SEIKO Dolce Golden Textured Dial Quartz 1983

A dress watch from Seiko's Dolce line, the slim quartz dress range Seiko launched in 1980, made in November 1983. The gold dial has a fine grained finish, like sand, so it takes the light with a soft, even glow instead of flashing, and the gold markers stand out clearly against it. Inside is the quartz Cal.9521, a two-hand movement with no seconds hand, which keeps the dial calm and leaves nothing to wind. We fitted it with a black leather strap, and it sits as naturally with a suit as it does with a knit.

The case is made of Seiko's NSAG super-hard alloy, a light gold-toned metal designed to resist fine scratches, and the back is stainless steel. There are light marks from use but no major damage. It measures 27.5mm across (excluding crown) and 35mm lug to lug, with an 18mm lug width. The corners are cut at an angle and the sides are bevelled, so the outline stays crisp from every angle. The case is thin and compact, which lets it sit flat on the wrist and slip easily under a shirt cuff.

The grained gold dial is in clean condition. Slim applied gold batons mark the hours, with a double baton at 12, and SEIKO QUARTZ sits above the centre with Dolce in script below. The hands are long, narrow and gold-toned. With so little printed on it, the texture of the dial carries the whole face, and it reads as a warm gold in any light.

- wrist size in our picture is 17cm circumference -