Betting on ultra-natural “translucent make-up”!
Presently, many of our Seiko watches are solar-powered. They have built-in solar battery units that produce electricity and the dials rest on top of these. And these dials are not simple single-layer plates, but rather seven or eight layers combined. This layered structure, too, is somewhat similar to make-up.
The base of the dial found in solar watches, however, unlike the human face, is a translucent plastic. This is because in order to bring in the sunlight needed to produce the solar power, it is necessary first to let the sunlight penetrate. Even though, with technical advances, the degree of light penetration does not have to be all that high, a certain level of translucency is required just the same.
“Translucence” was once a “technical restriction,” but in the end it played a big role in producing a “translucent face (dial).” That’s the interesting part. While allowing a fixed amount of the sunlight that strikes the watch to actually penetrate, a portion of that is reflected. That translucence along with exquisite layers of a wide variety of colors is what produces an engaging face with the power to captivate people.
Make-up techniques adorn the watch dial.
The dial of this Seiko EXCELINE (SWCQ089) has a white coating on the translucent base which forms the foundation, and atop this are thinly sliced mother-of-pearl layers covering the upper surface. But, this is not all. Adding a further extra touch transforms this “face” into a thing of unique beauty.
After a layer of mother-of-pearl has been evenly added all over the watch, layers of white are added to the periphery of the dial. In doing so, an increasingly brighter gradation is apparent as you move to the edges, while at the same time the shell-like pattern in the center of the dial is emphasized. This is so that even if shadows are created by the depth of the case, the edges of the dial, which tend to have certain “darkness” about them, will thereby appear as bright as possible.
To be honest, I had heard previously a celebrated make-up artist say that “bright gradations in shadowy areas of the face can be used to brighten up the entire face.” I took this into account when coming up with this idea. I think make-up for both the human face and for the watch dial alike share a lot in common.
