Seiko Presage Chronograph 55th Anniversary Limited Edition SRQ031J1 (or SARK015 in Japan) - Nostalgia of the Swinging Sixties, A Review (plus Video)

In 1964, Seiko created another historical milestone for the brand when it launched a mechanical chronograph which also happens to be the first for Japan. The watch in question was created to be in time for the 1964 Summer Olympics which happens to be in Tokyo, Japan (more about this later). This year, Seiko decided to commemorate that occasion with the launch of the Seiko Presage Chronograph 55th Anniversary Limited Edition SRQ031J1 (or SARK015 if you are in Japan).

Seiko actually launched two limited edition watches to commemorate its milestones in mechanical chronograph movements. Apart from the SRQ031J1, Seiko also launched the SRQ029J1. While the SRQ031J1 honoured the 1964 milestone, the SRQ029J1 honoured the 1969 milestone instead. The 1964 milestone is Seiko's first manual winding chronograph while the 1969 milestone is Seiko's first automatic chronograph, the 6189.

I already have the SRQ029J1 in the collection (please click here to go the full review) and the acquisition of the SRQ031J1 completes the collection.

The History of Seiko's 1964 Mechanical Chronograph

A chronograph movement is not new. It was invented back in the early 19th century. It grew in prominence since the early 20th century due to is ability to time any event of interest. This requirement is especially needed due to the necessity for precision in the modern world. Seiko’s factory in the city of Suwa, was instrumental in designing and manufacturing the brand's first mechanical hand-wound Caliber 5719 chronograph movement in 1964.

The 1964 mechanical manual wound Seiko Caliber 5719, Seiko's first mechanical chronograph movement

The Caliber 5719 movement was also the first mechanical movement created and made in Japan. The design of the 27.1 mm wide and 6.1 mm tall movement included a single button to trigger the chronograph’s functions, horizontal coupling, and a column wheel to control the start, stop and return-to-zero functions. The movement uses 21 jewels and operates at a unique frequency of 5.5 Hertz, or 39,600 BPH. It was said that with the chronograph mechanism switched on, the movement would run for 38 hours.

The 1964 Seiko Crown Chronograph – Seiko’s First Mechanical Chronograph Watch

The first watch to be powered by the Caliber 5719 was the Seiko Crown Chronograph Watch, launched in time for the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. As design goes, it is a truly minimalist chronograph watch. The 38 mm diameter stainless steel watch utilised a mono-pusher design. Instead of the typical sub-dials to track the chronograph, the dial looks like any typical 3-hand watch. To use the chronograph function, a bi-directional bezel is required. To measure intervals of more than one minute, the user must adjust the bezel primary pip (the 12 o'clock marker on the bezel, similar to a dive marker) to align with the minute hand.

For practical reasons, Seiko dropped this design and created one of the first automatic chronograph movement with the necessary sub-dials to measure the chronograph in 1969. For more about this development please click here.


Seiko Chronograph Historical Collection 2019

In 2019, Seiko launched two models as part of its Chronograph Historical Collection 2019. One each under the Prospex and Presage lines. I have already acquired the Prospex model (to read more about the Prospex model (SRQ029J1), please click here). With this latest acquisition, I completed the set. 



It is also interesting to note that the Prospex version, the Seiko Prospex Automatic Chronograph 50th Anniversary Limited Edition SRQ029J1 was made to commemorate the 1969 Caliber 6139 whereas the Presage version, the Seiko Presage Chronograph 55th Anniversary Limited Edition SRQ031J1 was made to commemorate the 1964 Seiko Crown Chronograph and the Caliber 5719.


The Watch

Strictly speaking, the new Presage Chronograph SRQ031J1 is not a true re-craft of the 1964 Seiko Crown Chronograph unlike the recent offerings such as the SLA017J1, SLA025J1 and the SLA033J1. Only a few original design elements were used in the SRQ031J1 such as the box-shaped crystal, the sharply defined numerals on the narrow bezel and the inwardly tilted case shape that allows the watch to sit snugly on the wrist. If you want to classify this watch, I suppose the best term to use is a tribute watch.



Honestly, I was expecting the SRQ031J1 to be a like-for-like re-crafted timepiece as the old features such as the mono-pusher chronograph system and the simple 3-hand dial minus any sub-counters are rather quaint and unique.

I suspect Seiko may have toyed with the idea but to make it happen, the brand would have to create a totally new chronograph movement that uses the mono-pusher system from scratch. I believed the brand abandoned the mono-pusher system years ago when Seiko decided to create the Caliber 6139 in 1969. Trying to restart something buried long ago will not be financially viable. As such, trying to keep it somewhat 'familiar' to the original yet incorporating modern requirements would make it effective yet closer in spirit to the 1964 Seiko Crown Chronograph.

Made out of stainless steel with Diashield surface protection, the metal surfaces are polished almost mirror-like using the famous Zaratsu technique. The watch casing is 42.3 mm wide with a length of 49.3 mm, lug-to-lug. The thick chronograph movement as well as the box sapphire crystal accentuate the height of the watch to 15.3 mm. Paired with the black leather strap, the total package weighs in at 115 gm.


