Horological Meandering

Z3
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Seiko

PuristSPro BaselWorld 2011 Live Reporting by Z3

Seiko

This year marks the 130'th anniversary of the company. Three novelties are in place - the Credor Decimal Minute Repeater, the Ananta diver's watches, and the 130 year anniversary re-edition of the Grand Seiko.

The limelight shines on the Credor repeater, so while I wait patiently in a long queue to see it, let me first show you the other pieces.

Ananta. The piece in the center is a limited edition chronograph. Although the design is not innovative, the dial is handpainted in black lacquer.

Next is the Grand Seiko, true to the original Grand Seiko from the 1960s. The movement is the new 9S64 hand-wound movement with 72 hours of power reserve. I sat together with the designer of the new movement Mr. Hisashi Fujieda  - a young engineer who has been working for Seiko for 8 years after university. The movement features mainspring and balance spring made from a proprietary alloy that's developed in-house by Seiko.

Limited Edition in steel (1300 pieces), yellow gold (130 pieces), and platinum (130 pieces). The dimension is 35.8mm, just slightly larger than the original from the 1960s.

Very beautiful and classic creations. The steel version retails for Euro 5000, the prices are a bit high for the gold and platinum pieces in my opinion (Euro 15400 and 23500 respectively)

Limited Edition Engravings (out of 130) on the back of the platinum piece.

The sapphire crystal mimics the acrylic glass from the original Grand Seiko

Compared to the original GS in 1960. See how the two are almost identical.

Now the Credor rose gold minute repeater arrives. It is actually a decimal repeater - so it will chime the hour, then the double chime for each 10 minutes, and the single chime afterwards. It is a sensible design, according to Seiko, because modern people are accustomed to think in decimal instead of quarters. Regardless of the philosophy, it is a technical feat.

The watch runs slightly from a Spring Drive manual-winding movement. The repeater governor is specialized so you don't have the whirring sound typically found in minute repeaters. To perfect the sound, Seiko has worked with a wind chime manufacturer to produce a sound that is reminiscent of the wind chime found in Japanese homes. The result is heavenly.

The repeater is activated via a push button instead of the traditional slider.

The finishing is amazing, and the skeletonized dial allows the user to enjoy all the mechanical inner workings. The price is about 35,000,000 JPY. Which is over 400,000 USD in today's exchange rate.

The backside has a small white gold plate, where one can perform engraving.

The finish is impeccable. This is really the best of Japanese craftmanship and engineering.

A great job, Seiko, and happy Anniversary!

Yours Truly,

Jon (Z3)

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