Oris and Miss Piggy are no longer the only pink personalities in town, Seiko has sidled onto the scene with a new slinky, pink piece of wrist action in collaboration with everyone’s favourite feline – the Pink Panther.
Like the aforementioned porcine princess, this rosy robber has been a cultural icon since the moment he sashayed onto screens. Originally created for the title sequence of the 1963 American comedy of the same name, he was apparently so popular that projectionists had to pause the film before the main action to wait for the applause to stop. Since then, the sophisticated panther famous for outwitting anyone who crosses his path, has been turned into a sculpture by Jeff Koons, featured in numerous clothing lines from the likes of Bathing Ape, and now he has some serious wrist action to show off courtesy of everyone’s favourite Japanese watchmaker.
Teaming up with Pink Panther was a no-brainer for Seiko as its 5 Sports launched the same year as the film, which saw Peter Sellers’ Inspector Clouseau on the trail of the illusive Phantom, played by David Niven, who is intent on stealing a pink diamond, known as the Pink Panther because of the flaw at its centre that resembles said wildcat leaping.
The new Seiko 5 38mm doesn’t take its inspiration from the live-action caper, but instead from the Oscar-winning 1964 cartoon The Pink Phink. It introduces the character of “Little Man”, a short moustachioed person who is one of the Panther’s regular antagonists, who tries to paint a house blue but is comedically thwarted by the panther who favours pink. Seiko has incorporated famous moments from the short, as well as the title sequence, into the watch’s design. There is a footprint motif on the dial, and paws are tracked onto the additional nylon strap, which also has “wet paint” written on it; a nod to the words the pesky panther writes on the wall. Turn it over and his expressive eyes are seen peeking out and on the crown is an image of a diamond.
“What I love about this Seiko Pink Panther is the fact that the brand has such a cult following that very much like anything in the sartorial world something unexpected is just undeniably cool,” says Justin Hast Substacker, photographer and author of a new book on Piaget’s Andy Warhol watch when asked why he thinks this watch will hit the horological hot spot, especially in the sub-£500 category. “And for my money we don’t see enough pink in the world of watchmaking.”
Photographer and journalist Tim Vaux thinks that this watch’s wily appeal is down to Seiko not taking itself too seriously. “Any time watch brands relax their perceptions of themselves and release something purely for the sake of fun is always worthy of fanfare,” he says. “As an industry that tends to lean towards taking itself very seriously, Seiko’s nostalgic Panther spin is a leading example of playfulness, coming at a time where more and more collectors want something individual and with a story.”