1986 was the first time Seiko unveiled the first Kinetic prototype at the Basel Fair. It was taged AGM for the trial round and exhibited the way kinetic energy is converted into electrical charge.
20 years later to that till the very present, Kinetic is synonymous with environmental friendliness. It’s a high performance, long-lasting and ‘convenient for every purpose’ watch. It is a watch that shall always be charged as long your hands are moving. Hand motions turn the rotor inside, which in turn drives a motor and the generated power is stored in a specialised cell.
So far the success story has been this. Now, the Sportura chucks the chronograph for GMT and shows the power it’s left with at the press of a button.
Wondering how you would use the GMT and what on Hell’s name the bezel does? Nothing much, it helps you wear the watch like the pilot or the cross-continent racer. You’ll track the UTC (or Zulu) time that way. You need to set the watch according to the current Greenwich Mean Time and set the independent 24-hour hand on local time. But I’m not going to discuss procedures here, sorry. If you finally end up buying one, this little GMT manual might come useful. It shows many other ways of using this watch and for different purposes. That fat, little red hand can do wonders!
There’s no need to speak about the Sportura designs; they are just fabulous – most of them – with a few good ones here and there. But this time Seiko thought to come out of its older shell and create something different. The new Sportura thus enters solemn and tough. The Kinetic GMT Seiko Sportura is a solid stainless steel watch with a ‘cold steel’ kinda look. Or, you may just call it pretty.
The best part is of course you don’t need to shell out your last penny to get your hands on it. But even better is it’s a completely different feel from the usual chronographs we are so used to at the mention of Sportura. There’s no sub-dial; instead there’s a grid-pattern effect embossed all over the dial. The basic date window (@3o’clock) provides the big, chunky 24-hours markers around dial’s edge with ample space for a clear visual. The red details stand out and gives the watch its first stunning effect. It’s built is the next one and lastly, the materials. Together, it’s a prestigious look; understated yet radiant.
The 44mm case and bracelet are all stainless steel, highly polished with finely done brushed effects near the 5-row bracelet, which also seems to follow a similar trend. It exhibits brushed as well as polished stainless steel and the mix is quite cool.
In fact, the whole mix is.
