Welcome to another episode of Fratello On Air! This week, we discuss Japanese watches. That’s a wide subject, so we attack it in different ways. Stick around to find out how we tackle one of our favorite watch genres. For our listeners, the watch content begins after approximately 17 minutes.

Japanese watches rate highly in the minds of both hosts. Mike owns a large collection of pieces from the Land of the Rising Sun. Balazs has a tight collection of modern and vintage stalwarts. Still, we’re going to discuss some highly recognizable pieces and some of our favorites. This isn’t exhaustive. Otherwise, we’d still be recording!

King Seiko 5625-7000

Handgelenkskontrolle

After some banter and an obligatory dad joke, we ease into the Handgelenkskontrolle. Mike is dressed for the occasion. He’s wearing the Seiko Cronos J13846 from 1962. The watch has a two-piece screw-in case back. It’s generally regarded as the brand’s first waterproof watch. Balazs is wearing his hi-beat King Seiko 5625-7000, a lovely watch that continues to inspire Grand Seiko models.

Seiko SKX007 pocket shot

Japanese watches

Our purpose in discussing Japanese watches is twofold. Balazs mentions five of the most well-known pieces from various brands. Mike heads in a different direction and discusses a handful of his favorite models. This was an extremely difficult task to come up with just five per person. Each Japanese brand has a deep history and, therefore, many important references. We are just scratching the surface! We discuss the following:

  • Seiko Turtle in new and vintage form, one of the most recognizable dive watches in history
  • Seiko 6215-7000, an incredible vintage diver that set a design standard
  • Seiko SKX diver, probably the most popular “gateway drug” to mechanical watches ever
  • Seiko Champion Alpinist J13043, one of the greatest designs from the brand
  • Casio G-Shock original DW-5000C or its modern DW-5600 counterparts, the digital watch that started it all
  • Grand Seiko 4420-9000 “44GS,” likely one of the most important dress watch designs of all time
  • Citizen Promaster Nighthawk, one of the most recognizable watches and potentially the most popular pilot’s watch
  • Citizen Auto Dater Uni ADUS31201-T, a little-known gem that took on the Seiko Silver Wave
  • Credor as a brand and the highest form of expression from Seiko
  • Calendar Auto Orient 21 Diver T19755, a beautiful ’60s JDM dive watch with stunning lume

Folks, that’s a wrap, and we look forward to hearing about your top five Japanese watches. We’re almost 100% sure they’re different from our picks! Thanks for listening, and if you have any suggestions for show topics, please let us know.

  1. Home
  2. Watch Brands
  3. Citizen
  4. Credor
  5. G-Shock
  6. Grand Seiko
  7. Orient
  8. Seiko
  9. Fratello On Air: Japanese Watches — Our Favorites And The Recognizable Models