Seiko is quite famous for their sunburst dials on their sporty dress watches, but colors seem to be restricted mostly to silver, champagne, and blue. Recently I stumbled upon two identical charcoal gray dialed 1960s Seikomatics at my local watch repair guy, and was absolutely enthralled by the dial. Foolishly I didn't buy the better condition watch on the spot ($45), which was actually in great condition aside from crumbling lume. I decided to do a bit of internet research first, to see if there weren't other models I liked better, but having decided that it truly was outstanding, I went back the next day to get one, and both were gone.
But in my research I came across a number of other vintage Seiko charcoal sunburst dials, especially among Seiko 5s and Bell-Matics, though most of the photos I found were crappy. Here is one of the better photos (off eprey):
So why isn't there a charcoal grey sunburst Grand Seiko? Was there ever one, or a King Seiko or a Lord Matic or other higher end Seiko? Strangely, all the charcoal sunburst dials I could find were on lower end models.
Other manufacturers are still (or again) using this kind of dial:
Certina DS Powermatic:
Epos 3411:
So why don't I just get one of those? Most European watches to my eyes have either amazingly generic or boring cases, or gratuitous case flourishes. Nobody imho makes cases like Seiko, my SKX173 and SARB035 being outstanding examples of subtle, non-gratuitous detail, like the way the case sides slope inward towards the case back. I really like the dial on the Certina, but it completely overwhelms the case. The Epos' case is better proportioned, but utterly boring, and I don't like the printed hour markers.
If you have photos of a Seiko charcoal sunburst dial (vintage or not), let's see them!
PS: Orient came out with one this year, the Curator (though the sunburst is more subtle), but at 41mm it's a bit too big for my puny 6.25" wrist, and it's got a very European, boring case. Nonetheless, I may need to get one and see if I can live with the size. It certainly is a bargain at under $300.
But in my research I came across a number of other vintage Seiko charcoal sunburst dials, especially among Seiko 5s and Bell-Matics, though most of the photos I found were crappy. Here is one of the better photos (off eprey):
So why isn't there a charcoal grey sunburst Grand Seiko? Was there ever one, or a King Seiko or a Lord Matic or other higher end Seiko? Strangely, all the charcoal sunburst dials I could find were on lower end models.
Other manufacturers are still (or again) using this kind of dial:
Certina DS Powermatic:
Epos 3411:
So why don't I just get one of those? Most European watches to my eyes have either amazingly generic or boring cases, or gratuitous case flourishes. Nobody imho makes cases like Seiko, my SKX173 and SARB035 being outstanding examples of subtle, non-gratuitous detail, like the way the case sides slope inward towards the case back. I really like the dial on the Certina, but it completely overwhelms the case. The Epos' case is better proportioned, but utterly boring, and I don't like the printed hour markers.
If you have photos of a Seiko charcoal sunburst dial (vintage or not), let's see them!
PS: Orient came out with one this year, the Curator (though the sunburst is more subtle), but at 41mm it's a bit too big for my puny 6.25" wrist, and it's got a very European, boring case. Nonetheless, I may need to get one and see if I can live with the size. It certainly is a bargain at under $300.