среда, 7 февраля 2018 г.

seiko_cocktail_time

Seiko Cocktail Time – SARB065

The Seiko Cocktail Time is a collaboration project between Seiko and Japan’s top bartender, Mr. Ishigaki Shinobu. The three models in this series were designed based on the original cocktails of Ishigaki Shinobu, and they are the “Cool” SARB065, the “Dry” SARB066 as well as the “Sweet” SARB068 which is limited to 300 pieces.

This time round, I had the opportunity to handle the cool SARB065.

If you examine the dial closely, you will see that the sunburst effect is different from the traditional or ‘standard’ sunburst dial.

The picture below shows what I consider a traditional or “standard” sunburst dial. The sunburst effect is relatively weak and the lines are not separately identifiable.

In the SARB065 dial below, you will notice a stronger sunburst effect and each line is separately identifiable. In additional, the lines are set in such a way that they alternate between a group of lines with stronger texture followed by another group with weaker texture. This setting creates a “sunburst within sunburst” effect if I may call it.

The watch uses the same case as the SARC models that are powered by the 6R20 movement. It has a diameter of 40mm excluding crown and is 13.1mm thick.

The low profile yet well finished case fits very well into the overall design as it does not compete with the dial for attention.

From the side profile, you can see that the watch has a curved crystal.

The crown has a raised surface which is signed with the ‘S’ symbol. In the picture below, you can also see that there is a cutting on the side of the case just under the crown to make it easier for the user to pull out the crown.

Overall, the crown is nicely made and appears to have rounder and smoother edge compared to the early and come of the current 6R15 models.

Like most 6R15 dress models, the watch has a see-through caseback that shows the movement within. Here, you can see that it has a water resistance of 5 bar.

The watch comes with a black oil tan strap with blue stitches to match its blue dial. It is a very classy strap and is fitted with a Seiko deployant buckle with push button release. Lug width of the watch is 20mm.

Here are the stock pictures and other info:

Seiko SARB065 featured in this post is provided by:

483 Sims Avenue,

Tel: 6273 3355 Fax: 6278 8929

Share this:

Related

Post navigation

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

A very classic look

these days if Seiko needs to sell a watch they need only to look back at all the great watches of 20 or 30yrs ago …

Very true, Noah. Vintage and retro designs are ‘in’. This is one of the five watch trends for 2010 from Baselworld.

Hi yeoman… this watch is a great dress watch, not flashy yet eye-catching =D

Thanks for stopping by. I believe you have this watch in you collection. Good choice. It’s a nice watch.

I was wondering what the sweet version would look like, since you only reviewed the cool and dry. After I scrolled down, then I realised its actually the one I just put an order in for! Hope its not sold out. Instinctively put the order in for this beauty.

I have seen the ‘sweet’ version on several occasions. It is a beautiful watch and is limited to 300 pieces. Hope you can get it.

Here’s a quick and dirty shot taken so time back.

Hey, know anywhere else in Singapore i can get the sweet version? Can’t seem to find any retailers online for this particular watch 😦

The sweet version is limited to 300 pieces and the online retailers are probably out of stock. You have to ask someone to hunt for them in Japan.

Tried to hunt it down in Japan over Yearend. However, since it is limited to only 300 pieces and everyone gets tears in his eyes for that model you might not find it at all. I asked some shops (Yodobashi Kamera etc.) and there is NO chance to get it unless some collector wants to sell… If you can get one you are one heck of a lucky guy….

I suggest to seiko to create the SARB065 as a rose gold version with a red-brown dial… Nice to dream about anyway.

I m currently interested with both seiko alpinist SARB047 and SARB059. I can’t find your review about these watches in your forum. After i checked, both are using the same 6R15 movement. I need your advice here because i m quite confusing of which one shouid i choose. which of the two watches above the best in reliability and design?

Thanks for your attention.

Both of them are on par in terms of reliability. I did have a quick post on the limited edition SARB063 here:

If you want something of similar style that has better specs, look at the Fieldmasters. They have the same movement but come with sapphire crystal and anti-reflective coating.

Thanks again for ur prompt response and thanks for writing such a good review. I myself really interested with seiko 6r15 movement, however the price is really quite expensive. According to u, which seiko model with 6r15 movement has cheaper price plus nice design beside sumo? Thanks in advance for ur advice.

The SARB065 featured in this post is one of the nicer 6R15’s imo. The price is a bit high though.

If you like something with a vintage feel, the SARB031/027 would be nice. However, this model was discontinued recently and will become harder to find in the following weeks/months.

Enjoyed your post, am seriously considering purchasing the SARB065. Do you mind dropping me a mail as I would like to have your feedback regarding prices and retailers? If you can spare the time.

You can contact me using the “Contact Me” link above. Not sure if I can help though.

Very classic styled Seiko’s , lovely dress watches l

Well here in Australia, for some reason, Seiko don’t sell the SARB065 (or indeed many others in their range). But having just discovered it, and loving it, I have ordered one from Japan, Just waiting now…..

Seiko SARB065 “Cocktail Time Cool” – The Ultimate Attainable Grail?

Can a “grail” be attainable? Sure! It just depends on how much money you have and how hard you’re willing to work for it. And some grails aren’t limited in production, just in availability. It’s awfully hard to find a Nomos or an Arnold & Son in a store, and Seiko Credor are unavailable in most markets.

Can a “grail” be affordable? Affordability is in the eye of the beholder: Some people think a Greubel Forsey is affordable, while others must stretch to save up for a Tissot.

The Seiko SARB065 “Cocktail Time” is distinctive, hard to find, and worth every penny!

So what would be the ultimate attainable and affordable grail? It would have to be difficult to find and highly desirable, yet likely priced a bit higher than most customers are willing to spend. By that metric, the Seiko SARB065 “Cocktail Time” definitely fits the bill!

Let’s start with a little background. Back in 2010, Seiko teamed up with Ishigaki Shinobu, Japan’s “top bartender”, to produces a line of upper-mainstream watches for the domestic market. Shinobu-San designed three “Cocktail Time” watches: SARB065 was “Cool”, SARB066 “Dry”, and the limited (to 300 pieces) SARB068 “Sweet”.

All of these are part of the upper-class Seiko-branded SARB line and use the high-spec mainstream 6R15 automatic movement. A derivative of the plebeian and ubiquitous 7S26 movement, the 6R15 adds hacking and hand-winding and boasts 50 hours of power thanks to a SPRON 510 mainspring. It still ticks at just 21,600 A/h and is lightly decorated, but the 6R15 is at least competitive with lower-mainstream Swiss movements from the likes of ETA.

Although lightly decorated, the 6R15 is a decent modern automatic movement

And the SARB line is made entirely in Japan, unlike the lesser Seiko 5 models found worldwide. It’s nicely finished, too. The distinctive super-sunburst pattern gives the dial serious depth even though it’s actually quite flat. It’s reminiscent of the Venetian “sgraffito” technique.

The case, crown, and crystal are also highlights of the SARB065. The domes crystal gives it a retro touch, though it’s Hardlex mineral not plexiglass. The simple case is really classy, and the signed crown is well finished and comfortable.

Look at the lovely contours of the domed crystal and signed crown!

One more clever touch I appreciate about the SARB065 is the blue stitching on the black leather strap. It really gives it a subtle hint of color without being overpowering.

Technically, the SARB line is only available in Asia (principally Japan), but they’re fairly easy to get here in the USA. Grey market importers like the reputable and reliable Long Island Watch have the SARB065 in stock, and Japan-based companies like Chino and Seiya will happily mail you one from there. After shipping, you’ll be out about $580, which is on the high end for a Seiko-branded Seiko but hey, it’s a grail!

Or is it? Let me know if you agree that a $600 Seiko can be a grail!

Related Posts via Taxonomies

  • Seiko 6810-8000 (SCVL001): Japanese Piaget?
  • Seiko SCED: A Modern Reissue of the 1980’s “Aliens” Chronographs
  • The First Spring Drive Automatic, 2005 Seiko SNR003
  • Seiko Credor Signo GMT GCBZ995
  • Two Rare Seiko Historical Watches
  • The First Grand Seiko
  • A Great Clock for Watch Lovers – Grand Seiko and Others!
  • Eterna Majetek and Longines Tartarugone: Czech Aviator Watches
  • Patek Philippe Twenty

Share this:

Related Posts via Taxonomies

  • Seiko 6810-8000 (SCVL001): Japanese Piaget?
  • Seiko SCED: A Modern Reissue of the 1980’s “Aliens” Chronographs
  • The First Spring Drive Automatic, 2005 Seiko SNR003
  • Seiko Credor Signo GMT GCBZ995
  • Two Rare Seiko Historical Watches
  • The First Grand Seiko
  • A Great Clock for Watch Lovers – Grand Seiko and Others!
  • Eterna Majetek and Longines Tartarugone: Czech Aviator Watches
  • Patek Philippe Twenty

About Stephen

I got this watch form Seiya Japan online. But I have two questions. One is why is there a rough screechig sound when you turn the watch knob clock wise. But no sound counterclock wise. I am doing this while the watch knob is in the “closed” position. Why is this? I have never had a watch that does this.

Second why is the leather strap “end” facing me. And not at the other side of my arm. I also find this very annoying. Usually the end strap is on the other side of the arm, I’ve never had a leather watch with this configuration.

It should not “screech” when turned clockwise, though it should wind the movement. Could that be what you are hearing? If not, I would contact Seiya for a replacement.

As for the strap end, it sounds like it was installed upside down. The buckle should come out the top of the watch, and the “tongue” from the bottom. This is fairly easy for someone with a watch tool to fix.

Got this SARB065 and it looks totally incredible! It looks like a million bucks! When the sun hits the dial, u will be left speechless. It looks like it belongs alongside the >$10k watch display.

many thanks for an excellent review.

First, that sold you hear is the 6R15 winding. And of course it only engages one way. The strap I got was also put o with the end leather facing you. If you look in the mirror, this ensures that those that see the strap only see the high end black patent leather and not all the buckles, etc. I think this was intentional. I noticed this right away.

Going giftshopping with my fiance today meant her buying me a watch to suit my weddingsuit. As a young and lifelong watch enthusiast I own a variety of watches but untill today…not something to wear at my own wedding.

While going thru the collection of a selection of well known watch stores and dealerships here in Amsterdam we walked into the Seiko store just in case. I had a look around the shop and suddenly I noticed this watch.

The sales lady started laughing and said: you sir, sure know what you are doing today.

