Seiko’s Touch chronograph is a panda dial with more baseball than I need

The basic white-and-black chronograph layout is much closer to my taste than most character collaborations. Then I notice the baseballs, glove and little gold uniform references, and I start wanting the ordinary version of the watch. This Seiko and PREMICO Touch edition gets 55 out of 120 bezel clicks from me. There is a decent-looking watch here, with a theme I don't particularly want to wear.

The release celebrates the 45th anniversary of Mitsuru Adachi's Touch. PREMICO's Japanese announcement is dated November 13, with a run of 4,500 watches. Its published time falls on November 12 in Detroit. I haven't handled this edition, and the seller identifies the photographs as development material that may differ from production.

A familiar shape with very specific details

I like the black counters against the light dial. The outer tachymeter scale gives it the familiar appearance of a sporting chronograph, and the steel bracelet keeps the overall color fairly quiet. At a glance, it looks considerably less like merchandise than a watch with a character portrait across the front.

Up close, the baseball theme becomes much more obvious. The register decoration and gold M at one o'clock have specific connections to the story. PREMICO also puts Minami Asakura and the collaboration marking on the caseback. That is a more sensible place for a portrait than directly under the hands, although I still wouldn't be buying a watch because it has an illustrated character on the back.

The little gold accents are the part I am least convinced by visually. Against the otherwise monochrome layout, they keep drawing my eye away from the hands. I would prefer the cleaner panda-dial idea without them. Someone who wants the references to the school uniform and baseball story could reasonably find those same details the whole point of this edition.

Quartz and Hardlex, with a long preorder wait

The specification gives a 39.8 mm diameter, 47 mm overall length and 12.8 mm thickness. It uses quartz with a stated monthly accuracy of plus or minus 15 seconds, curved Hardlex and 100 m water resistance. A specific movement calibre wasn't verified in the retained release. I'd rather leave that unidentified than borrow a number from a similar Seiko chronograph.

The diameter sounds reasonable for me. The thickness and bracelet fit would still need checking, especially because a product photograph can't tell me how the end links behave on my wrist. The photograph of the back is useful for identifying the edition, but it isn't a substitute for seeing the case from the side.

The listed Japanese price is ¥65,780 including tax. Shipping is planned to begin in late May 2027, in stages. A verified USD price and direct US order route remain unknown as of November 14. I like enough of the underlying design to understand the attraction; I would personally keep looking for a less decorated chronograph.