We are not yet even into 2023, but Seiko is already in party mood to celebrate 110 years since its founder Kintaro Hattori launched his first wristwatch (not to be confused with the 160th anniversary of Mr Hattori opening his first watch and clock shop in 1881).
That first wristwatch in 1913 was called the Laurel.
Only a few dozen were made because tools to make watches were generally used on larger pocket watches, so the Laurel had to be made virtually from scratch.
It is being recreated as a 2,500 piece limited edition that will go on sale in January.
Like the 110-year-old original, the new Laurel comes with a bright white enamel dial.
Today’s watch will be powered by Seiko’s automatic Caliber 6R27 movement with central hours, minutes and seconds, a power reserve indicator at 9 o’clock and a date sub dial at 6 o’clock.
It uses the same font for its italic Arabic hour markers as the 1913 piece, and even uses red as a detail for the 12 o’clock hour.
The £1,600 watch comes on a pull-through deer leather strap.