She tells me the story as written above without her knowing I’m already sold and afterwards I am definitely sold. I love this watch! It is incredibly beautiful, very comfortable to wear and the only one in the Netherlands that Seiko Netherlands knows off. Love the fact that it’s high quality engineering, a bit out of the box considering the cocktail thing and reasonably priced for something that could last a lifetime and suits my personality this well.

Not sure if I’ll have the wristband flipped yet. Mine’s upside down as well which might look funny wearing a suit and shirt. Being a former bartender I can imagine why it is though. This way you don’t get caught up behind cooler doors etc.

Nice detail: my father owns a Seiko Chronograph for 20 years already, it was an anniversary gift from my mom. They smiled when I told them what happened. If a grail is priceless, then this is.

Seiko cocktail time

Wednesday, Nov 22, 2017

The Seiko Presage Cocktail Time

Seiko Finally Brings One of Its Most Coveted JDM Watches Stateside

By Andrew Connor | Photo by Hunter Kelley

To the vast majority of Americans, a Seiko wouldn’t raise much of an eyebrow. It’d be a nice watch, likely quartz. Something you’d pay, say, $200 for at Macy’s. But there’s a subset of watch nerds, the so-called “Seikoholics,” enlightened to the brand’s other side. Among the many reasons to be a Seikoholic — the low price, the mechanical movements, the unique designs and the robustness — there’s the unique phenomenon of the JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) Seiko. For many Seiko diehards, owning one outside of Japan adds to the allure.

Japan-exclusive products aren’t limited to Seiko. If you love cars, video games or menswear, you’ve likely uttered the boyish phrase, “Japan gets all the cool shit.” But as far as watches go, Seiko especially has kept its special models and sub-brands — many of them packing mechanical movements — within its homeland. In recent years, thanks to the internet, Seiko fans elsewhere have become privy to these JDM models, and thanks to their incessant begging, Seiko is finally releasing one of its most coveted JDM watches to the world: the Cocktail Time.

Created in 2010, the original Cocktail Time was the result of a collaboration with Ishigaki Shinobu, a prolific Japanese bartender and mixologist. As its name implies, the Cocktail Time was designed to invoke ritzy libations and the cosmopolitan bar scene. While its brilliant, shimming guilloche dial was able to capture that look, it managed to do something else: it turned the Cocktail Time into an unexpected and immediate hit.

Some dress watches are austere to the point of feeling dull, but the Cocktail Time feels alive.

Now, seven years on, the Cocktail Time is part of Seiko’s Presage line, which is new to the world market. Aside from a couple minor aesthetic touches — a new crown, some change in font on the dial — its the same watch that captured the hearts of enthusiasts seven years ago. That means its icy-blue sunray dial is carried over. Photos really don’t do justice to the way it catches the light from every angle. Some dress watches are austere to the point of feeling dull, but the Cocktail Time feels alive.

The hour indices and hands are sharp and beveled and blend with the guilloche dial’s aesthetic. At 40.5mm in diameter, the Cocktail Time is a great middling size for most wearers, and at 11.8mm thick, it’s relatively slim; much of that thickness comes from the domed crystal, so the watch feels even thinner than it really is. If there’s a point of contention with the Cocktail Time’s overall look, it’s that its strap feels too polished, a problem that can be easily solved with an aftermarket replacement made from a more subtle leather, suede or steel mesh.

Inside the watch ticks away Seiko’s 4R35 automatic movement. It is, in essence, a more evolved version of the movement used in the modern Seiko 5. That means it’s fairly simple and utilitarian-looking, something you’ll notice if you take a look through the Cocktail Time’s transparent case back. While it almost feels ironic such a decadent-looking watch has such an inornate movement inside, it does put the price at a relatively low $425.

At that price, there are a lot of dressy options that compete with the Cocktail Time, though it still stands on its own as something truly unique. That used to be, in part, because of its forbidden-fruit status, but even now that the Cocktail Time is freely available everywhere else in the world, it still feels exceedingly special thanks to its vivid design and distinct character. Like many other great Seiko designs, it leans into its idiosyncrasy in a way that truly sets it apart from anything else in its price range. No wonder Seiko finally started selling it worldwide — it’s just a shame it took so long.

Seiko brought back dive watch with a cult following and gave it an eye-catching new colorway. Read the Story

Follow Us

Bootstrapped and Independently Published in New ♥ York.

© Gear Patrol 2017. All rights reserved.

Hands-On The Seiko Presage Cocktail Time SRPB43

Another intoxicatingly excellent timepiece from the horological mixologists at Seiko.

The Seiko Presage Cocktail Time is a bit of a cult classic amongst Seiko enthusiasts. First launched in 2010, the Cocktail Time was created in partnership with Shinobu Ishigaki, who is one of the world's most highly regarded mixologists, and the proprietor of a bar in Shibuya district, Tokyo, known as Ishinohana Bar. Ishinohana Bar and Shinobu Ishigaki have been featured on Anthony Bourdain's series, "No Reservations," and his carefully made and elaborately garnished cocktails were the inspiration behind the original Cocktail Time watches, with their colorful sunburst dials. They came in three "flavors" – Cool, Dry, and a 300 piece limited edition Sweet model – used Seiko's automatic 6R15 movement, and quickly became cult favorites.

The Seiko Presage Cocktail Time SRPB43 is a re-release, and an update to, the original 2010 design.

The new Cocktail Time models just released this year are part of the Presage collection, which was launched by Seiko in 2016. There are a total of eight Cocktail Time models, using two movements: a time and date model, using Seiko caliber 4R35, and models using caliber 4R57, which has a central power reserve display. The model you see here is SRPB43, which has a light blue sunray dial, houses caliber 4R35, and comes in a 40.5mm x 11.8mm stainless steel case (part of the thickness is owing to the highly domed "box" crystal, which is part of the charm of the watch).

The design features the same brilliantly reflective sunray dial as in the 2010 original.

One look at the new Cocktail Time and you can immediately see why the originals were so popular. The dial is extremely eye-catching; the sunray engraving reflects light in every direction, and the quality of the hands and markers is excellent, in keeping with Seiko's habit of overdelivering on quality with those elements. The hour and minute hands are beveled, which gives the watch excellent legibility despite the rather busy background they have to contend with, and both the minute hand and the long, elegantly shaped blued steel seconds hand have gently radiused tips, which gives the watch a pleasingly anachronistic flavor (as does the domed crystal).

Two distinctive features are the large, easy-to-handle crown and the domed "box" crystal.

The caliber 4R35 is the latest in a long line of sturdy, reliable, entry level automatic calibers from Seiko.

Caliber 4R35 is part of the 4R family of movements which Seiko introduced in 2010 – these are a step up from Seiko's entry level 7S series of movements, and offer the ability to hand-wind, as well as a stop seconds function. Frequency is 21,600 vph, and 4R35 runs in 23 jewels, with a power reserve of 41 hours. As is typical of Seiko movements at this price point, finish is cleanly utilitarian and it looks exactly like what it is: a machine designed to function precisely and reliably, rather than an exercise in haute horlogerie finishing.

There are two schools of thought with respect to open casebacks at this price level; one is that as there is "nothing to see" – that is, no flourishes of hand finishing to speak of – a display back is unnecessary and even undesirable. The opposing viewpoint is that if you are going to produce a mid-entry level mechanical watch, part of the fun is being able to see the mechanism, and objecting to a display back is too much of an exercise in inside-baseball purism to be really relevant to the discussion, which is kind of how I feel about it. Besides, it offers an interesting look at both the engineering and aesthetic decision-making behind one of the Seiko's most widely produced in-house automatic movements.

Overall, one gets the same very positive impression from the new Cocktail Time as with the original version (I almost bought the original at Tokyo Narita airport in 2010, on the way home from a trip to Japan and didn't for some reason. I think I might have been distracted by a beer-pouring robot. Actually I know I was distracted by a beer-pouring robot) and as with many, many of Seiko's more affordably priced watches, it's hard to see any downside. Of course, individual tastes will vary and the Cocktail Time won't be for everyone – it has a definite air of slightly rakish after-dark glamor to it, but then again, it is a Cocktail Time watch, after all, and it's not as if Seiko doesn't make a plethora of highly regarded tool and every day watches if that's what you're after.

The Cocktail Time functions just fine as an every day dress watch but there's no doubt that it also carries with it a little bit of the sense of occasion from the inspiration of the original in the world of mixology. Think of it as a going-out watch. With its highly polished steel case, glossy leather strap, and of course, that brilliant sunburst dial, the Cocktail Time is for the gent or lady who wants a little punch in their punch, a little fizz with their gin; dare I say it, a little swizzle in their stick. Fun, well made, and yours for $425 bucks, the Cocktail Time is a surefire cure for the regret you might have at, I don't know, not having bought one of the originals in Tokyo in 2010 when you had the chance. Ask the man who knows.

Thread: Seiko SARB065 "Cocktail Time" - Photos Galore

Thread Tools
Search Thread
  • Linear Mode
  • Switch to Hybrid Mode
  • Switch to Threaded Mode

Seiko SARB065 "Cocktail Time" - Photos Galore

I first learned about the 6r15 movement about two years ago, and I started hunting for one of these higher grade Seikos that hack and hand-wind. My challenge was to find something at my preferred size - 40mm - that had a unique character. I liked some of the bigger tool and diver styles using the movement, but they looked too big for me. On the other hand, the more classic small dressy versions looked a bit humdrum. This "Cocktail Time" design stood out as something completely different. I lurked around auctions and the sales forum, waiting to find one pop up for under $500, because I'm basically a cheapskate at heart.

Seiko makes three versions of the "Cocktail Time", which are collaborations with the award winning bartender Mr. Ishigaki Shinobu. Each of the three designs are classified by flavor profile, like a drink. The SARB065 is the "Cool" flavor, with it's ice-blue sunburst dial. The SARB066 is "Dry" with spy-vs.spy style warped Roman numerals, white dial and yellow gold case; and the limited edition SARB068 is "Sweet" with rose-gold case and italic arabic font. Of the three, the 065 is my favorite, as I'm not a fan of the stylized numerals.

I am very impressed with the performance of the 6r15 movement. The watch gained about 15 seconds relative to atomic time during the 10 days that I was tracking. I have only a few mechanicals that run this accurately, two Sea-Gulls and an Orient. (Notice that they aren't my Swiss or German watches. ) The hand-winding feels smooth and crisp, and the seconds hand hacks cleanly. I would definitely recommend any watch with the 6r15 movement. I wonder why Seiko keeps most of these for Japanese domestic sales? It feels like a big step up from the 7s series.

