Japanese watch manufacturer Seiko combines forces with collage artist Kosuke Kawamura for their latest release: a pair of Seiko 5 Sports Kosuke Kawamura Skeleton Limited Editions. The designs are a modern and colourful expression of Kawamura’s talents and yet call out to fans of historic Seiko watches with a layout reminiscent of the legendary Seiko ‘Time Sonar’.
Although the name Kosuke Kawamura is new to us, we certainly won’t forget it after witnessing the new Seiko 5 Sports Kosuke Kawamura Skeleton watches. The designer has cleverly created a horological mash-up of his own collage art, the traits of the iconic 5 Sports watch and features of a 1960’s archived timepiece known as the Seiko Time Sonar. The Time Sonar remains a highly collectible design from Seiko’s collection, embodying the style and charm of the brand’s retro sport watches with the addition of a space-age dial. The semi-transparent displays are tinted in a bold colour giving you a faded view of the exposed day and date disc displayed below. The new Seiko 5 Sports Kosuke Kawamura Skeleton Limited Editions showcase the same alongside some additional visual adornments.
The two Seiko 5 Sports Kosuke Kawamura Skeleton SRPJ41 and SRPJ43 watches beautifully replicate the Time Sonar from the past with a stunning tinted transparent dial. In a reminder of his collage art however, Kawamura opts for two colours across the glass rather than just one; model SRPJ41 electing green and orange and model SRPJ43 nominating green and grey. Other than that, both limited editions are exactly the same, showcasing the date and day disc below, the latter boasting both the English and Japanese translations.
The dials for the Seiko 5 Sports Kosuke Kawamura Skeleton Limited Editions also reveal bold, graphic frames in black above and below the day and date window and the “automatic” lettering at 9 o’clock. We’re also welcomed to contrasting red accents on the inner flange and the triangle indicator for the 0 numeral. The central hands for the hours and minutes remain large and syringe-shaped with Lumibrite inserts while the seconds hand is coloured in orange. The Seiko 5 Sports motif is printed in white at 12 o’clock.
A personal favourite feature of the new Seiko 5 Sports Kosuke Kawamura Skeleton SRPJ41 and SRPJ43 watches is the bezel. Like the black frames on the dial, the scale is adorned with a distinctive checkerboard-like finish with black and silver lines alternating between each Arabic numeral. The bezel is unidirectional and delivers a 60 minute scale and a luminous dot at 12 o’clock. The rest of the case mimics the previous Seiko 5 Sports series with a 42.5mm stainless steel diameter and height of 13.4mm. There’s also screw in crowns, Hardlex crystal glass, smoked exhibition case backs and ISO certification for the 100 metre water resistant rating.
Powering the Seiko 5 Sports Kosuke Kawamura Skeleton watches is the same automatic winding movement responsible for the rest of the collection. The Calibre 4R36 movement has been created in-house by the Japanese brand and exerts a power reserve of 41 hours and a frequency of 21,600 vibrations per hour. There’s also a total of 24 jewels. Completing both the Seiko 5 Sports Kosuke Kawamura Skeleton SRPJ41 and SRPJ43 watch is a three-row link stainless steel bracelet secured by a traditional folding buckle.
The orange and green Seiko 5 Sports Kosuke Kawamura Skeleton SRPJ41 watch retails at £380 and is a limited edition of 3,000 pieces. The Seiko 5 Sports Kosuke Kawamura Skeleton SRPJ43 retails for the same but is a rarer edition with only 500 pieces being produced. You can order both designs on the Jura Watches website here. Alternatively, get in touch with our team of luxury watch specialists by calling 01335 453453 or send us a message at help@jurawatches.co.uk.
Specifications:
- Case Size: 42.5mm
- Case Material: Stainless steel
- Bezel: Unidirectional
- Glass: Hardlex crystal
- Crown: Screw in
- Case Back: Screwed down, exhibition
- Water Resistance: 100 metres
- Movement: Calibre 4R36 automatic winding
- Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, day, date
- Power Reserve: 41 hours
- Jewels: 24
- Frequency: 21,600vph
- Dial: Partially tinted in orange & green (SRPJ41) or green & grey (SRPJ43)
- Strap: Three-row link bracelet
- Buckle: Folding
- RRP: £380
- Limited Edition: 3,000 pieces (SRPJ41), 500 pieces (SRPJ43)
- Release Date: September 2022