The Dial

Despite having adopted the contemporary 3-counter display, the SRQ031J1 remains true to the 1964 Crown Chronograph in a number of areas. As the review progresses, I will highlight the similarities and the difference between the old and the new.



The warm beige-silver dial has a nice patina-feel to it. The edition of a brushed area on the dial that is like a ring at the hour markers creates a nice contrast to an otherwise flat dial. The colour and the brushed area are similar to the original. However, unlike the original, Seiko had to punch out three large holes and one small hole for the chronograph, date and seconds functions.

The chapter ring is a polished steel vertical wall. At the edge of the dial is a minute and sub-minute scale marked with varying length of black lines. For every five minutes (which correspond to the hour markers), Seiko added Arabic numbers from "5" to "60" as well. For the primary hour markers, these are rectangular metal sheets applied on the dial. The top of these markers are faceted to create two contrasting sections that appear to sit side-by-side. Due to the spacing required for the sub-dials, the hour markers for 3 o'clock, 6 o'clock and 9 o'clock had to be shorten. As for the 12 o'clock marker, Seiko added two of the rectangular metal sheets. Apart from the 3 shorten markers, the markers are also similar to the original.

Illumination is provided by Lumibrite paint. The section painted with Lumibrite is a set of separate rectangular applied metal plates place a millimeter away from the inner-end of the hour markers. Unfortunately, none could be put for the 3 o'clock, 6 o'clock and 9 o'clock markers due to space constraints. Apart from this, it is similar to the original. 

The sharp looking Dauphine hands are also similar to the original. Seiko did add some faceting to the hands on the new timepiece. The hands are also painted with the luminous Lumibrite paint. The only different is the long chronograph seconds hand. In the original, that particular hand is all steel but in this new iteration, the first part of that hand is painted black.

There are four lines of texts on the dial. The brand is applied while the words "PRESAGE", "AUTOMATIC" and "JAPAN" plus a few manufacturing codes are printed on the dial in black paint. All the words are in differing fonts and sizes.

The three sub-dials are similar in design. All three have the same beige-silver colour but with a different texture to give a nice contrast. The sub-dial at 9 o'clock is the 30-minute counter with Arabic numerals "30", "10" and "20" painted in black on the surface. The sub-dial at 6 o'clock is the 12-hour counter with Arabic numerals "12", "3", "6" and "9" painted in black on the surface. Both chronograph sub-counters have major and minor line markers painted in black. The hands on these sub-counters are also painted black. Meanwhile, the small sub-seconds dial at 3 o’clock has line markers for every 5-minute interval and painted black. The hands on all three sub-dials are painted black.



Between 4 o'clock and 5 o'clock is the date window. To maintain the colour balance, Seiko uses a date wheel that has a white background. In the original watch, Seiko did not put in a date complication.

Seiko did put Lumibrite paint on the dial. However, the amount put was not as generous as on other Prospex models. Like the sister model for this watch under the Chronograph Historical Collection, the SRQ029J1, the dial illumination is pathetic. I can't even get a decent shot of the illumination.

Some would argue that the dial on this re-interpretation is too busy unlike the original. After wearing the watch for about a week I tend to lean in favour of that interpretation. We have been told by Seiko that the SRQ031J1 is a re-crafted 1964 Crown Chronograph with more modern features. However, the iconic clean dial with just three hands is the very essence of that historic watch. It is like saying the modern interpretation of the famous Seiko 6105-811X dive watch (a.k.a. “Captain Willard”) may not necessarily have the 'turtle' shape casing and that the crown may not necessarily be located at 4 o'clock. However, when Seiko launch the SLA033J1, it has all the original design features. It is because of this reason, if Seiko truly wants to re-create the 1964 Crown Chronograph, the brand should put in the money and effort to make it as close to the original, even to the extend of spending tons of money doing R&D on a new mono-pusher chronograph movement. I am now convinced that Seiko did missed its original goal for this particular project. It is highly probable that cost was the primary factor for this decision to disregard the core concept of the original watch. A real pity. Even if Seiko puts in the investment which could invariably put the product on a higher price point, I have no doubt that it can be sold.


The Casing

Protecting the dial is a very classic design box sapphire crystal with AR protection. Despite the distortion caused by the edge of the crystal, it feels right for the watch and provides the necessary eye-candy to make it visually stunning. Note also the very narrow bezel. Painted black with a combination of minute dots and Arabic numbering, the stainless steel bezel mimics closely to the design on the original. The bezel has fine gear tooth for grip and is friction fitted to the watch. It is also bidirectional. If used carefully, you can theoretically use the bezel to keep track a second time zone (unfortunately, as it uses friction to keep in place, it is easy to accidentally shift it out of sync).


 
Unlike the original that has a crown and one pusher, the SRQ031J1 has one crown and two pushers. Located at the right side of the watch casing, the crown is signed with a big letter "S" while the two plunger-like pushers are sterile. The crown uses a typical pull out & push-in system with 3 set positions. First position (when the crown is fully seated) allows manual winding; second position is to allow adjustment of the date wheel, and; third position is to allow adjustment of the time. When the crown at the third position, the seconds hand stop mechanism (hacking function) kicks in. Like most typical chronograph with two pushers, the top pusher start and stop the timing while the bottom pusher resets the timer.



