This 4823, like its co-habitant the 5855/6 in the Japanese catalogues of 1976, is a rare quartz these days. It is a thicker watch than its more numerous descendant the 5856. To be sure, it has huge presence and its thermo-compensation, due to its relative thickness, is still excellent after all these years.

The Diamond Dust dial is impeccable and it brings the watch alive on your wrist. This truly is a high end watch, at the time retailing for 960 euro. You noticed of course the contrasting hand? It gives this watch something extra..... great legibility and some "punch". That punch is also implemented in the mechanics of this watch, it has that special Seiko gimmick of the "jumping seconds hand". This means that it will jump ahead 10 seconds when you pull the crown to adjust the time. It makes time setting so much easier!

In my experience these single quartzes are among the most accurate vintages; the twin quartzes like the 99 series have the specs for sure, but after 40 years or so… build quality and robustness gain the upper hand!