Features include domed Hardlex crystal face and exhibition caseback, date at "3", 40mm case with 20mm lugs. Because of the domed crystal, the watch sits rather tall at 13mm, and has a surprising visual presence. The radial sunburst texture on the dial reflects light in very dynamic ways. A camera does a poor job of showing the bright flashy reflections that virtually resonate from this dial.

The supplied deployment strap has a high sheen finish, padded black oiled leather with blue stitching. Usually I don't like deployment straps because I have trouble getting my hand through the circle. (I must have thick hands or something.) But this particular deployment is one of only two that I own that I like. (The Stowa butterfly deployment is the only other one that I haven't swapped out for a standard tang buckle.)

The combination of shiny black strap with flashy guillochй dial borders on blingy, but balances that fine line with classy panache. It oozes a rat-pack tuxedo vibe, Mad Men in patent leather spats, martini-fueled power brokers with curvaceous attendants; a make-believe amalgam of Bond driving a Bugatti, playing Baccarat in Cannes.

In other words, it's a fantasy watch, plain and simple. Now, I just need to find more excuses to wear a tuxedo.

On with the photo gallery. Apologies for hogging bandwidth.

Re: Seiko SARB065 "Cocktail Time" - Photos Galore

Question: what's the very colourful image.under the watch in some of the pics?

Re: Seiko SARB065 "Cocktail Time" - Photos Galore

Question: what's the very colourful image.under the watch in some of the pics?

Re: Seiko SARB065 "Cocktail Time" - Photos Galore

Re: Seiko SARB065 "Cocktail Time" - Photos Galore

Re: Seiko SARB065 "Cocktail Time" - Photos Galore

Thanks, Olly! As a backdrop for some of the photos, I used two vinyl LP record covers (remember those silly things? They are out in the studio because I have a class to teach on Tuesday and I want these 20-somethings to hear what records sounded like.) The band is Jade Warrior, two albums "Kites" and "Waves", Island Records © 1976 and 1975. U.K. imports in fact, as was this lightly used watch, by way of Japan of course.

Wouldn't something like Chet Baker be more appropriate for the watch though? I can see some guy wearing it while sitting in a basement club watching Chet do his thing, sipping on a rusty nail and sucking on an untipped Gauloise.

Re: Seiko SARB065 "Cocktail Time" - Photos Galore

Re: Seiko SARB065 "Cocktail Time" - Photos Galore

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  • BB code is On
  • Smilies are On
  • [IMG] code is On
  • [VIDEO] code is On
  • HTML code is Off
  • Trackbacks are On
  • Pingbacks are On
  • Refbacks are On

Watchuseek recommends Chrono24, the largest watch marketplace on the Internet.

Copyright © 2017 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.

Search Engine Friendly URLs by vBSEO 3.6.0 PL2

vBulletin Security provided by vBSecurity v2.2.2 (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2017 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.

Super PM System provided by vBSuper_PM (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2017 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.

Watchuseek © - All other brands, trademarks and copyrights are property of their respective owners - All rights reserved

By registering an account and use of our forums you declare to have read and agreed to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

Kampai! – Two Seiko Cocktail Time Watches SRPB43J and SSA343J1

Since 2010, Seiko is offering these “cocktail time” watches that were clearly inspired by living the good life. First only for the Japanese market (also referred to as JDM sometimes, Japan Domestic Model) and since a couple of years also for the rest of the world to enjoy. It wasn’t until a few years ago that Michael Stockton told me about these Seiko Cocktail Time watches and since then I keep admiring them whenever I see one. The sunray pattern dials really stand out so they are easy to recognize. Not only the dial, but also the price point of these Seiko Cocktail Time watches from the Presage collection make it a very interesting contester in the sub 1000 Euro price range. Actually, I am a bit surprised I don’t see them more often.

Seiko Cocktail Time – Presage Collection

This year, Seiko introduced to us a couple more Cocktail Time Presage models and I will talk about two of them here. One three-hander, the Seiko Presage SRPB43J1 and the Seiko Presage SSA343J1 with a central-hand power reserve indicator and a pointer-hand date. Both have the typical Seiko Cocktail Time sunray dial, in blue. Seiko offers these Presage models also with different dial colors (such as creamy off-white and brown) as well as in different case colors (PVDed rose gold and yellow gold).

The Seiko Presage collection only became a worldwide collection since 2016, before that it wasn’t available on all markets. A great decision, as the Seiko Presage collection surely ticks a lot of boxes. We’ve reviewed their Seiko Presage SPB041J of last year here on Fratello. These new Seiko Cocktail Time watches are even more attractively priced than the SPB041J, that was closer to 1000 Euro list price. We are now talking both variations for that number.

Caliber 4R35 and 4R57

For these Seiko Cocktail Time watches, they used their 4R caliber movements. We know these movements from some of the other Seiko (Prospex) models for example and they do their job very well. Seiko made sure to use their Magic Lever, Spron alloy for their springs and Diashock protection system technology, even in this more affordable range of watches. It goes without saying that everything that Seiko does is being developed and produced in-house, as you can read in our Seiko factory visit report.

As you can see below, the 4R movements are work-horses. They don’t have the finish you see in more expensive watches (also from Seiko), but what do you expect for this kind of money? It is difficult to criticize these watches or movements for lack of optical finish. Normally I am not a fan of showing movements that don’t have a certain level of finishing, but I can also imagine that some of the targeted customers of these Presage Cocktail Time watches do like to have a display back. Especially those who are fairly new to mechanical watches will certainly appreciate and enjoy it.

The power reserve on both calibers is 41 hours and they tick at 21600vph. Both are also anti-magnetic up to 4800A/m.

Seiko Presage SRPB43J1

Let’s start with the three-hander – and thus cheapest – watch, the Seiko SRPB43J1. Although it is the most accessible watch of the two, I prefer it over the other one. Why? Well, I like dress watches to be as clean as possible and the patterned ice blue sunray dial is already drawing a lot of attention. However, I can also imagine that people love a power reserve indicator as a complication.

The Seiko Cocktail Time three-hand watch has a rich dial as you can see, with applied hour markers and a nice framed date aperture. More brands should do this, as it makes the contrast between date feature and dial a bit more pleasant. The dauphin hands are polished and the sleek second hand is blue. There’s the large applied Seiko logo at 12 o’clock and ‘Presage Automatic’ printed at 6 o’clock. In my opinion Seiko has been a bit too optimistic choosing a font size for the printing at 6 o’clock, but it isn’t really disturbing either.

Seiko’s Presage Cocktail Time diameters are 40.5mm for both versions. The thickness of the three-hands is 11.8mm, something you can easily wear under your cuff. However, at some point you might be rolling up your sleeves anyway in the bar. Seiko uses their Hardlex crystal instead of sapphire. To a lot of fans this is a bit of a bummer, but as we explained in this article, Hardlex is good enough for most of us. The price difference between sapphire and Hardlex is too big to really make a difference in terms of quality and characteristics. So Seiko is proud to use Hardlex on many of their watches and keep the price interesting for you, the customer.

As you can see on the images below, the 40.5mm stainless steel case has a polished finish and a ‘stepped’ bezel. The crown is signed “S” and is easy to operated.

The SRPB43J1 comes on a leather strap and has a folding buckle. There are also some Seiko Cocktail Time models that have a stainless steel bracelet. I am not really a fan of Seiko’s choice for leather straps (or bracelets), and in this case because they are way too shiny. That might be applicable for a cocktail bar, but to my taste they could have take it a few notches down with the lacquer.

Seiko’s Presage SRPB43J1 has a retail price of 410 Euro, including sales taxes. If you like this watch, it is a no-brainer really. This amount of money also leaves some room to put a more subtle strap on it.

Seiko Presage SSA343J1

The more fancy Seiko Cocktail Time is this reference SSA343J1. It has a lot of similarities with the three-hand version I discussed above, but comes with an additional power reserve indicator with central hand and instead of a date aperture it has a pointer date at 6 o’clock. It is a bit more ‘complicated’ piece than the three-hander. This also results in a slightly thicker case, of 14.5mm instead of 11.8mm. The caliber 4R57 has a couple of jewels more of course, but shows a lot of similarities with the 4R36. Case and crown are also similar to the SRPB43J.

As you can see on the picture above, the power reserve indicator takes a prominent place on the dial. Starting at a 10 o’clock position, you already see ‘Power Reserve’ written where the real scale (from Empty to 41 hours) start at 12 o’clock. A short hand, reminding me of these GMT hands on some watches, point towards the remaining hours of energy of your watch. At 6 o’clock, you will find a nicely done lacquered blue date disc, with a small hand to indicate the current date. This means that Seiko also had to move the “Presage Automatic” writing to 12 o’clock. Somehow, where I criticized the font for being a bit too big, it looks OK just below the applied Seiko logo. I might have preferred this position for the model name and ‘automatic’ as well on the three-hand version.

The Seiko SSA343J1 also comes on this shiny leather strap with folding buckle. Again, not a fan but yet for 540 Euro list price, you can get you a more toned down one for a few Euros.

Some Thoughts on the Seiko Cocktail Time Watches

It might occur to you that I think these watches are an absolute bargain, but I also understand that 410 Euro and 540 Euro is still a lot of money for a watch to many people. So all in perspective, I think that if you fancy the Seiko Cocktail Time, these SRPB43J1 and SSA343J1 from the Presage collection are truly worth investigating a bit more. This money will also buy you a watch from a design brand or a mechanical watch from a microbrand, but to be dead honest with you, Seiko is producing on such a large scale, that it is almost unthinkable that those watches will match the quality and built of these Presage pieces. These watches will last for decades, and servicing the 4R movements is very affordable (which you really should do after a couple of years). These Presage pieces might also be your first step into the world of Seiko (and mechanical watches) and pave the way for eventually something more valuable (such as a Grand Seiko for example).

Share this:

Related posts:

Robert-Jan Broer, born in 1977, watch collector and author on watches for over a decade. Founder of Fratello Watches in 2004.

Nice review RJ! Seiko really do offer a lot of watch for the money. A subdued croc strap would really make these watches stand out. The 3 hander would be my pick not only for the cleaner dial but also the thinner case. 14.5mm is just too thick for a dress watch and would be a non-starter for me.

Weekly Newsletter

Robert-Jan Broer

Robert-Jan Broer, born in 1977, watch collector and author on watches for over a decade. Founder of Fratello Watches in 2004.

From the cocktail bar to your wrist.

The new Presage collection, inspired by the glamour of the cocktail bar.

