Following the great interest in the Seiko 5 Sports Brian May model introduced in 2020, Seiko showed up with the SRPH80K1, the second collaboration of the series.
As is well known to Queen fans, Brian May's “Red Special” guitar was handcrafted from scratch by the guitarist and his father. The famous guitar, whose neck is carved from the wood of an old fireplace and the body is made from a block plate with an old oak attachment, was painted and polished by May himself. The instrument, which is remembered with its characteristic tone that is almost identified with Queen and the world-famous virtuoso, has presented a musical feast to Queen fans thousands of times since the band's first recording in 1973. The second edition of the collaboration, the SRPH80K1, also hosts many details that refer to this guitar and May.
Inspired by the Seiko 7548, the famous watch that May bought during a trip to Japan in 1975, the SRPH80K1 comes with a case of 42.5mm diameter and 13.4mm height. The front of the gold-plated stainless steel case features a uni-directional diver bezel and a hardlex crystal. The case is waterproof up to 100 meters and sports a screw-down crown as well as a mineral glass case back with Brian May’s signature.
Gold markers and hands complete the dial with black and red tones. The dial with the day and date windows at 3 o'clock emphasizes May's iconic guitar with the Red Special lettering.
Caliber 4R36, one of the brand's current automatics, gives life to the new model. The movement, which has an important place among entry-level automatics with its robustness, can offer a power reserve time of up to 41 hours when fully wound.
The model, limited to 12,500 pieces, comes on a black nylon strap decorated with gold stripes. The list price for the model, which will be available as of March 2022, is EUR 620.
