This is the mechanical Seiko sport watch to own in 2010. Representing the purely mechanical - versus Spring Drive - movement based Ananta watches in the US, this new for 2010 Automatic Chronograph ref. SRQ009 in titanium. When I first saw this watch I was pretty sure that it was going to be a limited edition, but it isn't. The titanium Ananta automatic will be part of the regular collection - offering a super sporty version of Seiko's high-end world market automatic. I was able to get my hands on it and check it out, you can see an image of it here where it is looking pretty sexy. I can say that it is pretty nice - and a carbon fiber dial watch that I like!
Speaking of carbon fiber, many of you know that I am not so fond of the material for dials a lot of the time. Often because the look of carbon fiber can make a dial hard to read. Here however, the tighter woven look of it is topped with proper dials, and those famous Ananta diamond polished hands. Lume is placed on the hands and hour markers, making for a very easy to read, symmetrical, and attractive dial. I quite like the insertion of the white seconds marker ring as part of the flange that helps break up the black tones. The sapphire crystal also has a lot of AR coating - so seeing the dial is really a breeze.
This is one of two new titanium Seiko Ananta watches for 2010. The other model is an Ananta Spring Drive Chronograph GMT limited edition piece - which is considerably more expensive that this model. The titanium composition of the watch makes for a very light Ananta. At 46mm wide, this is one intensely light watch for its size (still 100 meters water resistant). Titanium makes for a good color tone as well with the darker, monochromatic tones of the dial. Conventional watch wisdom would have a touch of red, or some other color in the dial, but the all black and white tones look good here. The bezel (with a tachymeter scale), side of the case, pushers, and crown are in black.
Inside the watch is the Seiko Caliber 8R28 automatic mechanical movement with a column wheel and a vertical clutch. I wrote more about this movement and other Ananta watches with it here in another article on Seiko Ananta Automatic watches. A good high-end automatic movement hand-assembled in a really nice facility in Japan. I love the "two step" pushers for the chronograph that allow for very precise starting and stopping of the chronograph. While not a limited model, this Ananta Automatic in titanium with the carbon fiber dial will not be easy to find. Price in Europe is 3,900 euros - with the US price being around that (currency converted of course). Yes, the watch is expensive. But given the quality of the movement, the construction of the watch, and the functionality - you'd be better off comparing it to European chronograph watches instead of other Japanese ones.
