Seiko's Great Wave Off Kanagawa

May 1st marked the start of Japan's Reiwa period, with Emperor Naruhito ascending the throne. It was a big celebration over at Japan, and Seiko's window display marked the beginning of the new era too.

Using Quantum Physics (ya ya, everyone's blabbering this these days after watching Avengers Endgame) to revisit the late Edo period, we would inevitably arrive at one of the most famous woodblock print of that time i.e. Great Wave Off Kanagawa. Let's call this the Mon5ter Wave for the rest of the article.

Seiko fans would know this picture well- after all, it's engraved on most of Seiko watches' casebacks. The picture was kind of synonymous with the brand these days- and what better way to celebrate this than to put the picture on the watch dial for all and sundry to appreciate it together?

While established watch brands could employ artisans to draw the Mon5ter Wave on their premium pieces, some Seiko lovers attempted to draw the Wave on their existing Seiko pieces. Here was an example from a creative collector.

Pic credit to Jnito Cruz.

Thankfully, for the rest of us whom were not as blessed on the drawing front, we could then commissioned for a correct Mon5ter Wave dial, although these normally only got re-produced in small batches and at a higher cost.

For instance, there're 100 sold-out LE dials out there for us modders- 1 which was utilised in my Mon5ter Wave Franken Mod. After I wrote about this mod work, many collectors got in touch with me and asked if it was possible to purchase this dial but the maker confirmed that it was a limited run. At the point of writing, he had agreed to produce another run of 36 dials, so I advised the collectors whom contacted me to quickly get the piece that they wanted. 

This dial was indeed a very special piece, and it had turned heads when I took my Franken Mod out for watch meets. When even collectors wearing watches worth 6-figures asked about this watch, you would know that you have built a piece too be reckoned with.

Here was my Mon5ter Wave in all its glory. I am freeing up some space in the watch winders for in-coming new watches, so if you were interested to take up this handsome piece, just swing by http://andywristwatches.blogspot.com/2019/05/wts-2019-mon5ter-wave.html.

I mentioned that there were 100 pieces of Seiko out there all over the world. Well, these were all proud owners of such an exclusive club and a quick search on the Net produced these fine examples :

If you were the owner of these fine mods, do drop me a message with your preferred name so that I could credit the pics back to you. In the meantime, enjoy your great Waves!