The past few years have seen steady growth in the diameter of men’s watches. In the 1950s, a dress watch was expected to be slim and small, the normal size being somewhere between 32 and 35mm wide. These days, anything less than 38mm is considered dainty, and even 50mm and beyond isn’t unheard of.
However, not everyone wants such a large watch, or for that matter, the bold styling that often accompanies it. These more traditional men seem to be the target market for Seiko’s recently introduced line of four mechanical dress watches, all with classic styling and very conservative 36mm cases. They are based on the new 23-jewel 6R15B movement with both hand-winding and hacking, and are known as the Seiko Mechanical line.
Features of the new Seiko Mechanical line include:
- 6R15 23J Automatic movement with hand winding and hack function.
- Accuracy of +25/-15 seconds per day.
- 50 hour power reserve.
- 19mm drilled lugs.
- Sunburst dial finish.
- Water resistant to 100m (330 ft) with a non-screwdown crown.
- Mineral glass crystal and display caseback.
- 125g on the bracelet, 65g on the leather strap.
- 12.5mm thick, and 36mm wide.
- Pricing between ¥50,400 and ¥52,500 (about $465 – $485 USD).
The Seiko Mechanical line is an interesting collection of watches. Their extreme understatement, 1950s classic styling, and Seiko brand mean that no one will look at them twice on the wrist, which is exactly what some men want.
By Paul Hubbard
