Studio Ghibli is set in a distant apocalyptic future The anime fantasy film “Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind” was released back in 1984 and is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. It tells the story of Nausicaä, the princess of the Valley of the Wind, who becomes embroiled in battle with Tolmekia, a nearby kingdom attempting to eradicate a jungle of mutated insects created by the toxic aftermath of the war called the Seven Days of Fire. Our heroine tries to find a way to improve the world and find help in the most unexpected creature; a huge ohm. Seiko captures this adventurous and heroic spirit in its latest collaborative piece, the Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind SPB437, and no, we won’t bother you with the insanely long name it officially has.
The watch itself is based on the Presage collection, more specifically one from the Craftsmanship series. That means it has a 40.5mm wide and 12.4mm thick stainless steel case, but Seiko has given it a unique (kind of grained or sandblasted) texture that’s protected by a super-hard coating. There is a sapphire crystal on both the front and back to protect the dial and movement. The case on the back also has a special decoration that connects it to the foil and is encased in a gold-colored caseback ring. The crown also has a unique shape and features a blue glass crystal insert, further setting it apart from the regular Presage Craftsmanship series references.
The blue tone of the enamel dial is taken directly from one of the outfits worn by Princess Nausicaä in the film, and the white and red logo on her chest has also found its way onto the dial. The printed hour indices and minute track are in white, with leaf-shaped hour and minute hands and a gold-colored central second hand that shows the time. As this is an enamel dial, upon closer inspection you can see a gentle orange peel effect and the clear indentation around the hands, which gives the dial character.
Powered by a gold-colored rotor, the Seiko caliber 6R51 used for this limited edition has a very comfortable power reserve of 72 hours. Although it has the same architecture as the 6R55 and therefore runs at the same frequency of 21,600 vph, it lacks a date display. As mentioned, the time is indicated by a set of central hour, minute and second hands. Although the finish is rather simple, it would only distract from the artwork on the caseback, which is a direct reference to the film’s final scene.
This limited edition of 1,500 pieces is presented in a special presentation box with artwork inspired by the animated series. It is worn on a brown leather strap with a three-part folding clasp and costs 199 euros 1,750 euros. Although it may be a little unclear to most, Seiko often proves that these inspired limited editions are very popular and hard to come by once Seiko boutiques and select retailers have moved their allocated pieces. The SPB437 will be available from March 2024.
For more information, visit SeikoWatches.com.
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