Grand Seiko Commemorates The Achievements Of Its Founder With Two Special Watches

This year, it was 160 years ago that the founder of (Grand) Seiko was born in central Tokyo. Kintaro Hattori was a visionary who recognized that Japan’s rapid modernization and its increasingly outward focus to the rest of the world was an opportune time to found a company of his own. He did so in 1881, at the age of 21, focussing initially on importing timepieces, but later would start producing them himself. With this, he laid the foundation for one of the most formidable brands in watchmaking.

Grand Seiko is marking these special anniversaries with exquisite watches. For the 160th anniversary of Kintaro Hattori’s birth, Grand Seiko created a stunning limited edition of just 50 watches, crafted in their renowned Micro Artist Studio. It features a 37.5 mm large case made out of platinum, which has been polished to perfection following their Zaratsu technique. To get this unique, distortion-free finish is very challenging, in particular on platinum. The same care in crafting has been given to the rest of the watch. It is powered by Spring Drive Caliber 9R02, which can be admired through the see-through case back. This manual movement has two mainspring barrels, which give it a power reserve of 84 hours. Thanks to the proprietary Spring Drive technology, it has an accuracy of +/- 15 seconds per month.

To commemorate the 140th anniversary of the company’s foundation, Grand Seiko recreated their first watch from 1960. It is crafted from 18k rose gold and comes with a subtle champagne-colored dial, which complements its rich look. This watch is slightly larger than the Kintaro Hattori 160th Anniversary Grand Seiko, as it has a diameter of 38mm. Combined with its height of 10.9mm makes this for a very slender and elegant watch. It is powered by caliber 9S64, which has a 72-hour power reserve, and whose exquisite finish can be admired through a sapphire caseback. Of this watch, Grand Seiko will make 350 pieces, which will be available exclusively at the Grand Seiko Boutiques as of January 2021.