Blue appears to be the colour of the season for Seiko and their haute cousins Grand Seiko with the launch of the new Presage Classic Ai-Iro Japan Blue alongside the ‘Moonlit Birch’. However, while they both have blue as a focal point, Seiko’s more accessible price certainly makes it appealing to a wider range of collectors. There are also two options when it comes to Seiko as there’s the standard Presage Classic Ai-Iro Japan Blue as well as the Presage Classic Open Heart Ai-Iro Japan Blue.
Both watches feature 40.2mm steel cases with wide, round shapes and gently sloping bezels. The lugs lead into a 7-link steel bracelet with a combination of brushed and polished finishes to make it stand out. However, while the case is nice enough, the dials are the centrepiece. They’re presented in a shade of blue known as Ai-Iro, dating to the Edo Period of Japan when it became a signature colour of the country.
The standard Presage Classic Ai-Iro Japan Blue features a time and date display with a textured surface and slight fumé gradient. When the light hits it at certain angles it has a sparkly quality to it, giving it an almost aventurine glass style finish. The Open Heart version swaps out the date window for a 24-hour indicator and the titular open heart window that reveals the balance wheel from the dial side of the watch. Both are paired with bar indexes and faceted, pointed hands.
Considering that there are different functions between the two, you might expect them to house different movements but actually they both use the same base, the 6R55. The standard model simply houses the 6R55 itself while the Open Heart has the modified 6R5J, which has exactly the same specs including the 72-hour power reserve.
Overall, this is on the simpler end of the spectrum for a Seiko launch, a classy blue dial edition of some of their core Presage Classic models and there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s not a wild Prospex diver and it’s not a traditional artwork like the Craftmanship series. It’s a nice watch that you can wear daily, which at a price of £900 or £1,060 for the Open Heart, is a very reasonable prospect.
Price and Specs:
Hours, minutes, seconds (Open Heart)
More details at Seiko.
