Presage "Urushi" Pwr Rsv Day/Date Retrograde Ref. SARD011

In the early 1910s, the Japanese watch manufacturer debuted its first mechanical watch. In continuation of its development, Seiko has launched its automatic calibre in 1950s, along with its own marvel, which is the creation of its shock absorbing system for the movement; known as the "Diashock" system.

Seiko has gone through decades of refinements and developing its mechanical watchmaking skills. This had led to the creation of Seiko's own all-mechanical collection; the Presage. The Presage line consist of Seiko’s leading mechanical watch collection, the calibre 4R, 6R and 8R, and today we introduced to you the latest model; the Presage Urushi Power Reserve Day Date Retrograde SARD011.
 

Seiko is both a genius watchmaker and master in craftsmanship, not just in reliability and quality of their timepieces, but also in their aesthetics and craftsmanship. Therefore today we will be focusing more on the latter.

Seiko Presage Urushi SARD011 Power Reserve Day Date, which like its name, featured a black vitreous lacquered dial, paired together with its gold accent handset and date frame, it allows the watch to be kept in-sync with the universal coolness of ” black and gold” combination.

The watch case measures modestly at 40.5mm with a relatively slim profile of 13.2mm. With a lugs to lugs length of only 47.8mm, making it sit well most of our wrist. It includes a domed sapphire crystal that sits flushed to its polished case, with AR coating on the inner side.
 

The dial of the SARD011 is where the highlight is. Urushi, Japanse for lacquer, is almost similar to enamel finishing, where it has an unrivaled longevity, making it impermeable to almost anything for many years to come. Like enamel, the urushi dial on the SARD011 will continue to look as new as though it just came out fresh from the manufacturer

This artistry craftsmanship was traditionally known in Japan, and therefore the SARD011 is finished in real deep and lustrous black urushi,which is a natural lacquer obtained from the sap of the Japanese lacquer tree. Produced by local master craftsman known as “Tokinowaza”, commissioned by Seiko

It was all done individually by hands of master craftsman Tamura Ichifune, who is a resident of Kanazawa. Further, as the complexity of applying lacquer at this level to the dials that bring out the glossiness and deep finishing, the production volume is relatively low at only around 15 made per day. The roman hour markers are painted on top in white, with the date display and the Seiko logo on top, to be in congruent.
 

The main difference from the SARW013 is the the additional of a day and date complication, located at 3 and 6 o'clock respectively. Not just any regular day date that you find in the other presage collection but a retrograde display. Day and date need to jump and fly-back precisely at the end of every week and every month. The mechanism involved needs to accumulate power before releasing it all at once with one swift movement, but with no extra bounce. This is a complication usually found in watches that are worth many times more. This is a very high level of watchmaking demonstrated again in this presage model.

The watch is then paired with the genuine alligator strap with deployant clasp, elevating it on the elegant side of things, but one can swap out with another for a more casual look.
 

As it is an exclusive JDM in the Presage line, the SARD011 is powered by Seiko's 6R automatic caliber, the 6R24 operates at 28,800 BPH (4 Hertzs) with hacking and hand winding capabilities. It has 31 jewels with a power reserve of 45 hours through a Spron 510 mainspring.

With the Presage "Urushi" Power Reserve Day/Date Retrograde Ref. SARD011 Seiko have once again showcase their ability to produce an elegant timepiece, packed with fine watchmaking and traditional Japanese artistry techniques. This dynamic combination also showcases the design discipline behind the Urushi collection. With clean lines and high level polishing with what is considered a unique dial available only to Seiko, this watch has a certain charisma that is not seen in many other watches. If you are searching for a unique complication and unique material in a watch, this is certainly a watch worth considering especially given its rather affordable price.