A classic watch, and one that will enjoy decades of relevance, is a hard design to pen. In 2010, Seiko released the SARB065 Cocktail Time, and in my opinion, nailed it.

The SARB065 Cocktail Time is, or was, a Japanese market only watch. If you lived outside of Japan and wanted a SARB065, like the SARB017 Alpinist, you had to acquire yours on the grey market.

In my hands, I have the SARB065, aka the “Cocktail Time Cool“. Before I move on to the updated Presage Cocktail Time next month, I wanted to get hands-on with the aging SARB065 so that I had an accurate basis for comparison. Having spent several weeks with it, I honestly can’t believe I waited so long.

Let’s check it out.