Sport and watchmaking have always had a friendly relationship, and it is one which is particularly pertinent for Japanese brands Seiko and Datsun. As well as sharing a heritage, the watch and car brands can both trace parallel success stories back to the 1960s, when they celebrated shared leaps in technical advancements.
In 1969, Seiko introduced the Speedtimer, an automatic chronograph equipped with impressive accuracy. The same year, the high-performance sports car, the Datsun 240Z, was released to international acclaim. A collaboration, then, felt natural, and the brands teamed up. In 1971, when the Datsun 240Z competed in the world’s toughest race, the East-African Safari Rally, it was in a car emblazoned with the Seiko logo.
Seiko and Datsun, from £880
Seiko and Datsun, from £880
Today, the brands are revisiting their partnership with the release of three limited-edition watches inspired by the design of the 240Z car. In red and black, each dial design echoes a different form of the Datsun logo, from its colourful geometric shapes to the name in cursive script. Useful features, including a countdown timer function used to measure key periods in competitions, such as the target durations for tasks like tyre changes and refuelling, join details such as the tachymeter scale on the outer bezel, nodding to both the original Speedtimer design from 1969 and the sharp technicality that undercuts both brands.
Seiko and Datsun, from £880
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