• October 22, 2014
  • Saanto
  • 0

Congratulations, Seiko! Here’s to a great anniversary and we truly appreciate what you offer the entire industry. You did an impressive job no doubt and every product you brought out in the Sportura anniversary series comes with a magnificent design backed by high-end functionality. Never believed entry-level watches can offer so much! It makes the series a truely distinctive one and the presence of the perpetual calendar is not the reason alone!

The biggest thing about the 100th anniversary Sportura Kinetic Perpetuals is not its perpetual calender but its ability to sleep through a few years and starting immediately after waking up without any grogginess. Even after four years, it will wake to the correct time and date.

At this point, I’d like to mention that I’m not going all over the Kinetic technology again but just its advancements. The Caliber 7D48 stands out for its exquisite functionalities, one which is of course the perpetual calendar (set to run on its own till February, 2100) and the other, a refined energy-saving system. It allows the watch to go to sleep if allowed to stay idle for 24 hours at a stretch; after that, you need just a little shake to wake up and set itself as per the current time and date.

That is what the Caliber does, it’s not about the Caliber itself. I don’t have the expertise needed to scrutinize the movement, but well, it can definitely be said that it is a triumph in tradition and microelectronics. The movement has 232 parts – as many as quite a few other higher-end mechanical complications – and a separate ultra-sonic motor, perhaps the world’s smallest (just 0.4 mm thick) and powers the 101 mechanical gear trains (out of 232) that drive the Perpetual Calendar,  which also tells you about the Leap Years. There’s also a photo sensor that plays its parts in keeping up to the date.

The caliber’s power to sense idleness is officially termed Kinetic Auto-Relay technology. This helps the internal clock within the watch to run when the hands are resting after a period of inactivity and without losing a single second in accuracy.

But here we come to the most intricate part – How does it look to the average wearer? In short, they deserve great praise for introducing some very sophisticated elements to the authentic Sportura style. Be it the rose-gold SNP056 or the gentlemanly peppy SNP085 , the hard coating is not going to go away anytime soon. Neither the sapphire crystals, which is again an almost unbelievable thing at this price range.

So, is this a daily-wear? I’m afraid not, unless you are into some exotic profession e.g. showbiz.

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