Seiko SPB291J1

This timepiece is only available from selected Grand Seiko boutiques worldwide – exclusively from our London Knightsbridge boutique and online boutique in the UK.

The unique lavender-coloured dial takes its inspiration from the Kameido Tenjin Shrine where wisteria were planted during the Edo period. These purple flowers hanging from the trellises in the Japanese garden are a visitor attraction during April and May. During the Fuji Festival, the wisteria are lit up at night, giving a purple glow to the area. Over hundreds of years these flowers have inspired artists from Hiroshige Utagawa’s “One Hundred Famous Views of Edo” painted in 1856-1859 to “Le Bassin aux nymphéas, harmonie rose” painted by Claude Monet in 1899.

In the 1960s, King Seiko timepieces led Seiko Watch Corporation’s developments in world-leading technical precision, along with Grand Seiko. ‘King Seiko’ originated when multiple Seiko factories created different watches to encourage innovation – one of the Japanese watch brand’s constant aims.

This version is updated from its original inspiration with a newly developed slim structure combined with a sapphire box glass, for a case depth of 10.33mm, the slimmest of 6R calibre models. It features a King Seiko crest mark on the crown and caseback and the bracelet is inspired by the original 1960s design through a combination of mirror and hairline finishing. The delicately cut three-dimensional indices are beautifully placed on the fine and radiant dial and the 12 o’clock marker is lightly finished by a pattern technique of making just one single surface incision at a time.

Long live the new King Seiko: modernised elite watchmaking, yet its stately, dignified and majestically classic looks remain.