SEIKO Dolce "Antique Gold Dial" Quartz 1981

A dress watch from Seiko's Dolce line, the men's collection Seiko launched in 1980 for buyers who wanted a proper dress watch. This one was made in 1981. Its gold dial has a fine frosted texture that scatters light instead of throwing it back, so it reads as a soft antique gold and never as bright yellow. Inside is the Cal.5931 quartz movement, which needs no winding and keeps steady time on one battery. We fitted a black crocodile-embossed leather strap, and the pairing works as well with a suit as with a knit.

The case is made of NSAG, Seiko's super-hard alloy, with a surface hardness of around Hv 1200 that was meant to resist the small scratches everyday steel picks up. The polished front still holds a clean shine, while the stainless steel caseback shows scratches from use. It measures 34mm across (excluding crown) and 39mm lug to lug, with an 18mm lug width. The case is thin and its cushion shape widens at the shoulders, so it sits low and flat on the wrist.

The dial is original, signed SEIKO QUARTZ with Dolce in script below the centre. Applied gold baton markers, doubled at twelve, and slim gold hands sit on the textured surface. A few small spots are visible on the dial in close-up. Under direct light the texture glitters faintly, and in shade it settles into a deep, muted gold that suits the soft lines of the case.

- wrist size in our picture is 17cm circumference -