Back in 2010, a Seiko mechanical watch inspired by the glamour of the cocktail bar and designed especially for the Japanese market started to attract attention on the world's watch blogs, forums and websites. In the months and years that followed, the watch became famous and it has come to be coveted by Seiko fans all over the world. Today, we offer a series in our all- mechanical Presage collection that is based on this watch. In so doing, we bow delightedly to the wishes of Seiko enthusiasts, and we raise our grateful cocktail glasses to them all.

Presage. A global success after just one year.

It was at Baselworld 2016 that Seiko announced the international launch of the Presage collection. In just twelve short months, Presage has established an important position in the hearts and minds of lovers of fine watchmaking in many markets of the world, thanks to the diversity of its designs, its outstanding value for money and the wide range of calibers from the accessible 4R through 6R to the exclusive 8R. Presage brings together several of Seiko's most important advances in mechanical watchmaking, including the Magic Lever, the unique and highly durable Spron alloys used in the springs and the Diashock protection system. At the heart of every Presage watch are the benefits of over a century of watchmaking and of an entirely in-house manufacture. Presage is fine mechanical watchmaking, from Japan.

Manhattan, Martini or Margarita? The choice is yours.

There are eight models in the collection, each inspired by a different cocktail and each with its own color scheme. All will be available from June 2017. Two different calibers are used; 4R35 offers the slimness and simplicity of a three hand layout while, in addition, 4R57 offers a center power reserve indicator. All eight creations share the subtle design accents that made the original model so celebrated. The sunray dials all have a deep, pressed pattern whose shimmering beauty is enhanced by seven layers of gloss finish and the clarity of the box-shaped crystals. The hands are delicately curved by skilled craftsmen and women to give the watch case a slimmer profile. When turning the uniquely shaped crown, you can feel the strong torque of the winding mechanism.

The high quality of Presage meets the charm of a design inspired by the delight of a good cocktail. As we say in Japan, "Kampai."

Automatic with center power reserve indicator: SSA341, 343, 345, 346

Power reserve: 41 hours

Number of jewels: 29 Specifications Stainless steel case

Box-shaped Hardlex crystal

Screw see-through case back

Diameter: 40.5mm, Thickness: 14.5mm

Water resistance: 5 bar

Magnetic resistance: 4,800 A/m

Stainless steel bracelet with deployment clasp with push button release (SSA341)

Calf strap with three-fold clasp with push button release (SSA343, 345, 346) Approximate recommended retail prices in Europe: from 540 Euro

Automatic: SRPB41, 43, 44, 46

Power reserve: 41 hours

Number of jewels: 23 Specifications Stainless steel case

Box-shaped Hardlex crystal

Screw see-through case back

Diameter: 40.5mm, Thickness: 11.8mm

Water resistance: 5 bar

Magnetic resistance: 4,800 A/m

Stainless steel bracelet with deployment clasp with push button release (SRPB41)

Calf strap with three-fold clasp with push button release (SRPB43, 44, 46) Approximate recommended retail prices in Europe: from 410 Euro

Seiko cocktail time

Categories

Seiko SARB065 Mechanical Cocktail Time

Add to Wish List

Product Description

Price down now on this Seiko Cocktail Time SARB065j that designed by Mr. Shinobu Ishigaki and features Hardlex glass, 23 jewels, 6R15 movement, with leather band. This Seiko SARB065 is a JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) watch model and it's now in our stock - ready to ship within 48 hours to any country. So buy now before it’s too late!

We are Top Rated Seller since 2009. Buy with confidence or feel free to review our daily customers’ feedback at; Ebay Site

This Seiko Cocktail Time SARB065 also can be purchased from our Ebay Auction

  • Model # SARB065
  • Hardlex crystal
  • Analog Display
  • One push three fold clasp
  • Stainless Steel Case Material
  • 1.30 mm Case Thickness
  • Leather Band
  • 20 mm Band width
  • Silver Blue Dial Color
  • Blue needle
  • Date Display Calendar
  • Water Resistance 50 m (5 ATM)
  • Automatic Movement (with manual winding)
  • Designed by Mr. Shinobu Ishigaki

Warranty Information

Sales Conditions (International Buyer - MUST READ)

Find Similar Products by Tag

Find Similar Products by Category

Vendors Other Products

Product Reviews

Showing reviews 1-30 of 31 | Next

Excellent

Posted by Giorgi on 18th Nov 2017

Excellent watch, good service, thank you shoppinginjapan.net.

Beautiful watch and quick delivery

Posted by Ronald on 30th Oct 2017

Easy to do business with Shopping in Japan. Arrived within a week in Europe after ordering. Securely packaged and with all booklets, warranty card and hangtags included. I prefer the JDM ‘cocktail’ over the recently introduced Presage version as it has a better movement and also - in my opinion, a nicer dial.

Great watch and service

Posted by Unknown on 6th Aug 2017

Very pleased with SARB065. Looks great, love wearing it and I think keeps very good time. Haven't exactly checked it, but must be within a few seconds a day.

Also great service. Arrived in NZ within a week.

A beautiful watch

Posted by Richard A Maddicks on 13th Jul 2017

A beautiful watch I will one day leave to son. Excellent service I look forward to next purchase the Sarb033 quality watches at affordable prices.

Great watch, smooth operation and excellent accuracy

Posted by Unknown on 3rd Jul 2017

Shopping in Japan provided great service, quick delivery from across the globe. The watch completely met my expectations. With the right band. a watch for all occasions.

Amazing Watch, Amazing Service

Posted by William Drake on 29th Jun 2017

The watch arrived with lots of protective packaging which was great! The delivery time to AUS was fast as well. The watch came with everything original including the Seiko box. Everything was stunning. Sara's customer service was next level. Definitely shopping with Shopping In Japan in the future!

Excellent watch & excellent service

Posted by Unknown on 8th Jun 2017

This Seiko SARB065 is a beautiful classic timepiece that exceeded my expectations. It is even better looking then the photos show. The strap is on the stiff side but it's getting more comfortable. Shoppinginjapan.net offered prompt and personal service. This was my 1st (but certainly not last) purchase with the company. I highly recommend the services of Shoppinginjapan.net

Stunning watch

Posted by Jonathan on 7th Jun 2017

I ordered the Seiko Sarb065 as a gift for my dad. When it arrived I decided to keep it. It's a very classic and beautiful time piece. The dial is amazing. Add that to the craftsmanship of the case and the fit and you have a collectible piece that will last you a lifetime. I'm so happy with this beautiful watch.

beautifull watch with stunning dial!

Posted by Jeroen on 3rd Mar 2017

Great watch with a stunning dial! Not too sure about the strap yet.. It is a real dress watch, better with a suit then jeans.

prompt service but no escape to duty tax..

Posted by tony on 22nd Dec 2016

it's an very beautiful watch who satisfy me.

She tooks 6 days for arrived in france and i'm very happy for that service! but there is always a "but".. she arrive with duty tax but it was notified in the order..

Highly recommended both Seiko Cocktail Time and Shopping in Japan.

Great service n great product

Posted by Henry on 19th Dec 2016

No wonder people call it Poor Man's Grand Seiko.

The service is great but it took 2 weeks to get to my doorstep, but it's not SIJ mistake after I track the shipments, it's all because the process in customs.

Even more amazing in person!

Posted by Dave G on 26th Jun 2016

The SARB065 looks beautiful in the pictures, but I assure you it's even more so in person. While the stock strap leaves something to be desired, the watch itself looks and feels like something that should cost 2x to 3x more. I know it's been said before, but anyone looking for an affordable but amazing looking dress watch should try the SARB065.

Fantastic

Posted by Paul G on 10th Nov 2015

Very happy with how the watch looks, the service from Mina and shoppinginjapan was exceptional (I had quite a few questions before purchasing).

This is my second purchase from shoppinginjapan and I would use again.

Beautiful watch !

Posted by abbas on 5th Nov 2015

Great watch with beautiful sunburst dial.

Dial gives 03 shades at certain angles: light blue. Grey & white.

prompt service, very nice watch

Posted by Gregory on 14th Sep 2015

The Seiko Cocktail was dispatched almost immediately and arrived less than a week later in Germany. Customs required 19% MwSt and 80c Zoll. I'm very happy with the watch - it looks great and runs precisely.

Great service great watch.

Posted by Paul Clayton on 13th Jul 2015

The seiko 065 cocktail is an extremely beautiful watch!.

I'm very pleased with the watch and Mina answered any questions I had in a flash ,she is a very professional kind woman.

The customer service has been first class .The watch came and was well packed with instructions and in a very nice seiko box.

I will be using shoppinginjapan in the near future.

Beautiful watch and great service from SIP

Posted by K.R. on 19th May 2015

This watch gets positive comments from even the most jaded of watch snobs and collectors. Wish I bought the 065 sooner!!

Great watch, not so great strap

Posted by Patrick on 16th May 2015

The watch has the good movement 6R15 and is very well made. You can't ask for more for this price. The dial is not as blue as the pictures in catalogues may suggest, it's actually more grey.

My only complaint is the strap. The colour suits the watch very well, but I found it way too stiff and - in my case - too short. I bought a different one (longer, softer) and now I'm really happy.

Amazing watch, amazing service.

Posted by Unknown on 7th May 2015

First of all, I'm very happy with my shopping experience with shoppinginjapan. Placing the order was easy, handling and shipping was quick, and the watch arrived in less than a week.

As for the watch itself, the real thing looks even better than the pictures. The details of the dial are amazing, and the strap is very good quality, with the blue stitching standing out without compromising elegance. The movement is quite precise too, gaining or losing just a few seconds per day.

Bottom line: I'm completely satisfied!

A very happy costumer

Posted by Dusan on 2nd Apr 2015

Very good service.

Good service & nice watch

Posted by Keith on 31st Mar 2015

I have been looking for this watch all around Internet and I finally decided shoppinginjapan as my first option. They not only provide me with genuine brand-new watch, but also world-class and prompt service. would recommend my other friends to come here again.

Beautiful watch

Posted by Unknown on 25th Jan 2015

No surprise. As beautiful as in the pictures. Easy and comfortable to wear. Great deal and product.

Dealing with Shoppinginjapan was very simple and cheaper at the end. Thank you

Great product

Posted by Unknown on 18th Dec 2014

Arrived in mint condition. The watch is self is a real beauty. The dial has bluish shine to it which you notice immediately when you pick it up. Just oozes of quality and craftsmanship. I think it will follow me for many years to come.

