News · Seiko

Seiko turns the panda dial into an actual panda

Two Power Design Project chronographs bring a 2024 exhibition idea to Australian boutiques in November, complete with ears, eyes and a tail.

Hen & Mills Editorial · 3 min read · 7 October 2026

• Seiko has turned its 2024 panda-watch exhibition concept into two limited-edition Power Design Project quartz chronographs for Australian release.
• The dials form panda eyes, rounded pushers become ears, and a raised tail completes the animal on the caseback.
• HHK001 is limited to 3,000 and HHK002 to 2,000; both cost A$875 and arrive at Australian Seiko boutiques in November.

A panda dial usually asks us to see an animal in two dark chronograph registers against a pale field. Seiko has taken that old bit of watch-collector shorthand unusually literally. The idea began as a watch for panda lovers at its 2024 Incredibly Specialized Watch Exhibition, where seven of the company's designers explored unusually narrow briefs. One exhibition design has now become a pair of commercial limited editions, announced on 6 October: the Seiko Power Design Project collection 2 HHK001 and HHK002.

The panda has ears, eyes and a tail

Move in from the edge of the dial and the joke becomes remarkably thorough. The two upper registers droop like eyes, while a textured dial gives the face something closer to fur than the flat contrast of a conventional panda chronograph. Round chronograph pushers stand in for ears. Seiko has even given the back a raised tail and a pattern that echoes the animal's back. None of those details is needed to read elapsed time, of course, but together they make the design coherent rather than a panda printed onto an ordinary watch.

The HHK001 takes the familiar black-and-white route. The HHK002 is pink, a reference to the appearance of a newborn panda rather than a new dial finish chosen at random. There is a little judgement involved in choosing between them. The monochrome watch is easier to read as a pun on an established dial layout; the pink version makes the animal theme unmistakable from across the room. I lean towards the first because the chronograph joke survives even after the novelty has worn off.

A bamboo scale around the chronograph

Where a normal tachymeter would carry a technical label, Seiko has printed SASAMETER, drawing on the Japanese word for bamboo. The scale runs to 30 km/h, the theoretical maximum speed the brand assigns to a panda. This is an excellent example of a watch taking its own premise seriously without claiming to be an instrument for some imaginary pursuit. The chronograph still has usable elapsed-time displays; the lettering simply tells you that the designer has followed the thought right around the dial.

The exterior is much bigger than the playful graphic might suggest. Both references have a 43.0 mm stainless-steel case that is 14.6 mm thick, with Hardlex over the dial and a 3 bar water-resistance rating. Those figures point to a sizeable, everyday novelty chronograph rather than a small dress watch, while the water rating gives little reason to treat it as an aquatic companion. Seiko has not supplied a lug-to-lug measure in its Australian announcement, so the diameter and thickness are the dependable fit figures here.

Quartz keeps the panda focused on its design

Inside is Seiko's 8T61 quartz calibre, rated by the maker to within 15 seconds a month under its stated temperature conditions. That choice matters to the character of this release. Quartz keeps the panda details as the reason to look at this release, with the calibre and accuracy stated plainly by Seiko. The leather strap has sections of suede-like material, introducing another tactile cue without adding yet another drawing of the animal to the front.

Turn it over and the limited-edition marking sits above that sculpted tail. Seiko says neither edition is individually numbered, despite their fixed production totals. That distinction is worth making because a limited run does not always promise a serial number on the back. Each watch also comes in its own presentation box. It is difficult to think of another chronograph whose caseback makes more sense only after you have seen its pushers. The whole thing is a small exercise in following one design idea to its conclusion.

Seiko Power Design Project HHK001 and HHK002 pricing and availability

Seiko announced both watches on 6 October 2026 for Australian release in November 2026. The HHK001 is limited to 3,000 pieces and the HHK002 to 2,000, neither individually numbered. Both are priced at A$875 and are due at Seiko boutiques in Sydney and Melbourne and the Seiko Boutique Online. The price is the Australian recommended retail figure published by Seiko, not a converted overseas price.

I can see some collectors dismissing the pair as a joke taken too far, but that is also what makes them more interesting than another dial colour. The 2024 exhibition asked what a specialist watch could look like if its audience were defined by affection rather than a profession. The production watches keep that question intact, right down to the ridiculous and quite deliberate ears. That is the part I would remember long after the specification sheet.