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[Oil Painted] The Great Wave off Kanagawa Dial (No Date)

LIMITED EDITION · 100 pieces. Each one hand-painted — no two alike.

The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Katsushika Hokusai

Original Woodblock Print — The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Katsushika Hokusai

The Great Wave off Kanagawa. Hand oil-painted. One of one.

Katsushika Hokusai's The Great Wave off Kanagawa (神奈川沖浪裏, c.1831) is the most recognised work of Japanese art in the world. This is the dial that takes it furthest — not printed, but painted by hand in oils by a professional dial artist, one dial at a time.

Because it's hand-painted, every dial carries the artist's own expression of the wave — a genuine 3-dimensional surface where colour and contour shift from piece to piece. No two are the same. The one you receive is unique.

The process is unhurried: roughly half a day to paint each dial, then at least a month to cure. Only then are the beveled, mirror-polished silver hour indices applied — and the dial is left with no additional coating, so the brushwork and the texture of the oil paint stay exactly as the artist left them.

A wearable original.
A standard 28.5mm dial — it drops into any build sized for it.

One of one.
Hand-painted by a professional artist — colour and contour differ on every dial. No two are alike; the one you get is yours alone.

Real oil paint, real texture.
Painted in oils for a true 3-dimensional surface, cured for a month, and finished with no coating so the brushwork stays.

Hokusai's masterpiece.
The Great Wave off Kanagawa (c.1831), interpreted by hand on a 28.5mm dial — a true appreciation of art and horology.

Applied mirror-silver indices.
Beveled, mirror-polished silver hour markers, applied after the paint cures — the one precise, repeated detail against a painterly face.

Heads up — a dial is one part of the build

Hands. A dial needs a matching set of hands to tell time. A polished silver handset suits the painterly face and matches the applied silver indices — browse our hands .

Movement. This is the no-date version — no date or day window, and this dial has no lume. Any standard NH-type movement works (NH35, NH36 and the calibres under Specs); if you fit a date movement, the date simply won't show through the artwork. See the FAQ for the full list.

  • Dimensions

    1. Dial Diameter 28.5mm

    Materials & Finish

    1. Quality Swiss Production Quality, ISO 9001 Certified
    2. Artwork The Great Wave off Kanagawa — Katsushika Hokusai (c.1831), hand oil-painted
    3. Surface Finish Oil painting finish — genuine 3-dimensional texture
    4. Coating None — left uncoated to preserve the oil-paint texture
    5. Indices Applied — beveled, mirror-polished silver
    6. Lume None
    7. Uniqueness Hand-painted — each dial varies in colour and contour; no two identical

    Compatibility

    1. Dial Type Time-only — no date or day window
    2. Movements 7S26, 7S36, 4R15, 4R35, 6R15, NE15, NH25, NH26, NH35, NH36 (see FAQ)
    3. Crown Position Both 3 o'clock and 4 o'clock — see FAQ
    4. Hands NH movement compatible (sold separately)
    1. 1x Oil-Painted Watch Dial — The Great Wave off Kanagawa, No Date

    Because each dial is hand-painted, the one you receive will differ slightly in colour and contour from the photos — that's the nature of an original.

    All photos of watches with modification parts are for illustration purposes only and are not included with the dial purchase.

  • Recommended mods with:

    1. Polished Silver Hands
    1. A Complete Guide On How To Mod Your SEIKO Watch Dial And Hands (Photos & Video)
    2. Fitting dials with four dial legs
    3. Seiko Modding: The Complete Build Guide

Questions, Answered

Everything worth knowing before you build.

Will my dial look exactly like the photo?

No — and that's the point. This dial is unique to each piece, whether from a genuine natural material or an individually hand-finished process, so its pattern and colour vary from one example to the next and won't match the photo exactly. The photos are representative of the design, not the precise piece you'll receive.

Does the oil-painted dial glow in the dark?

No — the oil-painted Great Wave has no lume. It's left uncoated to preserve the texture of the oil paint, so it doesn't glow. If you want a Great Wave that glows at night, the Luminous Great Wave dial is the one to choose — its whole artwork lights up.

Is this Hokusai's original artwork?

Yes — it's Katsushika Hokusai's The Great Wave off Kanagawa (神奈川沖浪裏), the woodblock print he created around 1831 and the most recognised work of Japanese art in the world. It's reproduced here on the dial. As a historic work it sits in the public domain.

Which movement does this dial need?

This is a no-date dial, so a no-date caliber is cleanest — the NH38 (the NH70, NH71 and NH72 fit too). It also runs on a date caliber like the NH35 or NH36, and on the wider Seiko/TMI family (7S26, 7S36, 4R15, 4R35, 6R15, NE15, NH25, NH26); the date wheel just turns unseen behind the blank dial. In fact, many modders fit an NH35 or NH36 on purpose to future-proof the build — that way they can later swap to a date or day-date dial without changing the movement. One thing to expect if you do: the crown keeps its date-setting position, so you'll feel it click into that detent when you pull the crown partway out — but with no date window, nothing changes on the dial face.

Will this dial fit my case?

Yes, almost certainly. This is a standard Seiko mod dial — 28.5mm in diameter and 0.4mm thick, the industry-standard size — so it fits most, if not all, Seiko cases. Where a dial is shown with a particular case, that's an aesthetic pairing, not a fitment requirement. If you're unsure, the surest check is to remove your current dial and measure it with a vernier caliper.

Why does the dial have four legs?

The dial ships with four legs so it fits two different crown positions. Seiko movements come in 3 o'clock and 4 o'clock crown layouts, and the dial feet sit in different places for each. Clip off the two legs that don't match your crown position — two stay, two go.

How do I fit this to a 3 or 4 o'clock crown movement?

Remove the two legs that don't match your movement's crown position by clipping or gently twisting them off, then seat the dial as normal — two legs stay, two go. Alternatively, set the movement's crown to the 3 o'clock or 4 o'clock position, superimpose the dial on top, and see how the feet line up — whichever way it aligns, note which two legs need cutting and proceed from there. See the How To Mod tab for the full fitting walkthrough.

Does this dial work with a normal or an ultra thin chapter ring?

Both our normal and ultra thin chapter rings fit this dial. Where a dial has applied (raised) indices, they sit within the clearance of either ring — so the choice is purely about looks: the ultra thin chapter ring sits low and discreet, while the normal sits a little more pronounced. Pick whichever suits your style.

Is this a limited edition / will it be restocked?

Yes, it's a limited edition, and it won't be restocked. Once the run sells out it's retired for good. The edition size is shown on the product page.

Are hands included with this dial?

No — dials and hands are sold separately. This listing is for the dial only; choose a matching handset to complete the build. If your dial is lumed, pairing it with lumed hands in the same lume type keeps the whole face glowing together.