Seiko Arabic dial watches: how to read Eastern Arabic numerals

Updated 12 October 2026 · Cro Watches, Vilnius

Few vintage watches start as many conversations as a Seiko 5 with Eastern Arabic numerals. The dial looks unusual to European eyes, yet it is just as easy to read once you know six shapes.

How to read the dial

Eastern Arabic numerals, sometimes called Hindi numerals, are the digits used in much of the Arab world. On most Arabic-dial watches only the hour numbers change; the hands work exactly as usual.

Three quick tricks

• ٥ (5) is a small circle and ٠ (0) is a dot. So ١٠ is 10: a one and a dot.
• ٧ (7) is a V and ٨ (8) is an upside-down V. They sit next to each other at the lower left of the dial.
• ٦ (6) looks like a 7 and ٤ (4) looks like a backwards 3. Once you know these, the rest falls into place.

In practice nobody reads every number. Like any watch, you read the position of the hands. Within a day the dial feels normal.

Where these dials come from

From the 1970s onwards, Seiko sold huge numbers of watches in the Middle East and made dials and day wheels for those markets, including bilingual Arabic/English day wheels. Arabic-numeral Seiko 5s have since become one of the most popular vintage Seiko styles on Instagram and TikTok, far beyond the Middle East, because the dial is distinctive and still affordable.

Original or replacement dial?

Many Arabic-dial Seiko 5s on the market today, including several in our shop, have replacement dials: an Arabic-numeral dial fitted to a genuine Seiko case and automatic movement. You can check this yourself:

1. Read the dial code at 6 o'clock, for example 7009-6210.
2. Read the reference on the caseback, for example 6309-8500.
3. If the first four digits differ (7009 vs 6309), the dial did not come with this case.

For wearing every day this makes no difference: the case and movement, the parts that keep time, are genuine Seiko. For collectors, a dial that matches the caseback is worth more. We label every watch plainly as original or restored. More in our dial originality guide.

Arabic day wheels

Some Seikos also have an Arabic day wheel, usually bilingual: the day shows in Arabic or English depending on how many times you press or turn the crown. Read more about day wheel languages.

What they cost

In Europe in 2026, a running Arabic-dial Seiko 5 with a replacement dial usually sells for €50–90. Ones with an original, matching dial are rarer and cost more. See the full Seiko 5 price guide.