Seiko - Historical heritage takes centre-stage
It is doubtless worth recalling that, although Seiko invented the quartz watch as we now know it, the firm has always been a manufacturer of mechanical watches - and impeccably crafted ones at that. The 2013 launches at Baselworld exemplify the two-fold vocation of the Japanese brand. On the one hand, it continues to cultivate its high-end quartz watch collections; and on the other, it produces mechanical calibres and the watches that house them to characteristically rigorous Japanese standards. Alongside a number of new additions to the range, Seiko is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Kinetic. This system involving mechanically recharging a dedicated storage unit to power a quartz watch was the first to make the most of the advantages of an electronic watch and combine them with wear on the wrist, that is a virtually inexhaustible source of energy. This base movement drives a number of horological complications, including a perpetual calendar.
1960s
But the project for which Seiko nurtures the highest ambitions is called Grand Seiko. The high-end brand is a concentrated blend of the finest expertise cultivated within the workshops in Morioka, in northern Japan. It is there that the hand-wound Calibre 9S64 is produced. Thin, modern and extremely understated, it stems from a functionalistic approach that results in COSC-worthy precision and a 72-hour power reserve. It drives the new Grand Seiko SBGW047. Its aesthetic is the archetype of the Grand Seiko watch, in this instance the 44GS model that laid the foundations of the brand style in 1967. Its case is distinguished by its discreet angularity that ensures a smooth but never rigid finish. The interplay of satin-brushed polishing displays a rigorous geometry that is only noticeable at close hand. This 38 mm-diameter model is available in the three gold colours and in steel, all issued in limited series.
17th century
Midway between these two worlds, Ananta is the flagship line embodying the origins and identity of Seiko. However, this affirmation of an unmistakable Japanese style does not involve using ostensibly folklore-inspired motifs or techniques form the Land of the Rising Sun. Instead, Ananta draws inspiration from Japanese sabres and distils a few classic Seiko touches. The case profile resembles a reinterpreted blade, and the dial of the new automatic SRQ017 chronograph is an historical reference. To celebrate Seiko's 100th anniversary, the brand draws upon its country's cultural heritage. The lacquered moon crescent occupying the side of this dial is a reproduction of an ornamental element on the helmet of Masamune Date, a 17th century warlord and diplomat. It is traced against a natural lacquered background and crafted in a midnight blue shade by an artisan exercising his craft in accordance with Japanese traditions. Nonetheless, this aspect, like the many other sophisticated features of Seiko's high-end approach, is not immediately apparent if one is not especially observant. It is an approach based at once on high standards and discretion.
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