Seiko’s 145th Anniversary: The Presage SPB538

In 2026, Seiko celebrates its 145th anniversary, marking a century and a half since Kintaro Hattori founded the company in 1881. To mark the occasion, Seiko has created three series of limited-edition watches, each built around a different design theme. The first uses warm gold accents to symbolize success and prosperity, the second draws on Seiko Blue, a color the brand has developed since the 1960s, and the third turns to Edo purple, reflecting the traditions and creativity of Tokyo.

For this week’s Watch of the Week, we’re looking at a piece from that first series: the Seiko Presage SPB538. While the warm gold accents connect it to the anniversary theme, the design itself reaches much further back into Seiko’s history. The watch is inspired by the Timekeeper, a pocket watch produced by Seikosha in 1895. Rather than reproducing that early watch, Seiko uses its details as a starting point for a modern Presage, incorporating the original’s white enamel dial, Roman numerals, and traditional proportions into a contemporary mechanical watch.

At 35mm in diameter and just 37mm from lug to lug, the SPB538 has compact proportions that reinforce its vintage influence. The stainless steel case features a dimensional bezel and an onion-shaped crown, both of which echo the silhouette of the historical Timekeeper. Movable lugs and a pull-through leather strap add to the traditional character, while the box-shaped sapphire crystal gives the watch additional depth and a slightly vintage appearance without sacrificing the durability of modern sapphire.

The enamel dial is probably the most important part of the design. Its smooth white surface is paired with slender Roman numerals and a clean minute track, giving the watch a distinctly old-world appearance while keeping the layout easy to read. Seiko's enamel dials are fired at high temperatures during production, and that process can create small dimples, tiny dots, or slight variations in the surface. Seiko considers these natural characteristics of genuine enamel, meaning that no two of these dials are exactly alike.

Behind the dial is Seiko's Caliber 6R51, an automatic movement that can also be manually wound. It offers approximately 72 hours of power reserve, or three days, along with a stop-seconds function for more precise time setting. The watch measures 12.3mm thick and weighs just 60 grams, while 5 bar water resistance and a screw-down caseback give it enough practical construction for everyday wear. The movement is not the most complicated part of this watch, but the long power reserve adds a useful modern feature to a design rooted in Seiko's earliest watchmaking history.

Limited to 1,450 pieces worldwide, the SPB538 brings together several parts of Seiko's story in one watch. The warm gold accents connect it to the company's 145th anniversary, while the enamel dial, onion crown, Roman numerals, and case design look back to the Timekeeper from more than a century ago. The result is a Presage that uses Seiko's history as the starting point, rather than simply reproducing it. For a 145th-anniversary watch, that feels like an appropriate way to look backward while still moving forward.