WHAT TIME IS IT ?

Posted by ScottyB on 21st Nov 2014

It's Cocktail time . SEIKO SARBO65 COCKTAIL

Fantastic shopping experience

Posted by Zi on 19th Aug 2014

Watch arrived within 5 days of purchase (over a weekend) and I never to expect it to arrive any sooner. When I humbly opened the package and took the first look: It is well wrapped with the receipt and a $20 shopping coupon, along with the watch box. There is no more words needed for describing the watch, it looks exactly the same as it shows in the photos above. A great watch considering its quality and price range. First time doing business with Shoppinginjapan.net, you really amazes me how well and efficient the way you taking care of your work. Thank you and I am pleasant to have you for future business.

Cocktail every time

Posted by Ulrich on 8th Apr 2014

When I first saw the Seiko Cocktail Time, I fell in love with it - and so I was very nervous, if the watch would really look like, as all the other buyers had described it. It is much better: The blueish display reflects the colors different in every angle, the design is excellent, accuracy impressive. I was looking for a new Seiko (I own already a lot, mostly Seiko 5 automatics) to wear it at special events, and the SARB065 fullfills this "job" perfect. Also perfect was the service of "Shopping in Japan" - never bought something in Asia before, but it's so easy! And with very low extra costs (0,80 Euro for customs, 69 Euro VAT) this super-watch is quite a bargain. Shopping in Japan again? Yes, but only with "Shopping in Japan"!

excellent!

Posted by Aleksey on 22nd Jan 2014

Very fast delivery in Russia! Excellent watch. Be sure to take in your collection while they are still in stock!

Superb watch and great service!

Posted by Phil Rogers on 18th Oct 2013

Watch arrived in perfect order and well packaged. The watch is fantastic and looks better in real life than the photos! It is very well made and classy. I love the exhibition back as you can see the internal workings. I would definitely do business with 'Shopping In Japan' again, good company to deal with and competitive pricing - thankyou! :)

Fantastic watch and service from Shopping in Japan

Posted by Rob Alexander on 27th Aug 2013

Very happy day today when my new SARB065 arrived. It is a great looking watch, stunning & very elegant, a great dress watch.

The dial is gorgeous, changing with the light and typical Seiko attention to detail.

I will definitely purchase again from Shopping in Japan, great company to deal with, easy transaction and trustworthy.

Customer service is probably the best I have come across, fast feedback and I was kept up to date with my order at all times.

Excellent watch excellent service !

Posted by Hidayet Savas on 18th Jul 2013

Dears thank you very much. Now I have my SARB065 on my wrist. It is simply stunning elegant look and it gives the impression that you look to a different watch everytime with change of the light coming on it.

I have no doubt whatsoever to purchase again from Shopping in Japan it is so simple and trustworthy. Excellent customer service and fast feedback when requested.

Seiko Presage SSA & SRPB ‘Cocktail Time’ Watches For 2017

For Seiko fans, the Seiko SARB065 “Cocktail Time” watch, released a few years ago and sold only in Japan, is something of a legend. If you were looking for a dressy watch that wouldn’t leave a big hole in your wallet, it would certainly be easy to recommend. Recognizing the popularity of this watch, Seiko has decided to come up with no fewer than eight new Seiko Presage SSA & SRPB “Cocktail Time” watch models that closely mirror the older SARB065 with its deeply sunburst-textured dial. Only this time, they reside in Seiko's Presage line.

As many popular Seiko models are "nicknamed by the public," these SARB watches were dubbed "Cocktail Time." They are dressy but not overly formal, and it is easy to imagine wearing such a watch in a drinks-after-work setting, even without knowing Seiko's stated inspiration for the designs. Apparently, the designs were based on cocktails created by Japanese bartender/mixologist Ishigaki Shinobu. These new watches share the same origin story, so we feel it is appropriate to also refer to them as the new Seiko Presage "Cocktail Time" watches.

The Presage collection was introduced to the international market in 2016 and seeks to offer affordable Japanese mechanical watchmaking to the rest of the world. So it makes sense for these eight new watches to join the Presage collection. The eight watches will fall broadly into two groups: the SRPB series which consists of simple three-hand watches with a date and the more complex SSA series which is made up of watches with a power reserve and date sub-dial. Let’s take a look at the SRPB series watches first.

There will be four new watches in the SRPB series, and the SRPB43, with its silvery blue sunburst dial, is the one is that is closest to the older SARB065. The case is mostly similar, except for the larger and more substantial crown. The case is made out of stainless steel, but Seiko will offer two variants that come with yellow and rose gold-plated cases. Case diameter is unchanged at 40.5mm, but case thickness has been slightly reduced from over 13mm to 11.8mm.

There have also been some tweaks to the dial beneath a "box-shaped" Hardlex crystal. First, the cursive “Automatic” text at 6 o’clock is gone. Now in its place is the Presage wordmark and “Automatic” in a stronger and more formal script. There are also new colors for the dial. Apart from the silvery-blue SRPB43, there are the SRPB41 in dark blue, SRPB44 in a cream dial and yellow gold case, and finally, the SRPB46 which has a brown dial and a rose gold case. The dark blue SRPB41 will be offered with a stainless steel bracelet, while the rest of the watches will come with leather straps.

The movement within is the 4R35, which is actually a bit of a downgrade considering that the SARB065 was equipped with the 6R15. Though both movements have mostly the same specifications - both beat at 3Hz, both hack and hand-wind, and both feature similar finishing - the 6R15 offers a longer power reserve of 50 hours (as opposed to the 41 hours of the 4R35) and is built using better materials. The movement is visible through a Hardlex crystal display case back.

While the Seiko Presage SRPB43 with its silvery-blue dial is likely going to be the most popular model of the foursome, I’m personally most intrigued by the Seiko Presage SRPB46. Its combination of the unusual mocha-colored dial and rose gold case looks interesting and I’m looking forward to seeing the watch in person.

The SSA series will also see the introduction of four new models. Like the SRPB series, these watches will feature a dial that has a sunburst finish. Case diameter is identical at 40.5mm, but the SSA is slightly thicker at 14.5mm because of the added complexity of its movement.

The movement of the SSA series watches is thicker because of its power reserve indicator. The power reserve indicator stretches across the dial from 12 to around 4 o’clock. This puts off the symmetry of the dial a little but, based on the press photos that I’m looking at, it doesn’t seem all that bad unless you are an absolute stickler for symmetry. At 6 o’clock, you have a date sub-dial that adds to the dial's sense of depth and has a texture that contrasts in a neat way with the rest of the sunburst finish. The hands and hour markers are rendered in the same faceted style as the SRPB series.

The SSA series consists of the Seiko Presage SSA341, which has a cream dial and comes with a stainless steel bracelet; the Seiko Presage SSA343, which has a silvery-blue dial; the Seiko Presage SSA345, which has what looks like an onyx-like dial; and finally the Seiko Presage SSA346, which has a pinkish dial and a rose gold case. My pick is the SSA345, which has a black dial that looks quite different (at least from press photos) from most other black dial watches that I have seen. The SSA345 is the one that I am most looking forward to seeing in the flesh.

The Seiko Presage SSA series watches are powered by the 4R57, which is thicker than the 4R35, hence the added thickness of the SSA series watches. It beats at 3Hz and offers a power reserve of 41 hours. It can also be hacked and hand wound. The movement can also be viewed through a Hardlex display case back.

The best thing about these new Presage watches, however, is the price. Prices will begin at under $500, which represents tremendous value for what you get. Seiko watches are often very well crafted for their price and these watches look extremely well-designed. Watches in the Seiko Presage SRPB series will be priced between $425 and $495. The slightly more complex watches in the Seiko Presage SSA series will see prices at around $475 to $525. If you are looking for a dressier watch that doesn’t break the bank, these watches should be high on your list for consideration. seikowatches.com

Watch Brands

I like the white face with the date dial. Will Get if I see it.

That’s very cool indeed – though I’m not sure I want to see a portion of the 4R35 movement on the dial side through an open-heart cut-out. What I do love is that there’s no date and that it’s a black dial – something they’ve done only with the SSA model noted in the article (and that power reserve complication, frankly, clutters the dial in a rather unattractive way). Where did you learn of this one, and might there be additional limited edition versions?

Well, let us hope that there will be a clean model, like this, without day, date, pr or any other complication. 😀

Frankly, I think it’d be a real winner to have such a clean model – even more so if they could give it a domed sapphire crystal and 100m WR. I’d even pay a little more – without hesitation.

And with the equivalent of 6R15 inside? xD

Naturally ;-). Although I realize my prior suggestion of a domed sapphire crystal would add some cost, since it’d have to be very domed to have the right look.

” Seiko presage “, that folks is what you call an oxymoron.

Didn’t see that one coming.

I do not get it. Does the word “Seiko” have a meaning?

Actually Skip. keep this to yourself but when i read it ( without my glasses ) i thought i read the words Seiko prestage. hense the oxymoron comment.

It looks better than the Grand Seiko’s and Seiko Grand Seikos.

I really like the power reserve model. Shame the text for the power reserve was not a bit more subtle and discreet. But a very good looking watch even if it is very thick.

Don’t know much about Seikos but are the 4r movements similar to the ETA 2824 or cheaper?

Shame there’s no picture of the back.

Looked everywhere, can’t find a back shot which is really annoying, especially when it’s mentioned. Why would they bring out a watch and not show you the back ?

Here’s a shot of the 4R35 (nothing special of course given the price) – albeit in a different watch (the Seiko Prospex Field Watch – SBDY003) :-

How dull , makes you wonder why they bothered.

I bought an original Cocktail for my ex-BIL who liked watches, but wasn’t a watch fan, per se. That movement wasn’t much better decorated, and he loved looking at it. He didn’t know about Geneva stripes or Anglage, he just knew that he loved being able to see the mechanism work.

For someone who hasn’t seen an open back before am sure Bill was super impressed to see it.

Other than a handful of Chinese watches, every watch movement under $1,000 looks boring. What is strange is that there are display casebacks at all for this price range. The Longines Master series is probably the least expensive watch with serious decoration.

Had a wee look around the Seagull site and not getting all snobby about it they do do some nice watches. How long they last is another matter.

What movement inspires you in a $400-500 watch?

It wouldn’t cost much more to make it a tad more interesting by brushing the metal in different directions or a little machine cut decoration. ……………come on , work harder team !

Not all have the available funds (>US$1K?) to spend, and perhaps some (such as I) simply enjoywatching a reasonably finished mechanical movement (such as the 7S25 in my older Seiko 5) whirring away.

