Manufacturer: HKEd Watches | Price: $385 USD (£315 GBP, €345 EUR approx)
Anyone who likes watches and considers themselves to have even a hint of enthusiasm would have heard of WatchuSeek.com. There have been various limited edition watches over the years with input from WuS forum members, including this one from the affordables section. May I introduce you to the HKEd Emperor, available in 3 colour options.
Specifications
- Dimensions: Case Diameter – 40.1mm, Thickness – 13.4mm, Lug to Lug – 46.6mm, Lug Width – 20mm
- Movement: Seiko NH35 Automatic, 21,600vph (3Hz), Hackable, Self Winding, 41hr Power Reserve
- Case Material: 316L Stainless Steel with Polished Sides
- Bracelet: Beads of Rice Stainless Steel, Solid End Links, 20mm Tapering to 18mm
- Crystal: Domed Sapphire, Multilayered AR Coating
- Bezel: 120 Click Unidirectional, Ceramic, Fully Lumed
- Water Resistance: 20ATM / 200m / 660ft
- Lume: Swiss Super Luminova® BGW9
- Crown: Signed, Screw Down Caseback: Screw Down Stainless Steel, Etched Emperor Penguin Logo
- Warranty: 1 Year Where to Buy: HKEd Watches
- Options: Dial Colour: Black, Blue, Brown (Blue version has a date window & stainless steel bezel)
The Case
The HKEd Emperor has a water resistance rating of 200m / 20 ATM, thanks to the screw-down caseback & crown. The finish of the case is superb, with its entirely being brushed stainless steel with polished sides. The transition between the brushing and the polishing is spot on. The proportions of the watch are, in my opinion, perfect for my 7″ wrist with the sweet spot diameter of 40mm and a short lug to lug distance of just under 47mm.
Bracelet
The Emperor comes equipped with a beads of rice style stainless-steel bracelet. It is very nicely made with solid end links and flexible 7 part links. The finishing on the bracelet is brushed outer links with polished centre beads. The bracelet tapers from 20mm at the lugs to 18mm at the clasp. The thickness of the bracelet is bang on 3.5mm. The clasp itself is a nice solid milled example but does come across as an off-the-shelf item.
The whole bracelet is of great quality. Sized up for my 7-inch wrist I had to remove 5 links, which was easy enough to do with the screw pins for adjusting & re-sizing. I am however, not a fan of beads of rice bracelets and at the first available opportunity I replaced it with a spare tropic strap that I had in my strap box. Don’t worry though, if you do like beads of rice bracelets, this is one of the better ones that I’ve seen.
Movement
The chosen movement for the Emperor is the microbrand go-to movement of choice, the super-reliable Seiko NH35. A great workhorse that is a 21,600vph, 3Hz, 24 jewel movement with self winding and of course hacking. Checking the accuracy after running the Emperor for around a few weeks, mainly on my wrist and occasionally in my Barrington Watch Winder, I thought the accuracy was very good and well within tolerances with it showing an average of +7.2 spd.
Dial & Bezel
