Looking at the new Seiko Presage Style 60s ‘Elegant Yet Rugged’ SRPL07J1 and SRPL09J1 makes you realise that the Style 60s really is the closest thing to a hybrid between the Presage and Prospex ranges that exists. With a restrained steel case, a hyper legible dial and a textured bezel it feels like a dedicated tool watch while having the poise and delicacy of a Japanese dress watch. It’s appellation of ‘Elegant Yet Rugged’ couldn’t be more accurate.
Starting with the case, the new watches are based on the existing Style 60s models in steel with the updated size of 39.5mm. It has fairly distinctive lugs that emerge at a sharp angle from the round case giving the watch a unique silhouette compared to the rest of the Presage line. However, the signature feature of the Style 60s is actually the bezel, which features a fixed 60-minute scale, corresponding to the watch’s minute hand.
For the Style 60s ‘Elegant Yet Rugged’ editions, the bezel has been stripped back to exposed metal, as opposed to the normal coloured inserts. It gives the watch a much more industrial, utilitarian aesthetic. Especially as the surface of the bezel bears a subtle texture akin to the mesh grating you might find used as flooring. At the same time, it has the gentle elegance of any textured surface such as guilloché.
Moving to the dial, as I mentioned in the introduction, it’s as legible and easy to read as any tool watch. It has large bar indexes with a small rectangle of lume at their inner end for low light readability. It’s certainly no purebred diver or field watch display but it’s not far off either. As to colours, there are two options available: blue and brown. They’re relatively dark shades to further lean into the industrial qualities of the watch, which is balanced against the sunray brushed finishing adding refinement in equal parts.
Beneath the surface the Presage Style 60s ‘Elegant Yet Rugged’ houses the Seiko Calibre 4R35. It’s one of their widely used time and date movement with a 40-hour power reserve and an accuracy of +45/-35 seconds per day. Those are definitely not the highest specs Seiko is capable of, but that’s to be expected considering that the watch is nice and accessible. There has been a trend of Seikos getting more expensive but the ‘Elegant Yet Rugged’ is £510 in either colour.
The only drawback of the watch that’s worth touching on is the fact that it only has a water resistance rating of 50m. So while it might be rugged in name and style, it is not a watch to take on an adventure with you. It’s a shame considering that on the Prospex side of things Seiko recently increased the water resistance of their diver to 300m. Still, it’s an interesting addition to the Presage line and I wonder if we might see a more complete fusion between the two collections in future.
Price and Specs:
More details at Seiko Boutique.
