REVOLUTION_International_Vol 54

LA GRANDE
DAME
As Grand Seiko celebrates its 60th anniversary this year,
the brand pays tribute to some of its greatest hits with a
slew of new offerings.
WORDS DARREN HO, SUMIT NAG & FELIX SCHOLZ
The Seiko company was first founded in 1881 by
Kintaro Hattori as an importer of fine quality watch
and jewelry products, and post-incorporation
in 1892, Mr Hattori soon began to develop Japanese
watchmaking, believing that the country’s craftsmen would
be capable of making sophisticated timekeepers. As Daini
Seikosha and Suwa Seikosha began producing watches
under various names, in the ’60s they began to focus on
developing fine chronometers that were comparable to Swiss
precision performers. Like any Asian student competing
against foreigners, their diligent study efforts soon paid off,
and they quickly caught up with their Swiss peers.
However, the development of beautiful watchmaking
isn’t merely innate performance; the exterior is just as
significant. Up till the ’50s, Seiko didn’t have a design ideas
department until 1958. When Mr Taro Tanaka was hired in
1959, it marked the first step in the transformation of the
brand. Mr Tanaka would go on to develop a complete set of
rules for Grand Seiko and the discontinued King Seiko’s
collection, a system of design that remains within the Seiko
organization’s guidelines.
The rules reflected the style of watch design popular in
the era, and to this day, still guides the industry at large. The
global perception of luxury and precious products overall
has changed very little. However, the very first Grand Seiko
released in 1960, with a stated chronometer precision
of -3/+12 seconds a day held on to classic Seiko looks —
rounded, angled lugs on a round case with a thin bezel;
dauphine hands and faceted hour markers, brushed or softly
polished surfaces.
The said reference, the 3180, bore a caliber of the
same number, with 25 jewels and a reserve of 45 hours. The
words ‘Grand Seiko’, in a stylized font, were applied on the
dial, a marked difference from later models which bore the
‘GS’ abbreviation. The case back bore the symbol of a lion,
Seiko’s emblematic creature and the case was in gold. A few
models were later produced in full platinum.
GRAND SEIKO AT 60
Grand Seiko’s rise in the industry since has been nothing
short of meteoric. Both in terms of performance, as well as
design and stylistics, the brand’s original cult following has
gone mainstream. Today, it’s coveted both among those who
love high-end watchmaking, as well as those who appreciate
the Japanese style of aesthetics and design, a utilitarian
mode of watchmaking, coupled with traditional crafts.
It’s a trend that Grand Seiko itself has noticed and
played up. Last year, the brand released the SBGZ001,
with a snowflake-pattern dial and case in platinum that
was handworked by artisans of the Micro Artist Studio
in Shiojiri. The matte, irregular pattern gave the watch
a startlingly distinct look that was incredibly sexy and
sophisticated, demonstrated by how quickly the watch sold
out even at a rather steep price of USD70,000.
This year marks Grand Seiko’s 60th anniversary,
and the company’s released a bevy of new models that
are targeted at both new and old, classic and sporty
watch buyers. The stars of this year’s 60th anniversary
celebrations are the Elegance SBGW257, 258 and 259
references, a trio of Grand Seikos that are loyal to the
reference 3180 in looks. Angled polished surfaces play
against the mirror-finished case and bezel surfaces, as
well as around the sapphire case back, through which
one can admire the 9S64 manually-wound caliber.
The movement, first introduced in 2011, featured a
SPRON alloy (a material developed by Seiko
for its hairspring, the 610, and mainspring, the 510)
which is less likely to deform and has greater tensile
performance, so it can deliver better isochronism
and store more energy for release in the movement.
The escape wheel and pallet fork are also manufactured
with Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) and are
designed to allow them to hold lubricating oil better. The
movement delivers a three-day power reserve in the slim
watch, which is sized at a more era-appropriate 38mm,
compared with the 3180’s 35mm.
Three models of the watch have been produced: the
first in platinum, sunray-brushed dial with gold faceted
markers and dauphine hands; the second in yellow gold with
a white dial; and the final model in Brilliant Hard Titanium,
a material that’s exclusive to Grand Seiko. The enhanced
material has twice the hardness of steel with the weight
of titanium, and is also more lustrous than regular-grade
titanium, which makes the watch’s Zaratsu polished surface
appear even more brilliant than usual. The watch comes in a
Grand Seiko blue dial.
100 BACKTOTHEFUTURE