At first glance you might think the new Seiko 5 Sports Kosuke Kawamura Limited Editions are made purely for the Japanese market.
Collage artist Kosuke Kawamura is hardly a household name outside Japan, and the use of Japanese calligraphy on colorful day and date disks, which dominate the dial, have a distinctly local market feel.
But that is the appeal of Seiko’s popular 5 Sports automatics.
They are a blank canvas for art and interpretation from a range of artists from Japanese collage makers to iconic rock stars like Queen’s Brian May.
Links back to the Far East, such as anime and manga collaborations, have been just as popular as partnerships originating in the West.
There are two Seiko 5 Sports watches launching in September and October in collaboration with Kosuke Kawamura.
Both are limited to 3,000 pieces.
The 42mm steel automatics have transluscent case backs signed by the artist and giving a glimpse of the Caliber 4R36 within.
There is not much difference between the two models, other than a slighly different colour combination on the SRPJ41 ($440) and SRPJ43 ($490) references.
They are sold on a steel bracelet with a spare fabric strap in a special limited edition collectors’ box.
