What makes a good watch?

What makes a good watch?

Pt1) Functionality. It must be capable of doing its primary job of telling the time... and it must do it well.....

Pt2) Aesthetics. Outward appearance should be given some bias. Although it’s true that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, good looks are often a by-product of efficient design overall.

Pt3) Build Quality. Well that can be defined as “resilience to lifestyle”. I.e. how long does a thing continue to do what’s it’s supposed to do in a given environment.

Pt4) Craftsmanship. Detail, detail, detail. The thing that keeps you coming back to look at your watch over and over again, long after you’ve assimilated the chronological info and makes you wonder, “how on earth did they make that little bit?”.

Pt5) What about heritage? This is an indicator of quality. If a company has been running for 140 years, there’s a good chance that whatever they do not only serves a need but that they do it well.

While the Seiko Presage Sharp Edged Series (ref. SPB205J1) may be a fine watch in it’s own right and it seems to meet every requirement, there is still the unquantifiable which will put-off people from this awkwardly priced Seiko. It’s seems a bit too expensive to justify its accuracy (+25s -15s per day) and a limited edition of just 6000 pieces.. isn’t really that limited is it. If it was £750, it would be a no brainer... Maybe there should be another category.....

Pt6) Profile... because any watch fan knows that Seikos are low-key, subtle Japanese works of horological art; a Bonsai tree on a bamboo deck. Getting on with the job of telling the time, elegantly, quietly and with good grace.

This one just happens to look stunning too. Seiko SPB205J1 RRP £1093 at time of writing.