SEIKO Dolce Tungsten Gold Dial 1985

A rectangular dress watch from Seiko's Dolce line, made in June 1985. The case is what sets it apart. It is made of tungsten carbide, a material Seiko rates at around 2600 Hv, harder than sapphire, and the cut corners of this case are still crisp after forty years. Inside is the quartz Cal.7731, which shows hours and minutes only, so there is nothing to wind and no seconds hand crossing the dial. We fitted it with a black lizard-embossed leather strap (not the original), and it sits as neatly under a shirt cuff as it does with a knit.

The case is tungsten carbide with a stainless steel back. There are light marks from use, but no major damage. It measures 25.6mm across (excluding crown) and 33.7mm lug to lug, with an 18mm lug width. The four corners are cut at an angle, so the outline catches the light as the wrist turns, and the crown is set with a dark cabochon. Tungsten carbide is very dense, which gives this small case a reassuring weight on the wrist.

The dial is the original two-tone gold. A centre panel brushed in fine lines is framed by a band of slightly deeper gold. Polished applied baton markers sit at each hour, doubled at 12, with slim gold hands and the SEIKO QUARTZ and Dolce signatures. In direct light the brushed centre brightens while the frame stays calm, which gives the face real depth without any added decoration.

- wrist size in our picture is 17cm circumference -