Ricoh Automatic Day-Date

Reference: Unknown Crystal: To be confirmed Dial: Blue sunburst dial with applied baton hour markers, central seconds and day-date display at 3 o'clock. Functions: Hours, minutes and central seconds; Day; Date Strap: Black leather strap

Another example of exactly the kind of crazy 1970s case design that I love.

At heart, this is a fairly simple Ricoh automatic day-date. What makes it interesting is everything surrounding the movement. The relatively compact blue sunburst dial sits inside an enormous sculpted case, with a broad radially brushed upper surface and dramatically faceted polished sides.

It is a very 1970s approach to watch design. Instead of making the dial larger, the designers turned the case itself into the main visual feature. The result is bold and architectural, but surprisingly wearable on the wrist.

The blue sunburst dial works particularly well against all that exposed steel, while the day-date at 3 o'clock gives it the practical character typical of Japanese automatic watches of the period.

Ricoh vintage automatics remain remarkably affordable today, especially compared with equivalent Seiko and Citizen models. For me, that's part of the attraction. This isn't a watch I own because of its value or prestige. I like it because it is an inexpensive survivor from a period when watch designers were apparently allowed to have a lot more fun.