With some exceptions, modern Seiko largely divides its vast collection into five broad categories. There’s King Seiko, its premium mechanical line; Astron, its premium quartz line; 5 Sports, its budget sporty line; Prospex, its main sporty line; and Presage, its dressiest line.
The Presage line is where you’ll find many of Seiko’s most beautiful watches, such as the Cocktail Time series, and the brand’s latest Presage watch is one of its most stunning in years.
The Seiko Presage HCC009J1 is a collaboration with Tradman’s Bonsai, a Japanese brand that promotes traditional Japanese bonsai culture with bonsai accessories, themed apparel and, yes, actual bonsai trees. The collaboration may not be an obvious one outside of the two companies being Japanese, but it sure has yielded one gorgeous watch.
It all starts with the dial, which takes inspiration from a moonlit black pine bonsai tree. It’s textured with an S-curve pattern radiating from the center of the dial, modeled after the bark of the trees, while the dial’s deep-green shade is a traditional Japanese color called Matsuba that’s associated with good fortune. Gold-tone applied indices and alpha hands round out the no-date dial.
Paired with the striking dial is a gold PVD 38mm steel case and elegant seven-row bracelet. The case features a fixed coin-edge fluted bezel, while the bracelet’s links alternate between brushed and polished. Altogether, it’s a very nice-looking watch that looks a good deal more expensive than it is.
