Whenever individuals mention good watches, two Japanese brand grand seiko and seiko names are likely to be cited, that is, Seiko and Grand Seiko. These two names are closely intertwined, and they are different at the same time. One of them is a global brand that has made good watches affordable to the common person. The other is an emblem of exquisite Japanese handiwork that may be able to compete with the finest watches in the world. They all create a story more than a time telling story. It is an account of commitment, talent and the silent satisfaction of doing things the right way.
Where It All Began The Birth of Seiko
The novel begins in the year 1881, in Tokyo. One of the men called Kintaro Hattori started a small shop where he offered and fixed clocks. He possessed a very basic dream, to create accurate, durable and affordable watches. He desired that timekeeping tools be available to people in Japan and later on in the world at large.
His company started producing clocks in the name Seikosha, which translates to Houses of Exquisite Workmanship in Japanese in 1892. That was an unpromising name, yet it suggested the earnestness with which watch in watch Hattori went to work. By the year 1913 the company had already manufactured the first wristwatch in Japan referred to as the Laurel. This marked a milestone in Japanese watchmaking.
Seiko became so much bigger over the decades. It was not a little shop in Tokyo anymore. It emerged as a giant in the world watch market. In 1969, Seiko presented the first quartz watch in the world -the Astron. This was not a minor accomplishment. It transformed the world of watches. Quartz watches were much more accurate than the mechanical watches and were less expensive to make. The watch industry has transformed almost overnight.
Seiko became the hub of the said change. And that innovation reputation never departed the brand.
Seiko Today A Watch for Everyone
Seiko is a renowned brand of watch in the world today. It produces watches to every type of people. Seiko has what you need whether you are a student and purchasing your first real watch, a diver and in need of something movado watch men heavy and waterproof or a professional and want a smart dress watch.
Seiko 5 is also among the most popular Seiko collections as it has difference between seiko and grand seiko long been considered as a reliable, low-priced automatic watch. Then there is the Prospex line which is sports and outdoor ready. The line of Presage by Seiko is a gorgeous and nicer-looking watch at a fair price. And the Seiko Astron line is going on with GPS solar.
The secret of Seiko is quality and value. The best part is that you will not break the bank to acquire a good quality and high reliability watch at Seiko. That has always been the identity of the brand- bringing good watchmaking to ordinary people.
The Birth of Grand Seiko A Different Kind of Ambition
There was an incidence that occurred in Seiko in 1960. The company chose to make a watch that is not only good but it would be the best. This new watch was to be the best ever watch that Japanese watchmakers could come up with. It was named as Grand Seiko.
In the same year, the first Grand Seiko was the 3180 watch. They were hand-finished, and brought so as to suit very strict standards. The idea was straightforward: to create a watch which could compete with the best Swiss watches of that time not only in terms of accuracy, but of all things, including the finishing, the dial, the case, the movement.
Since several years, Grand Seiko was being sold primarily in Japan. It was a men watches luxury product in its native country and it was not famous beyond Japan. It started to change in the period of 2010 when Grand Seiko became more visible in the foreign markets. Grand Seiko was something special, and watch lovers of the world had found themselves starting to find out what Japanese collectors had known more than half a century – that Grand Seiko was something genuinely special.
In 2017, it was separated as a different brand, Grand Seiko, independent of the Seiko name. It was the official acknowledgment of what Grand Seiko had always been: a product line or, rather, a world of its own.
What Makes Grand Seiko Unique
When a Grand Seiko watch is seen; the first thing that is perceived by most people is the appearance of the watch. Its dials are usually based on the seasons and sceneries of Japan. There are fresh snowfall dials, spring forests dials, fall leaves dials with gold colors, and the sky during winter with its deep blue.
Grand Seiko watches also have their cases to be reckoned with. Their method is the Zaratsu polishing method. This is done by hand-polishing the case to give surfaces which are either mirror-bright or perfectly matte, and with sharp clean edges between them. The outcome is a case that appears nearly architectural – exact, clean and highly sophisticated. This sort of finishing is time consuming and requires proficiency. It is one of the reasons why Grand Seiko watches have no similarity to almost anything.
Grand Seiko uses in-house made movements in the watch. The Spring Drive movement is one of the most interesting ones. The Spring Drive is a special type of movement which incorporates the mechanical energy with electronic control. It has a conventional mainspring to drive the watch, but rather a regular escapement, it has a tri-synchro regulator which is electronically manipulated. The outcome is an accuracy that is quite difficult to match. Grand Seiko Spring Drive movements may be adjusted up to one second per day – quite an accomplishment.
Grand Seiko also produces the traditional mechanical watches and high-precision quartz watches. All forms of movement are very carefully crafted at one of the workshops of Grand Seiko in Japan – at Shinshu or Shizukuishi.
Seiko vs. Grand Seiko Same Family Different Worlds
One can easily imagine that Seiko and Grand Seiko are competitors, however, one should imagine the two to be the family members with different roles.
The role of Seiko is to be available. It aims at touching as many people as they can with sincere, trustworthy, quality watches. It is an innovator that continuously drives into the new technologies and new designs. It serves the common wristwatch consumer, the fan who desires something deserving without ending up spending much and even the collector who loves history and tradition.
The place of Grand Seiko is to be extraordinary. It takes what is the seiko prospex best of Japanese watch making and puts it on offer with a lot of care and attention. It is targeted at individuals who desire a luxury watch that will be a lifetime treasure. Grand Seiko is operating in an environment in which there are Swiss brands such as Rolex, Omega and Jaeger- LeCoultre. And several of the more serious watch collectors feel that Grand Seiko is more than subsisting in that firm.
The difference in the price indicates this. A Seiko 5 could sell at approximately a hundred dollars. A Presage Seiko could cost a few hundred. However, a Grand Seiko watch has an average entry point of a few thousand dollars and may exceed ten thousand dollars depending on the complexity or scarcity of the watches.
Why Watch Lovers Respect Both Brands
The watch community respects the two brands greatly. It is highly regarded that Seiko has a long history, has been innovative, and has always been true to its value. When the brand is able to deliver good-looking watches that can be relied upon at a fair price, this builds trust. Seiko has done so since the generations.
Grand Seiko deserves the respect based on another factor. It is a respected movie since it demonstrates what can be accomplished when a group of committed craftspeople are willing to do anything to achieve the best. Each Grand Seiko watch is a symbol of hundreds of hours of professional work. The dials, the cases, the movements, all that indicates a culture of excellence that is not common in any industry.
As a unit, Seiko and Grand Seiko exemplify everything that Japanese watchmaking is capable of having, whether it is the pragmatic and the inventive, the elegant and the remarkable.
A Legacy Written in Time
Over 140 years since Kintaro Hattori opened that little shop in Tokyo, the labels that he contributed to its creation continue to remain as a testament to the fact that hard work and craftsmanship do not end. Seiko has been producing watches that are relied on by people in the world on a daily basis. Grand Seiko still produces watches which people admire, as well as collect and even bequeath.
When you put on a Seiko 5, or the Grand Seiko with the snowflake face, you are putting on a fragment of an over-100-year-old story. An account of a nation that had the watchmaking in mind. One of the tales concerning people who hold the view that the manner in which something is created is as significant as what it is created.