The straight lugs does not have drill-through holes. Although the lugs did not curve as much as other Seiko designs, the lug-to-lug length remains manageable at 49.3 mm. It looks fine on my 6.75 inch wrist.


The Strap

Whereas the 1964 Crown Chronograph was paired with a stainless steel bracelet, the SRQ031J1 comes standard with a very well made Cardovan leather strap. The leather strap is polished to a shine with white stitching on the sides.



The strap comes with a three-fold clasp with push button release. All the parts are machined which enhanced the visual value considerably.



Straight out of the box, the leather is slightly stiff. After wearing it for a few days and allowing the natural oils from the skin to get in contact with the leather, the strap became more malleable.


The Case-Back & Movement

The case-back is a screw-down with a display window with a flat sapphire crystal pane. Along the peripheral of the case-back, basic information about the watch can be found. The special serial number of the watch with the words "Limited Edition" underneath is also found here. I am the proud owner of #0343 out of 1,000 examples worldwide.



You can also see the Seiko automatic chronograph caliber 8R48 through the display window. The only decoration I can see is the golden paint on the rotor. The 8R48 is a 34-jewel chronograph movement operating at 4 Hertz or 28,800 BPH. The movement has about 45 hours of power reserve and has an accuracy rate of +25 to -15 seconds per day (for more information about the movement please refer to my review on the SRQ029J1. In that review, I included more detail information regarding this movement)

I was able to conduct a simple accuracy test on the watch using the freely available Toolwatch app. Straight out-of-the-box, the SRQ031J1 recorded an accuracy of -6.5 seconds per day. When compared to the stated accuracy band by the manufacturer, this model falls within the stated accuracy. My experience with Seiko's movement, after breaking-in the movement by continuously wearing the watch, the accuracy rate generally tends to tighten further.



The Wearing Experience

This is a comfortable watch to wear. It is light and the width is still acceptable for a 6.75 inch wrist. The white dial and contrasting black bezel created a very simple visual spectacle that is eye-catching.



Although the watch did not come with a stainless steel bracelet as in the original 1964 Crown Chronograph, the choice of the polished leather strap was on target for this design. The contrast between the white dial, the black bezel, the polished casing and the black strap has that 1960s black and white styling feel to it. This helps reinforce the appreciation of the anniversary and nostalgia of the 'swinging' sixties.



It is a pity that Seiko didn't attempt to present a modern interpretation of the mono-pusher chronograph system. Using the Caliber 8R48 for the SRQ029J1 is fine as the original Caliber 6189 chronograph movement also used a dual-pusher system. To use the 8R48 on the SRQ031J1 will obviously invite questions since it is definitely not the same as a mono-pusher system.

The Unboxing

The SRQ031J1's watch box is a long rectangular box. The primary watch box is kept inside a white packaging box with the brand printed in silver at the top. The manual as well as the guarantee card are kept in this white box.



Inside the white box is the primary watch box painted black with the brand printed in white at the top. The outer walls of the primary watch box is cushioned with a faux-leather texture.



Flipping the cover open, you will immediately see the sub-brand "PRESAGE" and the words "LIMITED EDITION" printed in silver on the top inner surface of the box. The watch as well as the various tags can be found slotted into two holding loops.

The whole inner surface of the primary watch box is covered with black velvet.



A few tags came with the watch which states the serial number, the price and model reference.



I do have some mixed feelings about the tag though. For the price point of the watch, I would have expected a more stylish tag to be designed for the watch similar to what you get with a Rolex instead of just a simple cut paper with stickers. When everything else oozes quality and style, the tags are a letdown.




Specifications

Series: Presage
Reference: Worldwide SRQ031J1; Japan SARK015
Caliber Number: 8R48
Jewels: 34
Movement Type: Automatic with manual winding capacity
Frequency: 4 Hertz or 28,800 BPH
Accuracy: +25 to -15 seconds per day
Duration: Approximately 45 hours
Case Material: Stainless steel
Case Coating: Diashield (super hard coating)
Case Polishing: Zaratsu method
Crystal: Box shaped sapphire
Crystal Coating: Anti-reflective coating on inner surface
LumiBrite: Lumibrite on hands and indexs
Strap Material: Cardovan leather
Strap Length: 192 mm
Clasp: Three-fold clasp with push button release
Water Resistance: 10 bar
Case Size: Height 15.3 mm; Width 42.3 mm; Length 49.3 mm; Lugs 20 mm
Weight: 115 gm
Bezel: Bi-directional
Case-Back: Screw-down display case-back
Functions: Chronograph; date window; stop second hand function
Limited Edition: #343 out of 1,000
Release Date: October 2019
MSRP: RM13,800; YEN350,000
Purchase Date: 2 December 2019
Price: RM11,000
Store: Seiko Boutique, Mid Valley Megamall


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