Kinetic Direct Drive
Calibre 5D22
Case: Stainless steel with hard black coating
Band: Stainless steel with three-fold clasp with push-button release (SRG005)
Leather strap with stainless steel buckle (SRG005-2)
Glass: Sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating
Water resistance: 100 metres
Approximate recommended retail price in Europe: 990 to 1040 euros


Created in 2000 and inspired by automobile racing, the Sportura line is one of the great successes of Seiko. This year, the watch’s design has been slighted modified, while still conserving its distinctive identifying features. The piece’s ergonomics have been revisited as has its readability. The intense black dials are protected by anti-reflective sapphire crystal, and are emphasized with a touch of red, which shows off the strong white hands. The form of the crown has been redesigned for better manipulation, with a new shape reminiscent of the aluminium alloy wheels of race cars.
The most remarkable changes to the Sportura, however, have taken place at the level of the movement. For the first time, Seiko has equipped its flagship model of the Sportura line with a Kinetic Direct Drive Calibre 5D22, which, as a reminder, directly transforms the energy produced by the wearer’s movements (similar to an automatic) into electricity. This is what gives the piece its exceptional performance, with reliability on the order of one second over a 24-hour period. Seiko has also added a function called Direct Drive, whose parameters are readable on a graduated indicator located at 9 o’clock. The hand of this indicator lets the user precisely verify not only the power reserve but also, if necessary, whether he should wind it directly by hand. In a “real time” mode, the hand instantaneously shows the level of winding that has been achieved.


Source: Europa Star April-May 2009 Magazine Issue