I’ve Never Seen a Seiko GMT Watch Quite Like This Before

Ever since Seiko unveiled its new 4R34 automatic GMT movement, the brand has been on an absolute tear when it comes to travel watches.

Utilizing this movement and other newly developed calibers, such as the higher-end 6R54 that debuted last year, Seiko has been cramming a fourth hand into just about every type of watch imaginable.

Seiko 5s, Alpinists, Cocktail Times, Prospex divers, Presage dress watches, vintage-inspired timepieces and reissues … seemingly every type of watch Seiko makes seems destined to be turned into a GMT these days.

The latest is the brand’s supremely elegant Presage Craftsmanship Series, to which Seiko has just added not only the line’s first GMT but also what may be the first of its watches to ever combine a dual-time movement with an Urushi lacquer dial.

Seiko

Seiko Presage GMT SPB447

• $1,750 at Seiko

Legitimate Craftsmanship

The name “Craftsmanship Series” isn’t just some arbitrary name Seiko came up with for this line of watches: There are actually legitimate craftsmen involved in their production.

For the urushi lacquer watches, Seiko turns to master lacquer artist Isshu Tamura, who has also created lacquer dials for Grand Seiko watches costing many times as much as this new Seiko Presage model. For the production of these dials, Isshu supervised a team of dedicated craftsmen.

Urushi lacquer is made from the sap of the urushi tree and has a centuries-long history of use in Japanese art. The dials of these new watches are handmade in a multi-step, weeks-long process, resulting in a one-of-a-kind work of art with an inky depth thanks to the application of several layers of the deep black lacquer.

Seiko has previously released other watches in its Presage Craftsmanship Series with urushi lacquer dials, including the three-hand SPB405 and the more complicated SPB395 with a power reserve indicator and retrograde day and date displays, but this appears to be the first GMT to receive the extensive dial treatment.

Seiko

A Very Elegant GMT

Most of Seiko’s GMTs fall under the sports watch umbrella, but not the new SPB447. In fact, this has to be one of the most elegant GMTs I’ve ever seen from the brand.

Obviously, the urushi lacquer dial does a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to the watch’s elegance, but not all of it. The SPB447 also features a mirror-polished gold-tone seconds hand with a crescent-shaped counterweight, thin applied hour markers, a gold-printed 24-hour track and a unique shimmering gold-tone GMT hand. The watch is paired with a calfskin leather strap fitted with a deployant clasp.

Seiko

Powering the 40mm dress watch is Seiko’s aforementioned Cal. 6R54 automatic, a higher grade of movement than the entry-level 4R34 with a considerably longer power reserve (a full three days/72 hours vs 41 hours) and a more durable mainspring made from the brand’s proprietary SPRON 510 alloy, which is also used in Grand Seiko watches. Like the 4R34, the 6R54 is an “office” GMT, meaning its 24-hour hand is independently adjustable rather than its local hour hand.

Despite some of the watch’s Grand Seiko-esque qualities, the new SPB447 sure isn’t priced like a luxury watch. Seiko will begin offering the urushi lacquer dial GMT next month for $1,750, which is quite a bargain for a watch with this level of hand-crafted dial.

Seiko

Seiko Presage GMT SPB447

Specs

Case Size	40.2mm
Movement	Seiko Cal. 6R54 automatic GMT
Water Resistance	100m

• $1,750 at Seiko

Related Topics