Seiko Day-Date Style Smoke Blue Roman

Smoke blue is a blue that speaks quietly: light, with a slight grey cast, closer to a hazy morning sky than to the sea. On this smooth dial the DAY MOD - SMOKE BLUE ROMAN carries dark, anthracite Roman numerals that look as if they had been set in ink. A fluted bezel in steel colour rings the blue; beneath it, 40 mm of 316L stainless steel form the case, and the watch is held by a steel bracelet whose links run in five rows. The weekday and the date both advance, with the weekdays shown in English.

Dark numerals on pale blue

The numerals stand at the even hours 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10; at 1, 5, 7, 9 and 11 narrow batons in the same anthracite take over. Because the ground is muted and reflects little, the serifs look thinner and less ornate than they would on silver or black: you read them as structure, not as decoration. The batons calm the layout and keep Roman characters from filling the whole circle. The baton hands are dark as well, pale on the inside, and so is the hair-fine seconds hand. The markers are coated with Super-LumiNova and stay readable in the dark; the date waits at 3 o'clock behind a magnifier.

40 mm of steel, five rows of links

40 mm of stainless steel is a diameter that works on slim and broad wrists alike and still slides under a shirt cuff. Over the dial lies a sapphire crystal that takes the scratches which otherwise make a dial look tired within a year. The bracelet is a steel Jubilee: five rows, the middle ones polished, and therefore livelier and more finely divided than a band of broad links. The smoke blue responds visibly to it and yet remains the quiet half of the pair. In our view the watch suits anything that is not loud itself: a grey suit, a pale blue shirt, linen, dark knitwear. It is the grey cast above all that keeps it from quarrelling with any wardrobe.

Automatic with date

Behind the blue dial ticks the NH35, an automatic movement that shows the date as well. It draws its energy from the movements of your arm; after a longer rest you wind it by hand at the crown, and for as long as you are setting the time the seconds hand stands still, so the time can be set to the second. The crown on this watch screws down, and the case back leaves the NH35 movement open to view. The crown screws down.

Two relatives, many colours

Two blues in the range stand closest to this watch, and both are built differently. The dark blue one has a sunburst finish, steel-coloured Roman numerals and a three-row bracelet. The light blue one with a sunburst does without numerals altogether and shows only baton markers, likewise on three rows. Smooth dial, dark numerals, five rows: among the three, that combination exists only here.

Smoke blue is also just one of the many dial colours you can call up with the swatches on this page; it is the one preselected.

• Dial: light blue with a slight grey cast, smooth
• Numerals and batons: anthracite, Roman at the even hours, coated with Super-LumiNova
• Movement: NH35, automatic, date at 3 o'clock
• Case around the smoke-blue dial: 40 mm, 316L stainless steel, fluted bezel, sapphire crystal, screw-down crown, exhibition back, steel Jubilee in five rows
• Water resistance: 5 ATM

Hand-assembled by MedoMods and tested before shipping. Free worldwide shipping with tracking.

Smoke Blue: light grey-blue, drawn in dark lines

Smoke blue means here a light blue with a grey cast on a smooth dial that shows neither rays nor texture. The drawing is dark: Roman numerals in anthracite sit at the even hours from two to ten, and between them each odd hour carries a slim bar. The hands are dark as well, a pale strip lies inside the batons, and a fine dark seconds line runs across them. On the right a magnifier sits over the date, and at the top there is a window with lettering. Beneath the fluted bezel hangs a steel-coloured bracelet that runs in five rows and has a polished centre. The dial stays light and quiet, and the lettering on it reads clearly and finely; the distance between marking and ground is large.

Day Mod Ocean Blue reverses the proportions: a dark blue sunburst dial, steel-coloured numerals, steel hands that carry a light fill, and a bracelet with only three rows. Day Mod Vanilla Roman stays smooth like the Smoke Blue, but tints the surface pale yellow and makes the numerals gold-coloured; only the hands are still dark there. Day Mod Berry Roman is the closest relative in lettering, with the same dark numerals and hands, but on a dark red-violet instead of a light grey-blue. Of these four, only the Smoke Blue pairs a light dial with dark lettering; Berry puts dark lettering on a dark ground, while Ocean Blue and Vanilla set steel and gold on their dials. All four share the NH35 automatic movement, a 40 mm case and the sapphire crystal.

Also worth a look: Day Mod - Dove Blue, Day Mod - Royal Blue Arabic, Day Mod - Baby Blue Arabic, and Seikomariner | Ice blue Roman dial.

More of this kind: Blue Dial Seiko Mod and Roman Numeral Seiko Mods.