Seiko Power Design Project 2026

The Power of Design

By: Roger Ruegger

With its SEED initiative (Seiko Experience Engineering and Design), the Japanese watchmaker aims to “let people experience the various joys of watches.” Seiko does so mainly “through events and special exhibitions that focus on technology and design, from the products we have created over our long history to our dreams for the future.” The perhaps most prominent example is the “Power Design Project” that first ran from 2001 to 2009 and gave Seiko’s own design team a platform to explore and showcase new ideas in its home market.

**From “Rebirth” to International Roadshow**

In 2022, the project was thankfully revived and already led to the commercialization of a prototype in 2025 (Power Design Project 2025 “Incredibly Specialized Watch Exhibition 2”), hinting at a much broader role of the project itself. Perhaps more importantly, the 2026 edition (“Passionately and Obsessively Crafted Watches”), like the four editions before, is also shown outside of Japan, starting with Milan (from April 17 to May 18): “This time, designers at Seiko Watch Corporation have taken their ‘obsessive’ dedication to watches to new heights. Their relentless passion took form in seven timepieces, each with its own unique character.”

So here’s the result of when, once a year, Seiko gives a carte blanche to some of its designers:

Dial Texture

Takuya Matsumoto joined Seiko in 2010 and is responsible for the design of premium and luxury watches. For this watch, the dial’s texture is created “through a technique in which a mold is pressed against the surface of a metal plate to form intricate patterns. The depth of these patterns is controlled to within one-hundredth of a millimeter. This embossed texture gives the dial a rich, expressive character.” Matsumoto was inspired by the Alhambra in Granada, Spain: “This may be somewhat personal, but I hold a deep admiration for it – particularly Spain’s Alhambra Palace. Though I have yet to visit, I still vividly remember the impression it left on me when I first encountered it in a travel magazine. The intricate geometric patterns adorning the architecture, together with the nature-inspired carvings, embody what I consider to be a form of perfect beauty.” The “Dial Texture“ watch comes with a belt-like leather strap.

Machining Marks

Naoya Sukeda joined Seiko in 2013 and is responsible for Seiko brand design.. He came up with “Machining Marks“, a watch with This distinctive staircase form: “One day, a video of woodworkers diligently absorbed in their craft caught my eye. It was footage of furniture making—seemingly far removed from watchmaking at first glance. Yet the textured surface of the wood, shaped by planes and files, bore quiet traces of the craftsperson’s meticulous hand and profound understanding of the material. In that moment, I recognized a devotion to detail akin to that seen in the finishing processes of watchmaking. And when I learned that in furniture making, the tool marks are sometimes intentionally made to be seen and appreciated, I felt my heart quietly stir within me.”

Spherical Surface

Yu Ishihara joined Seiko in 2003 and now serves as Design Director, overseeing the development and design of luxury watches: “By aligning the curvature of all four structural tiers – glass, bezel, case, and outer case (crown guard) – I have created a continuous spherical form that extends across the entire watch. Notice how each component connects seamlessly within the same sphere, and, of course, the beauty of the world reflected within it.” The caseback of “Spherical Surfaces“ features the same spherical construction as the front. Unlike most watches, the crown is fully integrated, and there any lugs for attaching the strap.

Bar Indices

Miho Wada joined Seiko in 1989, and currently serves as Design Director for Credor. To her, “bar indices […] are a simplified representation of numerals, yet more than mere abbreviations – they are essential elements that have evolved into a design language unique to watches. […] they embody the very essence of the magic of light, radiating a quiet, mysterious allure.” For “Bar Indices“, the challenge was “to fill the entire dial with bar indices. It may border on obsession, but my aim was to fully unleash the potential of indices that usually shine with only a modest gleam. I hope the viewer will delight in the quiet strength and bold beauty as each meticulously polished beam resonates in harmony, together radiating a magnificent brilliance.”

Hands

Yuki Omori joined Seiko in 1989 and is responsible for Seiko brand design. For “Hands“, she used a playful design in which the hands of the watch (indicating time, date, or specific functions) are shaped like the arms or hands of a character. While these watch components are commonly referred to as hands in English, this is not necessarily so in other languages, as with Japanese, where the term used is hari, which means “needle,” highlighting a linguistic difference in how time is expressed. “I believe the hands of a watch are remarkable components, capable of expressing a character’s emotions through movement alone. In character watches, the role of the hands is especially significant. Precisely because they serve as the element that breathes life into the watch, we are able to form an emotional connection with the watch.” Omori chose “Ten-chan,” a character who was featured prominently in a 2023 exhibition (“Ten-chan’s Hairspring – The Secret of Mechanical Watches“). Here, even the lugs are shaped like paws.

Day Indicator

Akihiro Hasegawa joined Seiko in 1989. After assignments in France and Hong Kong, he is now responsible for Seiko brand design: “The part of a watch that evokes the strongest emotions for me is the day indicator. Much like camera lenses, I find myself irresistibly drawn to this long-established, almost old-fashioned technology. The days of the week are deeply connected to human emotions – just consider expressions like ‘Blue Monday.’ By focusing on this kind of ‘low-tech that touches the heart,’ I believed it would be possible to create a design that genuinely resonates with the wearer.” The dial is showing today’s day of the week in both Japanese and English, and the watch also indicates what day tomorrow will be. Each window and Arabic numeral of the “Day Indicator“ watch is accented with sky-blue shading “reminiscent of clear skies, creating a three-dimensional, optical illusion-style effect.”

Manual Winding

Kento Ito joined Seiko in 2018 and is responsible for the design of Seiko brand creations. “Manual Winding“ effectively moves the function of a manual winding crown to the rotating bezel, allowing its wearer “to feel the transmission of power within the mechanical watch by turning the bezel.” Ito: “I would describe manual winding in this way: it is the bond that connects human and machine.” To make the power reserve indicator more prominent, the hands were moved offset from the center of the dial toward the 3 o’clock position, and the power reserve hand at the 9 o’clock position allows the wearer to observe the winding bezel’s effect.

To learn more about the Power Design Project 2026, follow this link. The 2026 exhibition can be seen from April 18 April to May 17 at the Seiko Boutique at Via della Spiga 52 in Milan, Italy (and then most likely move to other European locations).