Earlier this year, Japanese watchmaker Seiko set out to celebrate the 110th anniversary of their famous “Laurel”. The Laurel was both Seiko’s and Japan’s first ever wristwatch and on its launch in 1913, it established a benchmark for the future of Japanese watchmaking.
Seiko 5 Sports ‘Laurel’ 110th Anniversary SRPK41K1 - Credit WatchGecko
Seiko never miss an opportunity to celebrate a birthday, we know this. So of course, they went all out for the Laurel’s 110th anniversary. As part of the festivities, they launched a seven-piece limited edition collection which includes models from their Presage, Prospex, Astron and 5 Sports families. Each model brings back to life familiar characteristics of the original Laurel including light white and cream dials, red markers and most importantly, the Laurel’s famous blued hands.
The most affordable design in the Laurel’ 110th Anniversary collection is the Seiko 5 Sports ‘Laurel’ 110th Anniversary watch under reference SRPK41K1 and for the past couple of weeks, I’ve had the pleasure of testing out the design for myself. Here’s what I thought…
Ticking the “5” Boxes
The Seiko 5 Sports ‘Laurel’ 110th Anniversary watch takes its base from the 5 Sports ‘Field’ model. This still has the five core attributes of any Seiko 5 watch, but instead elects an ‘in the field’ military aesthetic inspired by a style originally called ‘trench watches’ used by military personnel during WWI.
As its name suggests, the Seiko 5 Sports watch comes with five essential features: an automatic winding movement, day-date display, decent water resistance, recessed crown and durable case and strap. A quick glance at the anniversary reference SRPK41K1 and so far, so good. It most certainly feels like a strong, solid timepiece and minus a few scratches, I reckon this could knock in a nail or two without problem (although I still recommend using a hammer for that) …
The Case
Seiko 5 Sports ‘Laurel’ 110th Anniversary SRPK41K1 - Credit WatchGecko
As mentioned, the case of the Seiko 5 Sports ‘Laurel’ 110th Anniversary watch feels sturdy and solid. It’s a nice size at 39.4mm wide and 13.1mm tall. For my rather small five-and-a-half-inch wrist, it gives an almost “boyfriend watch” look”. The oversized style is one I’ve steered clear of more recently, but I do like how this one looks. Those will wrists larger than mine will have absolutely no problem sporting these dimensions. There’s also a lug-to-lug width of 48mm.
The case is engineered from stainless steel and is entirely brushed, adding to its industrial, field-inspired blueprint. The drilled lugs lead onto a solid steel bracelet or a brown leather strap – more on those shortly – and at 3 o’clock, you have the standard push pull crown with knurled edging.
Seiko 5 Sports ‘Laurel’ 110th Anniversary SRPK41K1 - Credit WatchGecko
Both the front and back of the Seiko 5 Sports ‘Laurel’ SRPK41K1 features Hardlex crystal glass. It’s not as scratch resistant as sapphire crystal, but that’s expected at this price point and as someone who owns a few Seiko’s with Hardlex crystal, I have noticed the glass does fare well, even if you’re someone who wears their watches a lot like me. On the front, the glass has no anti-reflective treatment and is slightly curved.
A Laurel-Inspired Dial
Seiko 5 Sports ‘Laurel’ 110th Anniversary SRPK41K1 - Credit Seiko
The dial of the Seiko 5 Sports ‘Laurel’ 110th Anniversary watch is striking, bringing together the familiar colours of off-white, red and blue seen on the original Seiko Laurels from the early 1900’s. Even if you’re not familiar with the colourway of the Laurel, you’ll instantly get a vintage feel from this dial.
The attention to detail maintained on the display is really quite exceptional and makes the watch feel more expensive than it is. The cream backdrop is subtly grained and all of the hardware, other than the printed minutes track, is raised off the surface. The box-shaped five-minute markers and polished Arabic numerals are elevated for a three-dimensional finish and easy legibility.
Seiko 5 Sports ‘Laurel’ 110th Anniversary SRPK41K1 - Credit Seiko
In the same way, the central hands for the hours, minutes and seconds are blued - not thermally blued which again is expected at this price point – but coloured for great contrast and a nod to the Laurel’s own blue hands. Red accents are added to the internal 24 hour scale and decent levels of Lumibrite, Seiko’s own in-house lume, is added to the five minute markers and three central hands. Finally, the double day and date window is positioned at 3 o’clock with a white backdrop and black printing.
The Movement
Seiko has kept things classic when it comes to the movement. Like most of the Seiko 5 Sports watches in their portfolio, they have elected their in-house calibre 4R36 automatic winding movement. It comes with a 41-hour power reserve, 24 jewels and runs at 21,600vph. As mentioned, the movement is put on display through an exhibition case back. Finishing of the movement is straightforward with the oscillating rotor polished and stamped with the Seiko 5 logo.
Two Straps
Seiko 5 Sports ‘Laurel’ 110th Anniversary SRPK41K1 - Credit WatchGecko
Possibly one of my favourite features of the Seiko 5 Sports ‘Laurel’ 110th Anniversary watch is the bracelet. This is a really solid bracelet, and one that I don’t think I’ve ever seen on a Seiko 5 watch before. It is solid all the way round with solid end links and a five-link set up. The entire metal strap is brushed to match the case. It’s a beautifully engineered, old-school bracelet style and one that reminds me of many other pilot’s watches, albeit much more expensive ones, like the IWC Pilot’s for example.
On the bracelet, I noticed there’s a very subtle but notable change to the buckle. The clasp is still three-fold with a secure lock but its micro-adjustment system is longer. From memory – and please correct me in the comments below if I’m wrong – but standard 5 Sports models come on a bracelet with just two spots for micro-adjustment. Reference SRPK41K1, on the other hand, comes with four which made fitting this bracelet to my five-and-a-half-inch wrist easier than ever.
Seiko 5 Sports ‘Laurel’ 110th Anniversary SRPK41K1 - Credit WatchGecko
The Seiko 5 Sports ‘Laurel’ watch also comes with an additional brown leather strap. It’s another high-quality strap that feels supple and thick and definitely complements the field aesthetic well. For me though, I much preferred wearing the watch on the bracelet.
Conclusion
This is a classic field watch is every way. It’s robust, water resistant and has a clear, legible dial with all the military-inspired detailing you need. It’s also a wonderful tribute to Seiko’s first timepiece, and I particularly love the bracelet and the blued hands. The best thing about this watch though is the price. For the amount of tech and spec you get, a £400 price point is incredibly impressive and knowing you have a little piece of Seiko history with it is the cherry on top.
Sure, this isn’t the most perfect tribute to the Seiko Laurel. The brand could have made more of an effort applying more era-accurate attributes to the design. I wouldn’t have minded seeing the modern architecture of the Seiko 5 Sports paired with the leaf-shaped hands and numerals in the Laurel’s vintage typeface. But then again, the field aesthetic would take a hard hit for this, and a lot of the military charm would be gone.
Honestly, it’s hard to berate a watch of this price and so much going for it. I’d highly recommend a timepiece like this to someone just getting into the world of luxury watches looking for a limited edition Seiko with a nice story behind it.
