Watch Spotting: Tumultuous scenes in the Japanese Parliament

Things were already heating up in Tokyo at the end of 2018. The turmoil was the result of a proposed legislation, stipulating that foreign workers will be allowed to immigrate to Japan, an idea put forth as a means to counteract the country’s rapid demographic changes.

This in a country which, during the Edo period (1603–1868), had completely shut itself off from the outside world for more than 250 years, and still today has one of the lowest proportions of foreigners at around 2%. It’s no wonder that the proposal caused people such unease!

But a picture posted on a recent Reddit thread reveals not only a melee of furious Japanese, but some interesting watches as well. Thanks to the magic of the internet, the five potential timepieces were quickly identified, although some of these speculations were, at best, a bit tenuous. Before we proceed, let’s have a look at the picture in question:

Watch number 1: Grand Seiko Snowflake?

A winter watch to counteract all of those hot heads: Grand Seiko’s ever popular SBGA211 aka “Snowflake”. This watch is relatively easy to recognize and seems obvious when you consider where the picture was taken.

Likelihood: 5/5.

Watch number 2: Hermès Clipper?

Now it gets tougher. Is it perhaps the Hermès Clipper CP1.910?
This speculation is supported by the “H-Link” bracelet – as also seen on, for example, a Sinn 556 – as well as the dark dial and bezel. The numerals and the placement of the sub-dials also seem right.

Likelihood: 4/5.

Watch number 3: Casio Edifice?

The next watch is at best a well-educated guess. The internet community has consensed on the Casio Edifice EFR. We, however, are not completely convinced, and the picture is far from conclusive, but by all means have a look for yourself.

Likelihood: 2/5.

Watch number 4: Swatch Skin?

The fourth watch is almost certainly a Swatch Skin, possibly in the reference SFK361. The black strap, the clear case and the low profile of the watch all say Skin.

Likelihood: 4/5.

Watch number 5: Casio Edifice

The last tonneau-shaped watch is again a tough nut to crack. At first glance the delicate bracelet and the subdials do seem to suggest the Edifice, but there are scads of other watches which also fit this description. It does seem, though, that the Casio Edifice EFA 120D 1AV has been agreed upon, even if we still don’t completely see the resemblance.

Likelihood: 2/5.