Watchbi

Japan · Founded 1960

Grand Seiko

Launched in 1960 for Japan alone; international sales began half a century later.

Grand Seiko is the luxury brand of Japan's Seiko group, launched in December 1960 and presented as a separate brand since 2017. It makes mechanical, quartz and Spring Drive watches in Japan and is known for Zaratsu-polished cases, textured dials and its own accuracy standard. Most new mechanical and Spring Drive watches list between about €5,000 and €10,000.

History

Seiko traces its origins to Kintarō Hattori, who founded the business in Tokyo in 1881. In December 1960 Suwa Seikosha, the Seiko company now known as Seiko Epson, introduced the first Grand Seiko, a hand-wound watch with calibre 3180, positioned above Seiko's existing lines. A dedicated Grand Seiko accuracy standard followed in 1966. In 1967 Daini Seikosha produced the 44GS, whose flat, faceted case and broad polished planes became the reference for the later Grand Seiko Style, and the 62GS became the first automatic Grand Seiko.

From 1964 Suwa and Daini entered specially adjusted movements in the Neuchâtel Observatory chronometry competitions, and the skills developed there were applied to Grand Seiko. The 61GS and 45GS of 1968 ran at 36,000 vibrations per hour. After Seiko introduced the Astron, the first commercially sold quartz wristwatch, in 1969, the last new mechanical Grand Seiko of the period appeared in 1972 and mechanical production ended in 1975. The name returned on the quartz 95GS in 1988, and the 9F quartz calibre of 1993 was designed to drive large hands precisely.

The 9S55 of 1998 was the first new mechanical Grand Seiko calibre in about two decades. Spring Drive, which regulates a mainspring-driven movement with a quartz oscillator and an electromagnetic brake, entered the line with the 9R65 in 2004, and the high-frequency 9S85 followed in 2009. Grand Seiko had been sold almost entirely in Japan until international distribution began in 2010. At Baselworld 2017 Seiko announced Grand Seiko as a separate brand and removed the Seiko name from its dials, without changing ownership.

In 2020 Grand Seiko introduced the Evolution 9 design code and the automatic 9SA5, with a dual impulse escapement, free-sprung balance and 80-hour power reserve. Mechanical watches are made at the Grand Seiko Studio Shizukuishi in Iwate Prefecture, designed by Kengo Kuma and opened in 2020, while quartz and Spring Drive watches come from the Shinshu Watch Studio in Shiojiri, Nagano. The SLGH005 won the GPHG Men's Watch Prize in 2021, and in fiscal 2022 overseas sales exceeded domestic sales for the first time.

Founders

Kintarō Hattori
Founder of Seiko · 1860–1934
Founded the Tokyo watch business in 1881 that became Seiko, one of the first Japanese watch manufacturers. Grand Seiko was created by the Seiko group in 1960, after his death.

Milestones

  1. 1960

    The first Grand Seiko

    Suwa Seikosha releases a hand-wound watch with calibre 3180 as Seiko's highest-grade model.

  2. 1966

    Grand Seiko Standard

    A dedicated accuracy standard for Grand Seiko is established, initially +6 to -3 seconds per day.

  3. 1967

    44GS and 62GS

    The 44GS defines the brand's faceted case design, and the 62GS is the first automatic Grand Seiko.

  4. 1968

    High-beat 61GS and 45GS

    Grand Seiko launches movements running at 36,000 vibrations per hour, ten beats per second.

  5. 1988

    Return with quartz

    After mechanical production ended in 1975, the name returns on the quartz 95GS.

  6. 1998

    9S mechanical calibre

    The 9S55 is the first newly developed mechanical Grand Seiko movement in about two decades.

  7. 2004

    Spring Drive

    The automatic Spring Drive calibre 9R65 joins the Grand Seiko range.

  8. 2010

    International distribution

    Grand Seiko goes on sale outside Japan.

  9. 2017

    Separate brand

    Seiko presents Grand Seiko as its own brand, and the Seiko name disappears from the dial.

  10. 2020

    Evolution 9 and 9SA5

    A new design code, the redesigned 9SA5 calibre and the Grand Seiko Studio Shizukuishi mark the 60th anniversary.

Three things collectors know

Zaratsu is a German name

Grand Seiko's Zaratsu polishing, which produces flat, distortion-free mirror surfaces, is named after Sallaz, the name engraved on German-made polishing machines Seiko acquired in the 1950s, not after a Japanese metalworking tradition.

17 days of testing

Before casing, each 9S mechanical movement is tested for 17 days in six positions and at three temperatures under the Grand Seiko Standard.

Spring Drive to 20 seconds a year

The Spring Drive U.F.A. calibre 9RB2 of 2025 is rated to ±20 seconds per year. Grand Seiko credits a three-month ageing process for the quartz, temperature compensation and vacuum sealing of the oscillator and sensor.

Signature models

  • 44GS1967

    The model that set Grand Seiko's case design; reissued in the Heritage Collection.

  • Titanium Spring Drive with a textured white dial inspired by snow; listed at US$6,900.

  • Evolution 9 model with the 9SA5 calibre and a dial evoking Iwate's birch forests; GPHG Men's Watch Prize 2021.

  • Kodo Constant-force Tourbillon2022

    First Grand Seiko mechanical complication, with tourbillon and constant-force mechanism on one axis; GPHG Chronometry Prize 2022.

Questions

Is Grand Seiko the same company as Seiko?
Grand Seiko is a brand of Seiko Watch Corporation, part of Seiko Group. Since 2017 it has been presented as a separate brand without the Seiko name on the dial, but the ownership did not change.
Where are Grand Seiko watches made?
In Japan. Mechanical watches come from the Grand Seiko Studio Shizukuishi in Iwate Prefecture, and quartz and Spring Drive watches from the Shinshu Watch Studio in Shiojiri, Nagano Prefecture.
What is Spring Drive?
A movement powered by a mainspring and gear train like a mechanical watch, but regulated by a quartz oscillator, an integrated circuit and an electromagnetic brake. The seconds hand sweeps continuously. Grand Seiko has used it since 2004.
Does Grand Seiko make its own movements?
Yes. Its three movement families, 9S mechanical, 9F quartz and 9R Spring Drive, are developed and manufactured within the Seiko group in Japan.

Sources

  1. History (Grand Seiko)
  2. SBGA211 (Grand Seiko)
  3. SLGH005 (Grand Seiko)
  4. Grand Seiko – Wikipedia
  5. Seiko – Wikipedia
  6. Kintarō Hattori – Wikipedia

Most listed references

All references