Seiko Raises the Bar With New Presage Cocktail Time "Crushed Ice" Dials

Seiko served up its first round of “Cocktail Time” watches in 2010, initially aimed only at customers in the brand’s native Japan and taking inspiration from the drinks in Tokyo’s legendary high-end cocktail bars. Since 2017, the “Cocktail Time” collection has been a popular subfamily of Seiko’s Presage collection, which is defined by its luxury-oriented design (as opposed to the more tool-centric Prospex models) and its use of exclusively mechanical and Spring Drive movements (as opposed to the quartz calibers found throughout other collections). Seiko has recently launched its latest iteration of the Presage “Cocktail Time,” spearheaded by three new models in steel: HCB001 with a blue dial, HCB002 with a green dial, and HCB003 with a brown dial.

The dial of each of the new models boasts a new, intriguing texture that calls to mind the look of crushed ice, as well as the familiar faceted, razor-shaped hour and minute hand and diamond-shaped hour markers reminiscent of a martini-glass stem. As per tradition, each colorway takes inspiration from a cocktail: the blue is “Emerald Mint,” the green, “Mint Mist,” and the brown, “Whiskey Mist.” What’s new and notable on these models is the moving of the date window from the traditional 3 o’clock position to a more subtly placed spot at 4:30. The windows are also now round rather than rectangular.

The stainless steel cases of all three models come in the 38.5mm size that has been commonplace in the series for several years (after the first wave of models established a larger 40.5mm case size). The case thickness is 11.8mm and the lug-to-lug distance is 45.4mm. The box-shaped crystal over the dial is made from Seiko’s proprietary Hardlex, and the case claims a rather impressive (for a dress watch) water resistance of 50 meters, despite also incorporating a second crystal in the caseback to show off the watch’s movement, Caliber 4R35. The self-winding movement, which was introduced in 2016, is made in-house, with 23 jewels and a 41-hour power reserve. 

Two of the new Seiko Presage “Cocktail Time” watches (the green-dialed “Mint Mist” and brown-dialed “Whiskey Mist”) are mounted on brown leather strap with a tri-fold push-button clasp, while the blue-dialed “Emerald Mist” timepiece stands apart with its stainless steel multi-row bracelet and push-button-release deployant clasp. All of the models are priced at $475. You can learn more at seikowatches.com