Seiko & Honda Team Up for a Very Japanese Affordable Field Watch

If I ask you to name two Japanese brands, it probably won’t be long before Seiko and Honda are both named.

Two of the world’s largest and most influential brands in their respective categories of watches and motoring, these Japanese giants represent quality and value at a level most other companies can only dream of.

So it makes perfect sense that Seiko and Honda would team up to produce a watch based on one of the latter’s most decidedly Japanese creations.

Know when to fold ’em

Seiko’s new watch is based on the Honda Motocompo, a legendary folding motorized scooter that was produced from 1981 to 1983 as a JDM add-on to the Honda City car. The Motocompo was innovative in that it folded into a compact rectangular shape to fit into the City’s trunk. Its quirky design and rarity have led to the scooter’s current cult status as a collector’s item.

Seiko

The new watch, a heavily customized Seiko 5 Sports Field, was created in honor of the iconic scooter’s 45th anniversary this year.

It features a bright yellow dial modeled after the Motocompo’s most recognizable paint job, with a black Honda-branded bar bisecting the dial’s top and bottom halves, similar to the scooter’s own Honda-emblazoned side bar. The 3:00 day-date window sits within the bar, with both complications displayed in white text on black discs to minimize their aesthetic intrusion.

Seiko

Seiko has cribbed the Motocompo’s ’80s-riffic typeface for the “Automatic” branding above 6:00, using the same gray-and-red dot-style font seen on the scooter. There’s no inner military-time track on the dial like you’ll find on most Seiko 5 Sports Field models, with the watch instead opting for a cleaner look. The fencepost hands and triangular lume plots remain, however, and the applied Arabic indices sport a black finish.

The 36.4mm stainless steel case has a black hard coating, mimicking the non-yellow parts of the Motocompo for a yellow-and-black look. The crown, also black, is adorned with the word “turn” in a nod to the bike’s fuel cock.

Flip the watch around, and the usual exhibition caseback has been replaced with red-tinted crystal featuring a detailed silhouette of the scooter, framed by the words “Honda” and “Limited Edition,” all in silver. Faintly visible is the Seiko Calibre 4R36 automatic, and the watch retains its usual 100m water resistance.

Seiko

The watch is mounted on a gray NATO-style strap with Motocompo branding and black hardware. The keepers are marked with the words “Carrying Point,” while the tip of the strap reads “Insertion Point.” This is in reference to the instructions included on the strap used to secure the Motocompo inside a car’s trunk.

Finally, even the watch’s box takes a cue from the actual Motocompo. It’s designed to resemble a miniature version of the corrugated box in which the original scooter shipped. Seiko really did think of everything here.

Seiko

Availability and pricing

It’s rare you see a collab watch, especially one this affordable, that applies this level of attention to detail. Everywhere you look on this watch, there is a reference to the Motocompo, some quite obscure. It’s clear that someone at Seiko (ok, probably many people) really, really loves this scooter.

The watch, Reference HDB010, is limited to just 8,000 pieces, which sounds like a lot but is not when it comes to Seiko LEs. This will sell out, and it probably won’t take very long either.

As is almost always the case with Seiko, U.S. pricing was not available at the time of the watch’s announcement, but UK pricing was. The watch is priced at £340 (~$457) and will launch in September.

Seiko

Seiko 5 Sports x Honda Motocompo Limited Edition

Specs

Case Size	36.4mm
Movement	Seiko Cal. 4R36 automatic
Water Resistance	100m

• $457 at Seiko

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