Lo and behold, yet another limited edition from watchmaker Seiko and this time it’s a design made in collaboration with Japanese professional skateboarder Yuto Horigome.
Seiko 5 Sports x Yuto Horigome ‘Downtown Tokyo Nights’ Limited Edition III - Credit Seiko
Taking their 5 Sports architecture and pairing it with an all-black aesthetic and cyberpunk-style blue and purple bezel, the pair have created arguably Seiko’s most millennial timepiece to date. Get ready to meet possibly the longest named Seiko I’ve seen… the Seiko 5 Sports x Yuto Horigome ‘Downtown Tokyo Nights’ Limited Edition III.
I will quite confidently admit you’ll never find me rolling down the street on a skateboard, let alone attempting any ollies, drop-ins or kick turns on a half-pipe. Yes, I did have to Google those terms. For Yuto Horigome, on the other hand, this is second nature. He’s what you call a true professional skateboarder. He became the first-ever Olympic gold medallist in the sport when skateboarding was first welcomed as an official Olympic sport back in 2020 and he more recently ranked first in the 2023 “X Games” and “Street League Skateboarding”.
The Seiko 5 Sports x Yuto Horigome ‘Downtown Tokyo Nights’ Limited Edition III is the third collaboration between the Japanese watchmaker and Olympic winning skateboarder – hence the name. The first two were launched last year and saw the black-coated 5 Sports model adorned with a black or green camouflage dial for the first time.
Seiko 5 Sports x Yuto Horigome ‘Downtown Tokyo Nights’ Limited Edition III - Credit Seiko
I can certainly imagine the Seiko 5 Sports x Yuto Horigome ‘Downtown Tokyo Nights’ Limited Edition III on the wrists of youthful skaters. Almost the entire housing is black coated, including the 42.5mm wide and 13.6mm case, the screw down crown and its adjoining crown guards that sit at 4 o’clock and five-link Jubilee-style bracelet with folding clasp and secure lock. This is certainly not the first time Seiko’s 5 Sports watch has been delivered in black, but it is the first time the GMT model in the series has.
The bi-directional rotating bezel is another first for Seiko. Other than some very cool mods I’ve seen, this is the first Seiko I know of that has utilised both blue and purple on the bezel. According to the brand, the colours are inspired by the sunset in downtown Tokyo, the spot where Horigome first learned how to skateboard. It presents the usual 24-hour scale in white and pairs with Hardlex crystal glass with a cyclops for the date and a water resistance of 100 metres.
Seiko 5 Sports x Yuto Horigome ‘Downtown Tokyo Nights’ Limited Edition III - Credit Seiko
Joining in with the stealthy nature of the case, the dial is finished in black and delivers the usual set of décor for the 5 Sports GMT model. The round and pipette-styled indexes are kept large and legible and match with the thick hour and minute hands and broad arrow-shaped GMT hand with their Lumbrite adornment. The magnified date window sits at 3 o’clock and a black sloped flange with an extra printed 24-hour scale is added to the circumference.
Turning the Seiko 5 Sports x Yuto Horigome ‘Downtown Tokyo Nights’ Limited Edition III watch around reveals the Calibre 4R34 automatic winding movement through the case back. It is protected behind Hardlex crystal nicely stamped with Yuto Horigome’s signature. The movement is an “Office” GMT which means its 24-hour hand is independently adjustable. It also arrives with a 41-hour power reserve and runs at a frequency of 21,600vph.
Seiko 5 Sports x Yuto Horigome ‘Downtown Tokyo Nights’ Limited Edition III - Credit Seiko
The Seiko 5 Sports x Yuto Horigome ‘Downtown Tokyo Nights’ watch is a limited edition of 2,700 pieces and retails at £500. For some, the novelty of a special edition Seiko landing every week might be wearing thin, but for me, I’m always excited to see what this watchmaker has under their sleeve. Sure, there’s always going to be designs better than others, and while this reference isn’t a favourite of mine, it’s fun to see Seiko experimenting with colours and collaborating with young, successful personalities.
Technical Specifications:
- Brand: Seiko
- Model: 5 Sports x Yuto Horigome ‘Downtown Tokyo Nights’ Limited Edition III
- Price: £500
- Limited: 2,700 pieces
- Material: Black coated stainless steel
- Movement: Calibre 4R34 automatic winding
- Complications: Hours, minutes, seconds, GMT, date
- Dial: Black with Lumibrite hands and indexes
- Size: 42.5mm wide, 13.6mm tall
- When the reviewer would personally wear it: Honestly, I’m not sure I would. But I can definitely imagine it on the wrists of youthful skaters, as intended.
- A friend we’d recommend it to first: A Seiko collector who can pull off cool and youthful timepieces.
- Best characteristics of the watch: The new combination of colours on the dial is very cyberpunk and it suits the all-black look well.
- The worst characteristics of the watch: The name is a bit of a mouthful, no?
