Grand Seiko Hand Finishing and Collecting Evolution

Team,

Our valued Baron (who’s taste and style, particularly in photography, I admire) asked me to elaborate on the impact that owning a Grand Seiko has had on my opinion of watches. I thought this sounded like a good idea, and figured I’d do that later. “When I get around to it” as they always say. Then my girlfriend went to bed, and I have half a bottle of 2005 Shiraz left and some fantastic scotch in the cupboard... sounds like now might be the time! Carpe nocturn! As they say.

So, here is the watch that started this thread of ‘horological meandering’ (please read ‘rambling’).



I’m sure many of you have been exposed to Grand Seiko’s marketing material. To summarise, they focus on the fact that they’re watches are hand assembled and many components are finished by hand, by craftsman that are trained to do a particular job. The way I explain it to people that are interested in my watch, is that the parts that you can see when you check the time (case, hands and indices for example) have been finished not by a process of automation but by a human being using machines and hand tools to obtain the desired affect. To me, this is what I want in certain watches. I say this because this is not necessary or relevant on my Sinn EZM 1.1 for example, if it was I would’ve just bought another Grand Seiko!

Wearing this watch regularly brought a new appreciation for the impact of hand finishing on the everyday use of a watch. I found that in comparison, my IWC Portuguese does not have the same charm or warmth that my GS has. This is not to say it’s a bad watch, I think I just have a preference to the nature of a hand finished design. Through my passive observations of many watches, I have concluded (and I could be wrong here) that work by hand often impacts that actual design of the components. So while exceptionally hand applied finishes to any surface are often indistinguishable from an exceptional machine applied finish, the design that is required to facilitate applying a finishing technique is often different.



So with my new found enthusiasm, I began to read. I quickly became very interested in George Daniel’s and his apprentice Roger Smith. A quick side note here, I feel like Mr Smith lives in the shadow of Daniels in a way, which is a great shame as he is both tenacious and humble. Roger Smith is a man that deserves all the credit we can give him.

Anyway, I bought a book called ‘George Daniels: a Master Watchmaker and his art’ and as I’m sure many of you could imagine, I began to learn what real watch making is. While mass production is a marvel in itself, this man’s work is just amazing. To be clear, for the purpose of this rant I am not referring to anything technical, like his escapement, but the beauty of his manufacturing techniques. Another interesting side note, the word manufacture is derived from the Latin for ‘made by hand’. This is something I think we should all keep in mind! I should add here that Roger has talked about the importance of getting the ‘weight of the hands right’. This did not mean much to me but after some time becoming familiar with his watch designs and looking at the watches I own I now understand what he means, I encourage you all to look at some good pictures of his watches and compare them to some pieces you own. I also think that due to the practice of hand finishing at Grand Seiko, the hands are designed to be larger and ‘heavier’ to enable this to be possible. The effect is very attractive in my opinion. The hands of my GS GMT are my favourite on any watch that I could afford.

So here we are today, and what has this changed when I look for a watch? Well, I now have a feeling of disillusionment when it comes to many brands. Even Rolex, I have owned and sold three (I’m sure admit that I might buy another in a heart beat though, It’s Rolex). They lack magic to me, however I admire them of course. The feeling of my Grand Seiko on my wrist has changed my value perception a lot. If I am to pay for a watch with a similar price, I will expect a similar amount of hand craftsmanship or technology that makes up for it. Aesthetically speaking, I crave the warmth that I feel when I look at the brushed and polished edges and the lines of the case. They look ever so slightly imperfect that you can tell a person held them to the polishing wheel. I think its beautiful. I often feel that this watch appears to have been ‘grown’ not ‘produced’.

So what do I do in the future? Well, this is complicated. On the flip side of this I now also have a whole new appreciation for movement design. Roger has some particularly interesting things to say about this topic, which he did in a recent lecture, you’ll find a link in the watchtech area of this forum. I think I’m becoming a very particular watch enthusiast, with preferences bigger than my budget! Perhaps my dream watches will have to be enjoyed in books.

I’m looking forward to reading your comments team!