Wednesday Wow ::: My New Seiko Presage Automatic Watch

All photos by {accordingtoame}

Total "not so humble brag," but I just received my newest piece of awesome, a Seiko Presage Automatic Watch, direct from Japan, which I ordered from the amazing SeiyaJapan.com. 

Happy belated birthday to me! 

On my recent trip to Dallas, I had the opportunity to try on a few watches at Cartier, at least one of which I am lusting after for a 40th birthday gift--yknow, in four years.  In light of that, I revisited my post about "higher end-looking watches at a few pricepoints." 

When I was poking around online, I was not finding quite what I was looking for, and the Seiko I had originally been lusting for but couldn't convince myself to purchase was no longer for sale. I asked on a forum I frequent in hopes that some of the luxury-friendly and watch-knowledgable shoppers could help me out.  I was having a lot of problems finding watches that had a date, which for some reason has been a sticking point for me.  Another issue, in the "first world problems" category, is that many are encrusted with diamonds or crystals and I want neither of those. 

The suggested watch was the Seiko Presage Automatic, and it's kind of the perfect marriage of the Cartier Ballon Bleu I had just tried on and fell Tieks-over-head for, and the Rolex Datejust I loved from my Hawaii vacation last year, but couldn't pull a trigger on because we have so many home construction projects going on right now. I also felt that these are more worthy of a huge birthday or big career win.  

The 34mm Seiko Presage Automatic watch is not for sale in the US, but is available via several highly reputable watch sellers online, many based in Japan, who regularly sell to buyers around the world.  Collectors, usually.  Not being a watch collector, or a big watch person, I had never thought about the wide world of sellers available.  And what a wide world this is! 

After convincing myself to go for it, I mean, a Seiko watch that looked that nice, and really isn't too pricey (I mean, really this is a total style steal!) including express shipping from Japan. But for it to be an automatic, with a skeleton back? Things I knew of but never expected I'd be getting in this price range?  Where do I click buy?  I click buy on a site called Seiya Japan, apparently.  

The selection of really hard to find and well made watches, mostly Seiko brands, is quite impressive here, actually.  But the service from this man is absolutely top notch. I asked a few questions right before he left on vacation, and that was also my poor timing of when I chose to order, since I spent a week+ dragging my ass making my mind up. I managed to miss the window probably by about an hour, and he got my response in just enough time to put my order through for shipping the following morning in Tokyo (same day for me). No Paypal or AMEX issues with the international transaction, thankfully, and my watch shipment notification came through my email in less than an hour. And he even removed most of the links for me before shipping.  All of this right before this super-knowledgeable and incredibly nice man went on a vacation.  So awesome.

The watch arrived just a few days later, and much like USPS's tracking, the tracking from JapanPost gave me updates as it trekked around the globe.

It really was magnificent when I got it. I actually squealed when I opened the box and saw the Kanji characters for the days of the week. And the 34mm case is the perfect size, really. I tried on the Rolex 31mm and loved that, as well as the 33 and 36 mm sizes of the Ballon Bleu and found myself quite pleased with the 36mm.  

My favorite is the Blue Saturday character, for obvious reasons. But if it's not totally obvious: it's blue, it's Saturday. What's not to love about Saturday?

As I wound the crown, and figured out the setting of the time and date and day, I discovered that it also has the option of the English days of the week. I think I actually squealed and clapped and jumped up and down. The husband just stared at me in confusion.  His favorite feature is the skeleton back, he was quite impressed with that.

Normally I write left-handed, and should wear my watch on my right arm. But because I "mouse right", wearing a watch on the right wrist is "annoying" (more annoying than how it feels writing with one on) so I put it on my left.  All my "bling" is to the left, to the left. I sleep with the FitBit wrap on my left arm also, so that is something I am semi-used to. 

Since it was pretty loose on my wrist when I received it (I did a poor job measuring my wrist) I took it to get a few more links removed at a local watch shop called Clockmaster, and they did a fantastic job.  When he took the watch back to his bench, the owner took one look at it and said "Wow! Where did you get this? It's really amazing!"  That was quite a vote of confidence.  

The thickness off the wrist due to the complications within the case (the mechanics making it automatic thus not requiring a battery), doesn't bother me at all. 

I am totally in love with this watch, and so glad I went for it as my vehicle to "get back to wearing a watch."  If you are looking for a high-quality watch which is unique and provided with exquisite service, look no further than SeiyaJapan.com.   

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