SevenFriday's Off-Series P1B/03 "Woody" is Big in Japan
With real cherry wood and porcelain-like white ceramic, lots of little Mount Fujis in a repeating wave pattern, and even a little life coaching, the Seven Friday's hugely popular "Woody" style returns with a personalised love letter to the wonderful eclecticism of Japanese culture.
Since quite literally blasting onto the scene in 2012 with its bold and unconventional approach to styling, an enfant terrible amongst the gravitas of the watch industry, SevenFriday has very quickly established itself as force to be reckoned with among a young and fun loving audience. Always quirky, off-beat and quite happy to be different, its collections have made no pretence at being horological masterpieces, but they are rich in detail, cool as a cucumber and offer a lot of bang for your buck.
Although there's a wide spectrum of materials and styles across the SevenFriday collections, with a couple of exceptions the premise is pretty much the same; large 47mm cases, square with rounded corners featuring an 'animation ring' (or the 'waist' of the watch case) and multi-part dials which use a combination of hands and/or discs to display the functions via reliable Japanese Miyota self-winding movements.
Described by the brand as an "Off-Series" model, the new P1B/03 is inspired by flavours of both traditional and contemporary Japanese cultures. Encased in a glossy white ceramic, the idea is to mimic the qualities of porcelain, while a band of light cherry wood around its middle is always unusual on a watch and it adds both contrast and colour.
The dial comprises five individual layers and uses short stocky hands with Super LumiNova coating for hours and minutes, with a little round red dot indicating the seconds on a rotating opaque disc and finally a 24 hour disc at the 9 featuring Japanese numeric characters. The cutaway effect of the dial's components reveal a repeating wave pattern which depicts Mount Fuji, and that theme is carried over to the ends of the strap where it attaches to the case. And if the uplifting personality of the P1B/03 is not enough, then the red tab on the white leather strap bears a reminder which translates to "Seize the Day".
Only available periodically and made in limited numbers these "Woodies" are among SevenFriday's most popular models. Only 450 of the Japan inspired Off Series will be produced and because those pesky Millennials don't hang around, numbers are probably already getting low.
Fact file:
- REFERENCE: P1B/03
- CASE SIZE: ø 47 mm x 47mm, white ceramic and cherry wood
- DIAL: White, silver-grey Mount Fuji base
- MOVEMENT: Self-winding Miyota 82S7
- FUNCTIONS: Hours, minutes, seconds, 24-hour display
- BRACELET/STRAP: White leather with Mount Fuji pattern detail
- BUCKLE: Pin buckle
- WATERPROOF RATING: 30 m
- PRICE: CHF 1'625
