hattori & Co.

The first part of his business took the most out of a challenging economic scenario; he began as a product importer, allowing him to fund his watchmaking factory in 1892.

Kintaro Hattori and engineer Tsuruhiko Yoshikawa opened the legendary Seikosha factory, building wall clocks first and pocket watches then (like the never-forgotten 1895 Timekeeper). The entrepreneurial project also included a watchmaking school to spread such an industrial culture across Japanese society.

The Seiko brand wasn’t exclusively the turning point from a multi-brand watch manufacturer to a single-branded one. It resulted in a risk-taking reaction to the horrific 1923 Great Kanto earthquake, which saw the Seikosha factory destroyed.

Therefore, the Seiko Presage Kintaro Hattori Limited Edition SPB441J1 is not just a reissue but a testament to an industrial renaissance and proof of resilience.

The design

The design is quintessentially nostalgic and draws from the first-ever Seiko-branded wristwatch and follows up the very first wristwatch assembled by Seikosha, the 1913 Laurel, Japan’s first-ever wristwatch; you’ll recognize the same pocket-watch-to-wristwatch layout.

Designers aimed to recreate that same feel and size as faithfully as possible. The original model measured a tiny 24.2 mm, smaller than the already tiny Laurel by modern standards; the contemporary model stops at a reasonable and collectors-ready 35 mm across (winding crown excluded).

At 12,3 mm in thickness, it is heftier than its specs suggest, thus turning the Presage Kintaro Hattori Limited Edition into a unisex yet a bit too thick watch, as exemplified by its slightly domed glass. The dial combines vintage Arabic numerals and a white enamelled dial.

A bold letter “S” pops up on the crown and the case back: that’s the S for Seikosha, officially registered in 1900, and confirms the close connection between old and new, celebrating a factory’s renaissance after the earthquake.

The Presage’s enamel dial

A Presage is to enamelling (and lacquering) what a Prospex is to performance. The collection is the proving ground for Seiko artisans who test their skills on the most classic Presage models. The collection comes with a wide range of options and techniques, and it is a chance to get your hands on a traditionally crafted Japanese enameled watch at a fair price.

Seiko prides itself on a vast array of techniques; we once reviewed the Presage Enamel Shippo Limited Edition, but the Seiko Presage Kintaro Hattori Limited Edition SPB441’s take is the purest of its kind and features a tone so white that it looks like porcelain.

The outcome is a wavy surface, which you can mostly appreciate in a three-quarter view, and provides uncommon depth and an enamel-flowing effect. You can understand it by looking closer at the hole where the hands’ connect to the movement.

Master enameler Mitsuru Yokosawa is the only craftsman allowed to carry out such a decoration; please head over to his official interview to learn more by clicking here.

The hour and minute hands also pay homage to the original and combine several sources of inspiration: the tip of the hour hand mimics a cathedral hand on top and a sword one across. The blue-galvanized surface treatment beautifully contrasts the pure white dial and the black typography; above, you can see the original Seiko brand logo.

Seiko’s calibre 6R5H

The 1924 Seiko was a three-hand watch with running seconds at six; the Seiko Presage Kintaro Hattori Limited Edition SPB441J1 has central seconds elapsed and a 24-hour display on the six-o’clock counter. Whether a 24-hour display makes sense can be a discussion topic; here is a modern self-winding calibre applied to an original three-hand layout.

The 6R5H belongs to the latest generation 6R movement family and ensures a 72-hour maximum power reserve and a daily deviation between +25 and -15 seconds when worn between 5°C and 35°C, according to Seiko’s official specifications.

Final thoughts

The Seiko Presage Kintaro Hattori Limited Edition SPB441J1 will come in a run of 1,000 pieces and retail for 2,000 Euros. That’s a fair price for an exquisitely-made timepiece, offering a not-so-common enameled dial and attention to detail. Each timepiece comes in a special box with the original Seiko brand logo and a pin housing the S for Seikosha. The strap is a very soft leather one with a pin buckle.

The Seiko team did their utmost to craft a reputable re-edition of the first-ever Seiko-branded wristwatch. You can perceive it from any angle; they hit the nail on the head, in our opinion. It is a beautiful and delicate watch.

Let’s hope this exercise won’t be a one-off project but triggers a Heritage range on the likes of what most competitors have done already. Trace back to the first half of the last century, and you’ll discover plenty of meaningful and attractive Seiko watches. One of them is, for example, the legendary Tensoku-Doke that we expect to see, again, anytime soon.

(Photo credit: Horbiter®)

Giovanni Di Biase @Horbiter®