Redefining watchmaking with Grand Seiko

Grand Seiko's watchmaking expertise is clear in the precise mechanics of every timepiece, from the detailed, nature-inspired dials to the innovative calibers and movements powering each design. Spring drive is the brand's signature for engineering and innovation – it's a movement technology that took one engineer three decades to develop. It's powered by a mainspring, like a traditional mechanical watch, but has an electronic regulator for exceptional precision.

‘With its signature glide-motion second hand, spring drive expresses the nature of time in a particularly Japanese way,’ says Shinji Hattori, president and CEO of Seiko Holdings Corporation. ‘A spring drive tends to be a watch fan's first Grand Seiko,’ says Paul Gray, the manager of Grand Seiko's New Bond Street London Boutique. ‘It's uniquely ours and it's sometimes the missing link from their collection – so it often becomes that first step to falling in love with our attention to detail.’

The precise attention to detail of Grand Seiko is derived from the brand's embodiment of the Japanese concept of Dō – ‘the way’ or technique of doing things. In the words of Akio Naito, president of Seiko Watch Corporation: ‘Dō is all about being intensely focused, persistent and quietly determined, constantly seeking enhancements until an ideal result is achieved.’ Once a task is decided upon, the minds of Grand Seiko seek to master and perfect it meticulously with a dedication that can lead to outstanding heights of achievement. This devotion to self-improvement and refusal to stay still has defined the brand over the past six decades.

In an increasingly digital world, Grand Seiko seeks to preserve traditional Japanese craftsmanship. Each watch is handcrafted and its designers eschew trends. The whole production of a Grand Seiko timepiece is vertically integrated – one of the very few watchmakers in the world to do so – so that every element – from the links to the dial – is made and finished in-house. The utmost respect is afforded to the designers and craftspeople who dedicate their careers to these wearable, functional works of art. These watchmakers are revered as takumi, the Japanese moniker for someone unrivaled in their field of expertise.