BY DHANANJAY PATHAK
What do you do when you are lusting after that lovely elegant Grand Seiko but are on a tight budget? Thankfully, you might not need to step outside the Seiko universe as the brand’s presage collection might have just the watch to satiate your craving for the time being. The latest addition to the Presage lineup is the SRPH78 aka Cocktail Time Star Bar, a watch that features a gold-plated case and a dial that is inspired by “Houju” an original cocktail from one of the world’s leading bartenders, Mr. Hisashi Kishi.
Like many previous iterations of the famous ‘Cocktail Time’ Presage watches, the highlight of the SRPH78 is its stunning textured dial. The light golden hue of the dial evokes Japan’s golden natural environment, which is dominated by ears of rice, a raw material used in the production of Sake, a major ingredient of the “Houjou” cocktail. Placed on top of the dial are polished and faceted golden hour markers that add to the dressy nature of this timepiece. The dauphine style hour and minute hands and the stick style seconds hand have also been presented in a golden tone. To provide a nice contrast to the golden background, and, to enhance legibility, the minute track is printed in black.
Crafted from stainless steel, the case on the SRPH78 measures a familiar 40.5mm in diameter. The case has been given a golden coating that brings warmth to the overall design and complements the dial quite well and the crystal on the front sapphire, whereas the one on the back is regular mineral glass. The case comes equipped with a grippy push-pull crown and is water-resistant to just 50 meters.
Ticking inside this watch is Seiko’s in-house calibre 4R35. An automatic movement, the 4R35 operates at a low frequency of 3 Hz and offers a power reserve of around 41 hours when fully wound. While the movement is visible through the exhibition case back, there is nothing much to write about as far as the finishing is concerned. It exhibits an industrial finish for the most part, with one attractive element being the rotor, which has been presented in a golden tone to match the case.
The new Seiko Presage Cocktail Time Star Bar limited edition, aka, SPRH78 is limited to 5500 pieces worldwide. The watch comes mated to a dark brown leather strap and the retail price has been set at USD495.
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