“What is time? The never-ending quest. The passion at the heart and soul, driving every Takumi at Grand Seiko. From planning to design, to the actual making and throughout their offer. Passionate, meticulous, and uncompromising. Their quest knows no end. For they know that there is a spirituality of time to be discovered. Uniquely Japanese and revered throughout history. Time is nature. With all her expressions. Each fleeting moment, minute, and second a unique expression. Unveiled through nuances of light and shadow. Fast and slow. Serene and dynamic. Passing and greeting. Always in motion. Graceful, ever-changing, and grand.” (Grand Seiko)
Prior to 1960, most people believed only Swiss watches were the highest quality and Japanese watches were inferior. Seiko believed they were capable of producing watches of the same quality as the Swiss. The Grand Seiko is the result of their belief.
The story of Seiko began in 1881, when a 21-year-old entrepreneur, Kintaro Hattori, opened a shop selling and repairing watches and clocks in central Tokyo. Today, after more than 140 years of innovation, Hattori’s company is still dedicated to the perfection that the founder always strove to achieve and Grand Seiko is a testimony of their belief.
In 1999, Seiko released the Spring Drive movement, the world’s first watch driven by the mainspring power and controlled by quartz at the same time. It is one of the most precise watch movements, sometimes called the “third engine”, blending mechanical with electronics for the best possible results in watchmaking. The spring drive works like a mechanical watch, driving the mechanisms with the force generated from the unwinding of the mainspring. A small power from the spring is transmitted to a rotor fitted with a magnet that generates electricity. The electric power activates the IC and vibrates the quartz oscillator, vibrating 32,768 times per second. A circuit called a frequency divider changes the frequency of the quartz oscillator into a signal 8 times per second and sends the fixed reference signal at a frequency of 8Hz. The IC keeps the rotor moving at a constant speed to synchronise the 8Hz reference signal. The rotor brake is sequentially activated and released by electromagnetic force while the reference signal of the quartz and the rotational speed of the rotor are compared. As a result, this mechanism achieves an accurate speed by transmitting a controlled movement in the following order: mainspring→ rotor→ wheels→ hands.
Grand Seiko is the fulfillment of Seiko founder Kintaro Hattori’s mission to create the “Perfect Watch”, a timepiece that embodies perfection in precision, legibility, durability, and beauty in the best possible way.
Grand Seiko is exclusively available at SEIKO BOUTIQUE, DLF MALL OF INDIA, Noida. You can contact Chirag Khurana (09899291169) for assistance and home delivery.
You can avail special complimentary gift along with your purchase when you show this article at SEIKO BOUTIQUE.