Price. This is not an expensive watch. The only pretty movements in this price range are from China (Sea Gull chrono is shockingly good).

Thanks. Is the 4r the movement in a Seiko 5?

No, they use the 7s series movements.

Some (more recent) Seiko 5s now have the 4R36 movement.

Thanks for the update. I wasn’t aware. Mine from a few years back has a 7s26.

I have to say two of the most important aspects of reviewing a watch by picture alone is a real handicap for both wearability and the way the tight plays on the dial, and with this model that must be really nice

I have the original Cocktail Time with the 6R movement. The watch is gorgeous but the movement is nothing special and the timing is all over the place…nowhere near the reliability of a 2824. The fact that they’ve downgraded the new variants to the 4R is a retrograde step and smacks of penny pinching (uncharacteristic for Seiko). Shame…

The ETA 2824 is WAY better. They are not comparable. I like the 6r15 movement, but the ETA 2824 is still better. Actually, those ETA movements are pretty much awesome.

I have to admit, I’ve been waiting for the SRPB46 since I saw a wrist shot of it from BaselWorld taken by Fratello. The whisky color really plays with the light. I’ve been counting down to the July release since I saw it!

Have to say two of the most important aspects of reviewing a watch by picture alone is a real handicap for both wearability and the way the tight plays on the dial, and with this model that must be really nice.

Ray, you are right. That being said, Kenny did a real good job with the article, in my humble opinion. I read the first review from Basel, then read the press release that Seiko e-mailed me. Between the pictures online and the specs in the release, I get more of an idea how it would fit my wrist. But, nothing replaces trying it on for yourself.

The dials on the Cocktail Time punch so far above their weight class it’s ridiculous. That mocha color dial model has me hankering for a Scotch “neat” right about now.

Agreed. I bought a Cocktail Time for $325. The finishing on the dial makes it look like a much more expensive watch. Seiko does amazing dial work across all of their lines.

I do love the look of these – even though the cases are pretty plain. That’s a very good price you paid.

I love LOVE that dial, too, but don’t really want to get a gold plated case. What to do? (Maybe settle for the original.)

Check out the Brightz models. They come in black dial or white dial with the same effect. They also come on a surprisingly good bracelet.

I appreciate that suggestion very much; indeed, I’ve been thinking about the sdgm 003 for some time. Do you own one – or have you at least tried one on? I suspect that I’d like it, but might not love it, since it has a kind of modern dress watch sensibility, lacking in the vintage-y charm of these “cocktail time” designs. For example, it appears that these Brightz models, while quite lovely, have flat crystals and the chapter rings (rehaut?) are not quite to my tastes, for example. But I’d certainly value any feedback you can provide on what they’re like on the wrist. (And yes, I gather they’re very well finished at their price point.)

Those power reserve models look amazing, but the case thickness is an absolute deal breaker.

Stunning and great prices… but Hardlex, Seiko – why? Astonish the world and use sapphire.

Yeah – that’s my main gripe too.

Considering that these are not supposed to be everyday beater watches, I think the hardlex glass is fine. In a typical situation where you’d be wearing these, I don’t think you’re in much of a danger of bumping them into something or scratching them. I suppose they wanted to distribute the budget onto other things.

I banged pretty hard on mine a few days ago… closing the rear hatch of a rental car. Just a very different geometry than I was used to. Fortunately, my shirt cuff took the brunt and I don’t see a mark, but THAT is why you want a very tough crystal.

Seiko’s argument is that the Hardlex is tougher to scratch but offers less glare under water. I can attest to some of that logic having been diving with my orange monster. I also have a Prospex 777 where I’ve put a double domed aftermarket quality sapphire crystal in place of the original Hardlex. Underwater, the look is different, and I would argue that The Hardlex might get the nod for underwater clarity, and certainly can take more of a beating. Above water the, no comparison, the sapphire wins everytime…

Kudos for actually getting your watches wet. As for the Seikos here on review, I think they’re not really intended for going swimming. Wish that they were, but these are dressier pieces after all.

It is the doming. That would cost too much with Sapphire. A sapphire would need to be flat, or have a modest dome. Most highly-domed crystals are hesalite.

Although I am not a fan of Seiko, some of these look pretty good. Clean & classic dials with some cool colors. The bracelet is not an option for me at all – MUST be on the strap.

They should offer the blue dial & the brown “Vignette” style dial on the power reserve models.

The price is acceptable for a Seiko.

I love the one with the blue dial. On a blue leather strap, it would have been perfect.

You can take off the bracelet and put on a blue strap. I’m tempted to do just that – since that would give it a very different look. But first I have to decide whether to get that version or a different one – maybe the original.

I’d rather spend that money on actual cocktails than wasting on Seikos.

Yeah? That’s fine with me… obviously you don’t know much on the subject.

Of watches or cocktails?

Jazz and cocktails

Where did jazz enter the picture (unless you’re thinking of Hamilton’s Jazzmasters)?

It’s a line from a jazz standard, “Lush Life,” THE definitive version of which is by, of course, John Coltrane (with Johnny Hartman)

And that’s Coltrane the musician and not the Oris watch tribute piece 😉

On Seiko watches.

Really? Still going up and calling the brand of coconut rum in your daquiri? Still think you’re looking cool when you belly up and order a Redneck, specifying it be made with GENUINE Bud, Jack and Southern Comfort?

Why the antipathy towards Seiko?

That’s because you’re an alcoholic.

So true, it is like driving a car that is not a Ferrari, or wearing clothing that is not hand-made in Italy. It reminds me of the useless peasants who waste their time with jobs that pay less than a million dollars. I mean, why even bother working then?

I mean seriously, it is bad enough that people like us are forced to allow minorities to have cocktails in the same clubs as we belong to. Why can’t we at least ban minorities and poor people from wearing watches at all? They need to get back into their loin cloths and return to the servitude which their station demands. Good men such as IG know this.

What’s up with that little “31” on the SSA series date dial? It’s like the designer got around to the end of the scale and said, “oh crap…”

That’s in my opinion a better and more clever design solution than the typical stick-31-to-1 that ends up looking like 311 with bad kerning. An example of how weird this looks you can see in a lot of even very expensive watches, like this JLC: http://cdn2.jomashop.com/media/catalog/product/j/a/jaeger-lecoultre-ultra-thin-reserve-de-marche-automatic-men_s-watch-q1378420.jpg

What they did in the Seikos creates a visually more pleasant spacing between 31 and 1.

I always felt this way, especially because in Chicago “311” is what you dial for non-emergency government services, like to report stray cats or rat infestation.

This series has most of the trends which I hold against the brand lately, There are the cluttered and mostly useless fractional seconds tick marks. Oh, and the word “Automatic” on the dial. Sure a lot of brands do it, but it’s tacky looking and unnecessary. And all the fake gold case materials a poseur could ask for? Check! And now, just like the Prospex line, we get the stupid dial marked with the word Presage. Not a fan!

a sign or warning that something, typically something bad, will happen; an omen or portent. “the fever was a somber presage of his final illness”

“typically something bad”… you’re wrong. There is nothing negative in this term.

Yes, that’s what I get for trusting google searches for definitions, I suppose. It doesn’t change my opinion however. I will not purchase a watch with “presage” printed on the dial, nor will I purchase Charmin toilet paper. Them’s my foibles.

Many people hate the second marks on Seiko watches, but they pretty much all have them. I know it seems silly, but Japanese people need that kind of thing. I agree that they serve little purpose (so does the seconds hand), but if you want a Seiko you must learn to live with it, or mod your dial. There are many Seiko 5 mods, but I am not aware of any Presage line mods yet.

You are not taking much of a risk at these prices so if the Seikos float your boat then go for it.

it is hard to start bickering about things when for roughly 450 bucks you get a brand spanking new watch that is well made, robust and elegant.

Seiko has way too many lines. They spun off Grand Seiko when they already had Credor as a high end brand. Now there’s Presage?

In business terms, they are trying to reach all segments of the watch market. They have the 5 series (dirt cheap/ gateway drug), then the PROSPEX, PRESAGE, GS, CREDOR. Other offers from the likes of LVMH, Richemont, Swatch Group, etc. are also split in different brands for different segments of the market:

(and I don’t see a riot from this…)

Swatch has different subsidiary companies with different people managing them and housed in different facilities. Seiko builds all their stuff from the same factories with the same people.

You’re splitting hairs. Their artisan studio, for example, are not the same people than the one that work with quartz. They are a big company, vertically integrated, that instead of being applauded are criticized, so what? Rolex is also vertically integrated, have their own foundry, gem department, etc etc, etc. (and I don’t see a riot over this either)

Bottom line is: they do their homework. All of it. With different degrees of complexity. Other brands simply re-case an ebauche and sell for way more money than their Seiko counterparts. Watch slobs.

Many watch brands were better and better priced when they simply used ETA movements. The worst thing that has happened to the Swiss industry is this obsession with in-house movements. Breitling and Bell and Ross should not have in-house movements. It is a waste of time. Tudor should not have an in-house movement. These silly adventures do nothing to add value and only add cost. I love ETA movements. They are good quality, reliable and easy to service. Screw in house. It is a waste of time and money for any watch under $10,000.

At the prices they charge, B&R and Breathing really should have in-house movements. If we ignore the engineering side of watchmaking, then it’s a fashion contest, and unless we talk precious metals, there’s not much that would separate a ‘high end’ ETA-based (Miyota, Sellita, etc.) Swiss watch from a Michael Kors. Yes, finishing is important, and there is an artistic side, but there’s so much cost to be “justified” on the subject.

When engineering is out of the picture, then watch prices are all about snobbery, brand recognition, etc. that they are about actual horology.

When brands design their in-house movements it shows the actually understand how time is told… a possible study case could be Ressence, ETA-horkhorse-based, but adapted to tell time in their own language.

What makes a $10k ETA based “worth it”? (it’s a serious, non-sarcastic question)

Seiko has really been struggling as a business for their decades of existence. They need a brilliant business mind such as yours to stay afloat.

Dial them up. I know they’ve been waiting for your call.

Ummmmm…so don’t buy them all, maybe?

What do you care how many lines they have!

Well, there is Lorus, Ananta, Astron, King Seiko, Grand Seiko, Pulsar,…

Well, perhaps you have a point there, but I think the sub-lines like Presage or Prospex are fine. The full-blown other branding (Pulsar) does not make sense to me, save for ultra-luxury Credor (that Eichi II watch is pretty bad ass).

