Grand Seiko’s well-earned reputation for technical quality, innovation and foresight precedes it. In the past three years alone, it has built the wonderfully impressive Kodo Constant-Force Tourbillon (SLGT001), featuring a tourbillon and a co-axially integrated remontoir, as well as developed an impressive high performance movement, the 9SA5, bringing to market a brand-new escapement — a feat as rare in watchmaking as finding a four-leaf clover in a concrete jungle. This year marks the introduction of its first mechanical chronograph, the Tentagraph, which benefits from the exceptional foundation of the 9SA5.
As the high-end expression of one of the world’s greatest watch companies, Grand Seiko embodies a philosophy rooted in crafting timepieces of impeccable quality that seamlessly blend traditional craftsmanship and cuttingedge technology. Above all, these watches stand as paragons of reliability and precision — a reflection of the Japanese industrial tradition’s relentless pursuit of refining every aspect of an object to a state of transcendent perfection.
Since Grand Seiko expanded beyond its domestic market in 2010, there has been a growing recognition that Grand Seiko watches, as evident in the quality of their cases, dials, hands and movements, give up nothing to their Swiss counterparts. In fact, from the moment the watch graces your wrist to the day it becomes a regular, you’ll be struck by its unswerving conviction in its own existence, a serene grace that stems from utter self-sufficiency.
Historically, Grand Seiko was the preserve of mechanical watches produced in small numbers, but today it represents the pinnacle of three distinct branches of technical mastery. The first is the 9F ultra high accuracy, thermo-compensated quartz movements introduced in 1993, followed by the 9R Spring Drive movement with automatic winding, unveiled in 2004 — both produced by Seiko Epson, formerly Suwa Seikōsha. The third is the 9S mechanical movement by Seiko Instruments, formerly Daini Seikōsha, engineered to rival the very best of Swiss watchmaking. While all three groups of movements exemplify a level of finesse and care in construction that is worthy of equal admiration, our attention today will be directed toward the 9S family of movements as they celebrate their 25th anniversary this year.
A NEW BEGINNING: THE 9S55 AND 9S65
In 1998, the introduction of the caliber 9S at the Shizukuishi Watch Studio in Iwate prefecture represented Grand Seiko’s first mechanical movement
