Grand Seiko is the trademark controlled by Seiko with which the Japanese house makes its finest creations. It is simply the state of the art of oriental watchmaking: the best technologies, materials and processes available at Seiko are used to make the watches. Grand Seiko.
What are the most interesting watches of this brand? How the collections stand out from each other Grand Seiko? Which technologies differ Grand Seiko from the others maison?
Let's find out in this article.
Grand Seiko: the collections
The brand Grand Seiko articulates its offer in three main product series, distinguished according to style.
- The first is the line Elegance: these are traditional elegant, refined, subtle watches. They are designed to be worn with an evening dress on formal occasions.
- The second line, perhaps the most appreciated, is the Heritage. They are versatile watches, which we could compare to Rolex's Datejust: suitable for any occasion, from sports use to formal reception.
- Finally, the line Sport offers enthusiasts high-quality timepieces designed for sports use, with diving watches, timepieces with GMT functions and chronographs.
Grand Seiko: the movements
Seiko is characterized by a constant search for technological innovation. Its movements are of international reference: many manufacturers buy from Seiko le Ebauches for their watches.
Seiko has been using the brand since 1960 Grand Seiko to make his most advanced and refined creations. The movements of Grand Seiko they are the best that the Japanese manufacture is able to produce: this brand is in fact Seiko's showcase in haute horlogerie, and allows it to promote the best technologies that Seiko can bring to the field.
Grand Seiko offers:
- Mechanical movements with manual or automatic winding
- Quartz movements
- Spring Drive movements, a Seiko exclusive
Il mechanical movement is the more traditional choice. Seiko realizes excellent mechanical movements, among which those equipped with Hi-Beat technology stand out, which with 36 oscillations per hour (000 hertz) ranks at the highest levels of precision.
The quartz movement, powered by a battery, is the choice that combines the affordability, robustness and precision of the watch. It does not have the same prestige as the mechanical movement, but it is still appropriate that the line Grand Seiko understand it: in fact Seiko, the parent company, was a pioneer of quartz movements in the sixties and seventies.
The movement Spring drive it is unique in the world watch scene. Let's see in detail how it works.
The Spring Drive movement it foresees the presence of a normal winding rotor, a spring and a barrel. Instead of the usual balance wheel with spiral spring, however, we are in the presence of a regulation system based on the generation of electricity through a system similar to a dynamo; the electricity feeds a quartz oscillator and a circuit, which controls a magnetic brake which regulates the running speed of the clock by slowing down the scroll wheel as needed.
The result of the Spring drive is the co-presence of mechanical energy supply and precision from a quartz watch. The aesthetic peculiarity that distinguishes it is the continuous sliding of the sphere of the seconds. In a mechanical watch, the hand advances at 5 clicks per second, or 10 if the movement is 36 thousand vibrations / hour. in Spring drive, the movement is fluid, continuous, without jerks.
Grand Seiko: is it for me?
If you are passionate about haute horlogerie who pay more attention to intrinsic quality and technical solutions than to the brand, and you are willing to challenge conventions with a valuable timepiece unrelated to the circuit of the best known brands, Grand Seiko it is certainly a choice to be carefully evaluated.
And you, what do you think of Grand Seiko watches?
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