I like these watches, but I much prefer the SSA’s implementation of a date subdial. Pity about the power reserve as it destroys the symmetry. I could ordinarily forgive that but the reserve’s scale and nomenclature just look like they’re printed with no regard to aesthetics, and I dislike how the complication added thickness to the case. As well, the power reserve font doesn’t match the font of any other dial text. Bad, bad!

Make a mocha SSA and ditch the reserve and I’m all over it.

I wish they did the power reserve like they do on the Grand Seiko, with a simple little gauge at the 7:00/8:00. It is simply, elegant and useful. This one is just too large.

IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER WHEN HATING ON SEIKO: . They make their own movements. Under $500- in that range, other brands either do quartz or re-case some pedestrian ébauche clone…

No, it doesnt present “a tremendou value” if the thing is available only in japan. It presents an irrelevant provincial watch made with the assumption that a person will buy it only if he comes from the same country. By that logic it must be a sh*t watch.

I often dont concur with most run of the mill ‘watch community’ douchebags turning their nose up at seiko, just because it is seiko. It is also unfair seeing how often seiko has to be twice as good to get the same kind of respect as the traditional misogynistic douche-McGouche swiss brands. But whenever I see Japan-only seikos, i say fcuk you seiko, shove it up your whale-murdering ass, youre either too stupid too see the watch’s potential or too inconpenent to be able to market it outisde of your village territory. Either way wipe that Roman script of the dial, and stick with your crazy intergalactic voodoo lettering your target group can actually read.

Skip the meds today?

“stick with your local voodoo lettering”

Hm. Stupid *and* racist all at the same time. Good job, you… did it.

I would kill for a Seiko with Kanji script on it.

The Fentanyl mouth patch can fix you up in no time…

So much power in this comment! Lol

Well he does have a pic of one of the worst human beings on the planet as his avatar so what can you expect.

I don’t mind the power reserve indicator, but the addition of this date sub-dial goes against the elegance expected from the ssa34x. The srpb4x look better with less things displayed. IMHO anyway…

Why hate Seiko? Who else offers decent mechanical watches with in-house calibers for $400-500? The blue one would absolutely rock on brown round scale gator.

I really enjoy my original cocktail time, nice to see them evolving the line. I wonder if they’ll have ‘dent dial issues with these. The dials really are spectacular, and play with light in a a fantastic way.

Seiko come up with some nice watches then do something silly to a nice design by putting hardx Crystal faces or making Japan only; it makes Seiko hard to like because it’s so frustrating to try to get one of the Japan only models

I have more Japanese watches in my collection and I have swiss or German. And that is slowly changing .

Japanese domestic market pieces are not that hard to get, and more than a few models ultimately end up outside of Japan for sale.

Yes but from the grey Market which creates a whole new problem

Maybe you have never been ripped off by a gray shop I have out of New York

I haven’t, I know my sources…

Try Long Island Watches (I have bought a half dozen watches from them). I am also a huge fan of Seiya Japan. I have bought two watches from there (much higher price though) and they are fantastic.

I would avoid New York retail shops like the plague. They are mostly run by the Jewish mafia. Many of them launder drug money. If it is an authorized dealer, then you are okay, otherwise avoid NY jewelry and watch stores like you would avoid street gangs. There are numerous stories of these places selling fake products, franken watches, and all sorts of illegal activity. I know of one store that was busted for adding hundreds of dollars to credit card purchases minutes after people left.

The respected websites are good. I can personally vouch for Long Island Watches and Seiya Japan.

Thank you I have learned my lesson the shop that begins with j I will never deal with again I’m not the only one who bought supposedly new. it came with no warranty card, scratched and the purchase order said refurbished the ad said new. A buddy of mine bought a watch at the same time from them same problem they’re trying to charge him $45 to ship it back to them. I am a fan of the Japanese watches. Many moons ago when I started to collect watches the only thing available were the Japanese watches where I lived thanks for the advice

I have a SARB065 “Cocktail Time Cool” (the silver faced original one), which I purchased right after hearing about this replacement line.

Kenny does a great job describing them and most of the differences. For example, the difference in movement and the Presage print replacing the Automatic script. But there are other differences that, while subtle, make a big impact… For example, the SRPB43 has solid batons, the SARB065 batons are split at the inner edge of the racetrack. That may seem unnoticeable, but it makes for a really nice effect, and given the extra cost, I have to believe Shinobu Ishigaki designed that in intentionally.

Oddly, the lower-spec reduced-detail new watches cost more too. Although the reduced height would be nice.

One really cool think about the SARB065 is, I have a pretty good number of pretty cool watches, but the Cocktail gets attention in meetings and has resulted in several people stating they were going to get one. My green sunburst Swatch Sistem 51 gets some attention, but really isn’t meeting appropriate.

Nice selection. Nice price. Has anyone ever counted how many Seiko models exist? It must be in the many thousands by now.

Less than Invictas. 🙂

Great range and great value although no fan of the ‘gold’ and would prefer a sapphire crystal.

That dome would cost a small fortune in sapphire. I think hesalite would be more reasonable.

Beautiful dials and proven motors in a very slick package that a mere mortal can afford…

Dollar for dollar, no watch company can come close to what Seiko does.

I would argue Swatch Group often provides better value. Tissot has a 300 m dive watch with a ceramic bezel and sapphire crystal for $1,000 list /

$600 grey (that will cost well over $1,000 grey with Seiko) and a COSC silicon escapement dress watch for the same.

The Tissot Visodate, which I would argue is a nicer dress watch than the Cocktail Time (including in objective ways like a sapphire crystal), can be had in the $300s.

This is an interesting debate, and I know that brands like Tissot and Hamilton are putting out really good stuff.

The reason why I give the edge to Seiko is for one simple reason: finishing. At their price point, the finishing of a lot of Seiko watches is amazing. As a comp to the Tissot you mentioned, look at the Seiko Transocean, which has standard price of $1,200 and a street price of $800. For that, you get 200m of water resistance (200m vs. 300m makes no difference, given that nearly all of humanity will never reach levels of even 100m), a ceramic bezel, zaratsu finishing on the magnificent bracelet, a terrific handset and a dial that is comparable to Grand Seiko. No lower-level Swatch group watch can compete at similar price points on finishing. Or look at something like the Grand Cocktail watches. The dial work on there for a $600 watch is better than watches I’ve seen at 10 times the price.

Hamilton and Tissot make very nice watches; I’m particularly a fan of Hamilton. But there’s never any impressive finishing on them. Even when we get to the next level, such as Longines, they dial furniture finishing still leaves much to be desired. For example, I had a Longines Legend Diver No-Date before. It was terrifically designed watch, but the dial was mediocre, and the handset is just plain awful. Seiko is never guilty of something like that at the $2k plus — or even $500 plus — price point.

I know the COSC certification is important to a lot of people, and that’s fine, but it’s something that I never consider in any of my watch purchases. Several seconds a day make no difference to me, particularly because I rarely will wear the same watch for more than two or three days in a row.

Automatic chronographs are an entirely different story. You can pick up the Seiko Presage chronos for $2k, and they’re much more technically sophisticated than the 7750s in a Hamilton, for example.

I can’t find a Transocean under $1,200 except for an ugly white dial version, so it is a twice as expensive watch. And not having the date at exactly 4:30 (to avoid having to use a custom date wheel) is chintzy at that price. Also 45 mm is way big. But I agree Tissot saves its money on the dials.

I bought my Transocean for $800 from an AD, but I’ve dealt with the AD a few times, so perhaps that’s why I was able to get it at that price.

45mm is way too big, which is why I ultimately had to sell the watch, bu the build quality and finishing were exceptional.

The 5100 is only available in vintage movements. That’s not a fair comparison. You’re not going to get most new Longines chronos at a $2k price point. And are the Longines chronos actually better than comparably priced Seikos? Design-wise, I would say that Longines has a strong edge, but that edge is equally strong for Seiko in terms of finishing with those awesome enamel or lacquer dials.

A lot of the cheap Tissot chronographs are actually Lemania 5100 based (and I believe some of the other brands, and a Swatch that was out a couple years ago that I have), but they got rid of the 24 hour day night indicator and moved the minute counter to a subdial.

For Longines vs. Seiko chronographs they both have column wheels and 3-6-9 layouts so it comes down to whether the integrated design of the Longines is truly better than the modular design of the Seiko with a separate chronograph module.

I can agree that Hamilton has some first-rate watches, but Tissot watches all feel off to me. The just seem wrong. I cannot explain why, but they never feel worth the money. I would say that Stowa, Laco, Junghans, and Junkers all make great German watches for under $1,000. Aristo is another one. These are some great watches for the money that have something different from Seiko.

What some Seiko Presage models do have is a certain elegance for the price. I have a SARB035 that I took off the bracelet and put on a nice alligator. It looks like far more than a $330 watch. Similarly, the SARX033 not only has true blued hands, but a shockingly nice bracelet for a $700 watch. One other watch that I am dying to try is the Sum/blumo. I have never handled the watch, so I cannot comment yet, but from photos it looks rather nice for $500.

There are great intro Swiss watches, but Seiko has its gems.

In my modest opinion, this is ALMOST true and TECHNICALLY completely true. Why?

Because the brand, that is even more appealing (or maybe completely equal to a certain – quite large group of customers, I’d argue – like me), is ORIENT – though much smaller, with limited models and price range, which is much smaller to choose from.

And Seiko owns ORIENT, but has let them all the freedom, to design watches and build movements in-house, as they did before.

It seems like a perfect synergy. Seiko decided to give Orient the ‘freedom’ it needs to stay a recognizable and very quality brand in this price range and Orient on the other hand profited also with all the experience and knowledge from Seiko coming to them.

Power reserve is a stupid fake complication that Seiko is better than.

There is no reason for it on an automatic watch, and on a hand wind watch it can go on the back.

Want 4 hands coming out of the center of the watch? Make it a GMT.

Not a fake complication at all and I find it really useful.

My watch will not last from Friday night to Monday morning, so over the weekend I can see how much power is left and wind it up.

In a way the power reserve is just as important for autos as manuals.

I guess with an automatic three hand plus quick set date watch I would rather just reset it on Monday than check on it over the weekend.

And the point still stands that the power reserve can go on the back instead of the front.

This is not a a critique specific to Seiko. It’s really goofy that Tudor marred the face of the North Flag with a power reserve when it is the one display back Tudor, so it could have gone on the back.

Agreed on the North Flag – I don’t mind power reserves at all but on the back is definitely more appropriate, and the North Flag’s power reserve is absolutely awful. Looks like a design from something at Toys R Us.

