What happens when watch designers are allowed to stop worrying about what people actually want to buy? Seiko has an answer. The brand’s Power Design Project gives its designers room to experiment with watches that can be strange, playful and occasionally a little impractical. The latest seven concepts will be on display at Japan House London from August 27 to September 15, 2026, with free entry. The project dates back to 2001 and was created as a space for Seiko designers to explore ideas outside the usual constraints of commercial watchmaking. Interestingly, some earlier experiments eventually found their way into production. The 2026 collection takes that freedom rather literally.
Check out the list of 7 Seiko Experimental Watches including Seiko Machining, Seiko Spherical, Seiko Dial, Seiko Bar, Seiko Day Indicator, Seiko Hands watch and more below.
Designer: Naoya Sukeda
Usually, the marks left behind during manufacturing are polished away. Here, they become the point. The case, dial, crown and buckle use layered surfaces inspired by machining, while even the strap takes its cue from the belts found on machinery. Instead of hiding how the watch was made, the design puts the process on display.
Designer: Yu Ishihara
This one is all about the curve. The Seiko Spherical Surface watch concept explores how a continuously curved case catches light and reflects its surroundings. Move your wrist and the watch changes with it, making the case feel more like a small piece of sculpture than a conventional watch case.
Designer: Takuya Matsumoto
The dial gets unusually serious attention in the Seiko Dial Texture watch. Fine embossed patterns create a three-dimensional surface inspired by the four seasons, with details reportedly pressed to a precision of one-hundredth of a millimetre. It is the sort of watch that rewards getting closer rather than simply glancing at the time.
Designer: Kento Ito
Winding a mechanical watch is usually something you do because you have to. The Seiko Manual Winding watch concept asks what happens if you actually make it part of the fun. The watch uses a rotating bezel to wind the movement, while the hands and power-reserve display shift to make the mechanical process more visible.
Designer: Miho Wada
What if the hour markers were the star of the show? The Seiko Bar Indices watch uses 23 different types of dimensional index components across the dial, creating a surface designed to catch and reflect light.
Designer: Akihiro Hasegawa
The humble day display gets its moment. Rather than treating it as a small functional detail, Hasegawa makes it much more prominent in the Seiko Day Indicator watch, showing the current day as well as information about the following day.
Designer: Yuki Omori
And then Seiko gets playful. The hands become the limbs and tail of Ten-chan, the brand’s cat mascot, with the different elements moving as the time changes. In the case of the Seiko Hands Watch, reading the time becomes less about checking the dial and more about watching a character come to life.
These 7 Seiko concepts are not about making another watch for the shelf. They are about taking familiar elements of watchmaking; cases, dials, winding, hands, and even the humble day display, and looking at them from a completely different angle. That is what makes the Power Design Project so interesting. One concept turns machining marks into decoration, another makes the act of winding part of the experience, while the final one gives Seiko's cat mascot a starring role on the dial. They are unconventional, sometimes playful and occasionally a little strange, which is exactly the point. The seven Seiko concepts in 2026 will be on display at Japan House London from August 27 to September 15, with free entry.