Seiko watches and Japanese animation company, Studio Ghibli have announced their third collaboration project with the Seiko Presage ‘Nausicäa of the Valley of the Wind’ Studio Ghibli Limited Edition inspired by the film of the same name which was released back in 1984.
‘Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind’ was a post-apocalyptic film in which the young princess Nausicaä explores a toxic jungle of giant insects coexisting with nature and becomes embroiled in a struggle between two kingdoms.
A number of the new watch’s design features echo the film’s iconography. For example, the dial is a blue enamel in the same colour as Nausicäa’s iconic dress in the film, while the glass case back features gold ion plating in a nod to the film quote, “clothed in blue robes, descending onto a golden field”, which are engraved on the case back. And the blue glass crown is designed to resemble the eyes of ‘Ohmu’ giant insect characters in the film.
The overall watch design is round and curved, inspired from the tools and machines used by Nausicaä in the film, while the 40.5mm stainless steel case has a textured, vintage-style finish that is protected with a super-hard coating. It is water resistant to 100 metres and magnetic resistance to 4,800 A/m.
The watch is fitted with a brown calf leather strap with three-fold clasp and push button release, which has been sourced from LWG-certified tanneries, in keeping with the film’s ecological values, and the ‘Ohmu’ silhouette is featured on the underside of the strap.
To enhance legibility, the white hour, minute hands and indexes stand out against the blue dial, while the seconds hand has a gold-toned accent. The hour and minute hands also have a rounded, leaf-like shape while the white indexes have an elongated shape. The emblem from one of Nausicaä’s blue outfits is printed at the six o’clock position.
At the heart of the watch is a Caliber 6R51, which is a new version of Seiko’s high-performance 6R55 movement. Like the Caliber 6R55, this new version has a power reserve of 72 hours, giving the same performance but without the date display.
The movement’s gold-coloured oscillating weight can be viewed through the display case back, together with a depiction of the end scene, in which a non-toxic plant sprouts out from deep under the Sea of Decay, giving hope that the earth has finally been cleansed.
The new Seiko Presage ‘Nausicäa of the Valley of the Wind’ Studio Ghibli is limited to just 1,500 pieces and will be available to buy from March via www.seikoboutique.co.uk priced at £1,540.
Author Bio:
Simon Burrell is Editor of Our Man On The Ground, a former member of The British Guild of Travel Writers and professional photographer.
Photographs courtesy of Seiko
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