Given how efficient Seiko movements are at winding, I would agree that the power reserve is a pretty useless complication. I barely touch any of my Seikos, and the seconds hand starts rights up, and then it only takes about four or five hours for a full wind.

“There is no reason for it on an automatic watch, and on a hand wind watch it can go on the back.”

I disagree completely with this statement for a couple of reasons:

1. Knowing how much wound up is your watch can be an extremly useful feature, especially in watches which are more in the lower price range spectrum. Why?

It is a very well known fact, which every competent watchmaker will agree with:

Having the watch ALL the time wound up more than 50% (minimum some would even argue) reduces to varying degrees (sometimes even a lot) the effect of lack of isochronism in a watch, thus making it more precise (if not even accurate);

2. I’d ask myself, what people, who aren’t so physically active anymore as they were before (older, less active people, people, who are in such or another way restricted in their movement capabilities because of a medical condition, or even ordinary people, when the time comes, when they can’t be so active as they would wish because of reasons, they have no impact on,…) would say in reply to your comment.

I’d bet, that if they wear their watch regularly, they would only welcome this feature.

3. Having a power complication reserve can make a watch actually look better, if the design is right. It all comes down to the individual taste of the user in the end. A good example would be the Seiko Presage SSA303J1 or the limited edition SSA309J1 (look at the pictures below – the one, which comes as a limited edition is in the first picture https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/77fa4559c765206dfefad56540c54fb6637121129dd3179311bdfb22c2998188.jpg ).

Both very beautiful watches and in my opinion at least the power reserve adds a unique feature to them, which makes both watches even more appealing.

I know, that there is always the argument:

“If they can be hand-wound”, what’s then even the point of having a power reserve?”

A controversial topic to some people, but hand-winding is in an automatic watch a SECONDARY function and should be used only under conditions well known and also explained in the manual.

And please, making a point with using the words like:

“…a stupid fake complication…” does not give you even bit more credibility, rather the opposite.

I have the original sarb cocktail time. Its a stunning watch. The only gripes are that its a little thick for a dressy casual watch. It comes on a terrible strap, and really should of used sapphire.

I also prefer it to the new ones. The 6r is no great movement, but to drop to 4r seems a bit mean. Also with that type of very visual dial, I find the extra complications on the SSA look a bit messy. That’s horses for courses, and a personal preference.

The srp versions are nicer, although I prefer the even size of the hour indices on the sarb. The srp has different sizes between the quartets and in between.

I wonder if the 4R movement is thinner than 6R? Maybe that was the driver behind the decision to use 4R, as it allowed them to thin down the new models. For all its qualities, the most common complaint about SARB065 is that it’s a bit too thick for a dress watch, so if they decided to sacrifice the 50h of power reserve, to make a thinner watch, that does make sense for a dress watch IMO.

All that said I too prefer the design of 065 to the new models. The cursive lettering of automatic, the split-hour indices, the more appropriate shape of the crown (the onion crown looks kind of a touch too big on these). All little things, but they tip the scale.

Great watch! Im a big fan of seiko but after buying my first Locman Italy watch theres no looking back.

Really nice looking watches.

I love Seiko, but sometimes they can be too enamored of English. Do you really need to read “Automatic” on the dial?

quite many swiss do the same…..if you have not noticed that already…

Maybe it’s part of tradition(to the era that automatic watches were rare/special). But probably another reason is for dial balance. If you only have the brand name under the 12 o’clock and nothing above the 6 o’clock, there will be a kind of imbalance.

I liked the old SARB with the stylized “Automatic.” I dislike the plane script with the extraneous “Presage.”

I also love the sarbs the offense is one of my favorites I’ve had it for probably five six years I love it. I believe you wrote earlier those tissot I wear as my beter watch I think we got it for free and as wonte it for 8 years and beat the crap out of it serious . The elf on the ends up on my wrist at least once twice a month. It’s only recently that I started collecting the Swiss watches

East cocktail watches are indirect competition of the Omega , longine and tissot at a price point they can’t beat

Besides the blue dial, I’m not crazy about any of the new models. The SSAs are too busy, and the gold plated cases look cheap.

I disagree about the price. Maybe it is just me, but here in Slovenia, in a shop, that is also a official Seiko retailer, has the previous generation of this watch (without the added complications, but with the movement 6r15 – which is in my personal experience WAY BETTER than the 4r36 or in this case 4r57 and which is 2 levels above the 4r36, not one) and there it costs 500€ and they offer discount of a minimum of 10 (and if you are a good client of theirs, 15%). In first instance you get the watch for 450€ and in the second for mere 425€. Sadly at this moment a little bit over my budget, otherwise I would have jumped to get it for such a price.

Some may say, that the specifications on paper, especially the comparison between the 4r36 an 6r15 are of little value, my experiences tell a whole different story. Also we let aside my personal opinion, there are more are more people emerging, which are very disappointed about this movement (especially after Seiko decided to start exporting it abroad under the name NH35). I got the impression, that with this complete ENTRY level movement it is more like playing lotto than anything else (if you are lucky you get one, which runs out of the box without even the slightest need for a regulation and/or adjustement, but others – including me – were very disappointed with it and the simple fact, that this caliber is also found in watches, that are sold well below 200$, says very much.

And my shop is found on the other side of the globe (a good question would be, trough how many retailers – though official – it had to go, before reaching Slovenia, where I live, and each taking its share of the profit), yet it is offered at a price, that is unbeatable.

And I would go even so far, that if my budget is tight, I’d rather buy a watch with a caliber 7s26 than the supposed big improvement 4r36. Yes it has manual winding and hacking, but so what, if it is otherwise poorly built and has many times issues with accuracy, precision, isochronism, positional variance and the list goes on.

This fact in my opinion at least in part explains well, why the previous generation divers watches SKX007 are still most popular, though the movement in it is REALLY old (as the same one found in the watches, which are now almost legendary, the Seiko 5 SNK809 and its variants).

Agree 100% with your comments on the NH35. Buying a watch with this movement is a bit like playing Russian Roulette (though slightly less deadly). Having said that, my experience of the 6R movement isn’t much better. I’m wearing my “1st Generation” Cocktail Time this week and it’s running -30 seconds per day.

Concerning the crystal, such a highly domed sapphire would cost even much more than that, and a flat or slightly domed crystal would necessit a big change in the design with a thickening of the case.

So while I also love my 1st gen cocktail time, I would actually prefer it with an oldschool plexiglas which can at least be polished.

To be honest, my comment lost a little bit of direction, when I started to talk about the type of crystal, that SHOULD be used. Obviously, this is more a ‘taste’ of the individual, than anything else.

I personally would never go so far with such a watch, which has plexiglass instead of all the other glass variants. But i doubt, that the manufacturers itself would even consider such a variant (though I agree, that it has its advantages – they are just not for me, at least when we are talking about the SEIKO PRESAGE line).

More troubling and important are for me individually the things I wrote before the ADD-ON. And I agree, that I forgot to mention that there are three variants of the 6r15 caliber.

The 6r15A first generation of this caliber, which obviously has it share of its problems (thanks goes to Andrew, who reminded me) have been hopefully addressed it the later versions of it, B and C. But also this, I can not say for sure – no personal experience.

There is even something, that bothers me more. Till now I (and I dare to say, that also many others like me) mostly relied on research and education, before buying a watch (especially such one, that is on the ‘edge’ of my budget – that is most of the time pretty thin and I can “reward myself” with a watch, which has such a price tag on it, pretty rarely. 🙁

Today (at least for people, who are for such or other reason “bound” and restricted to the entry lower class luxury watches, someone like I am – in the moment at least), you have to be almost an expert (and even this may not be enough anymore), if you start hearing comments like:

“…I’m delighted, that this watch has a NH35 movement inside, this played a big part in my decision to buy it.” (I paraphrased the comment).

And to be clear, such a comment is not the first one I read and beside that, I got the feeling, that in addition to watch industry (especially the “kickstarter” – startup projects), this caliber was also “embraced” by the watch journalists and aficionados (I may be a wrong about this and it is just a feeling – at least I hope so).

I would love a cocktail time without a date window. Do I care about the date if I am enjoying cocktails?

That SSA is the ticket! Wasn’t so much into the new text change on the base model from the last version of the cocktail time, but the model with the power reserve and hand calendar is way cool. It’s cool to see so many new variations and color options to a very classic watch.

I think these look gorgeous, and they’re a perfect business watch for those unable/unwilling to spend bigger bucks. But the movement is a bit troubling. I have the Seiko turtle (with similar 4R36) and accuracy is NOT its thing.

But that dial tho…

Lol same. SRP779 is mine – loses 8 seconds a day on average, sometimes up to 13. Atrocious.

You’re lucky. Mine is 30. It’s one of those things where I wonder if I should have a watchmaker make some adjustments. I don’t mind it too much though… it’s not a daily wearer.

Very attractive, but too much text on the PR model.

Can these be found anywhere in the USA? I’ve searched far and wide for the SSA but have come up empty.

I just bought one at Amazon.

Hi everybody! I am planning to get dress watch and I narrowed my choice to 2 Seiko watches. One is from this article – SRPB41 but other SRPA25j1 is very very similar in dial (blue), movement (4r35), even bracelet! Both are very similar and dont know what is the difference?! Any help or suggestion for my choice…tnx

Editor-In-Chief Ariel Adams Technical Developer Ian Edelist Senior Editor David Bredan Managing Editor Bilal Khan Ad Operations & Sales Chirag Raval

Neil Sartori Contributors Patrick Kansa

Praneeth Rajsingh Operations Marico Corbin Content Editor Michael Penate Social Media Marko Koncina News Editor Zen Love Contributors Carol Besler

Seiko Cocktail Time SARB066J

Brand: Seiko

Product Description

Seiko Mechanical Cocktail Time Mens Watch SARB066

Silver tone hands and markers

Stainless Steel case with gold plated

Dark brown leather strap

Water resistant 50m / 5bar

Case diameter: 39mm (excluding crown)

Case diameter: 42mm (including crown)

Find Similar Products by Category

Customers also viewed

Related Products

Sign up for our newsletter

Get great deals sent directly to your inbox!

Quick Links

My Account

Our company is dedicated to providing the very best quality products and service. Happy customers is our number one goal! We strive to be the best in the industry and innovate our products.

All prices are in RUB © 2017 A-Watches.com. Sitemap |

Buy Authentic Seiko SARB066J at lowest price.

Комментариев нет:

Отправить комментарий

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...