The story
The Seiko 3823 VFA, was launched as part of Seiko's high-end collection, the VFA (Very Fine Adjustment) series renowned for its exceptional accuracy, featuring a finely tuned movement that when originally launched would have cost two months salary of the average japanese professional at the time.
This is because it was launched during the height of the quartz crisis, where Quartz was the futuristic, desirable new technology that was pushing the performance of watches, and brands like Seiko were creating pieces that were especially well finished.
This had a gorgeous mottled dial with Roman numeral markings that had eroded in a localised area in the top right. It was unsightly but the patina on the dial gave it a golden hue. The design, of a hummingbird sipping nectar from flowers was chosen to allow spot coverups in the top right from the small tropical flowers, but also the balance of placing a small bird on the left side of this very small dial. The target aesthetic was of a fantasy scene, akin to the illustrations of a Lewis Carroll novel.