Seiko

Baselworld 2013: Seiko - a comprehensive report

 

The new Seiko forum gives me the opportunity to come back to the 2013 collection I had the chance to handle at Baselworld last year. Well, speaking about a "collection" is not true since I took pictures of only a very small part of it. Actually, I chose these watches because they were giving a very good image of what Seiko is: a comprehensive and skilled Manufacture able to create  fine watches in each and every segment.

Don't blame me: browsing the full collection would have taken too much time and sadly the time slot available was too short due to a busy agenda. It is the reason why I deeply regret to have missed the 2013 Ananta collection if I take only one example. But anyway, the watches below deserve a lot their presence in the report!

A) Past: a tribute to the 60s, the Grand Seiko 44GS Diashock 100th anniversary LE

My fav Seiko watch of the year was without any doubt this Grand Seiko 44GS Diashock. It gathers all the best from Seiko: flawless finishings, a reliable and nice to handle handwind movement, a design inspired from the history of the Manufacture and a "je ne sais quoi" which makes these watches  very appealing. They are true connoisseur watches: if you look at them very quickly, they look like simple and efficient pieces. But when you start to observe them more carefully, you understand that you are in front of high end watches.

The respect from the Seiko team for the history of the Manufacture can be felt in each detail of the watch. This LE is a re-edition and a tribute of a famous Grand Seiko watch of the past, the 44GS which was created in 1967. And believe it or not but Seiko took the decision to keep exactly the same case size (37,9mm). It is something I can hardly imagine from a swiss brand. This size may appear to be small if we consider today's standards but it is fine for a simple 3 hands watches... and we don't have to forget the design of the case which makes the perceived size larger than it is actually.

This LE was created to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first Seiko wristwatch. It is available in WG,PG,YG (70 pieces each) and in SS (700 pieces).

The fastest way to make the difference between the WG and the SS versions is to spot the colour of the GS on the dial and of the second hand. If they are blue, it is the WG version.

As you can see on the pictures, the dial is very pure with rather thick and wide applied indexes. They contribute a lot to the achievement of the dial design which would have been too boring without them.
 

I love the contrast between the blued hand and the silver dial. Well played Seiko... these little blue details make the watch much more appealing than the SS version and the price is far from being the same!

The GS seal of the original watch comes back! We can regret that the handwind movement 9S64 movement is not visible but at the end it is not a problem.

The 9S64 is a very contemporary movement when it comes to its architecture and design. I don't consider it as a "eye-catching" movement because Seiko, as usual, was in priority, focused on the efficiency, the reliability and the accuracy. Even if it is nicely finished with Côtes de Genève (can I write this in the Seiko context?), it is not for me a big issue to not be able to see it. This movement which was introduced 2 years before has a 4hz frequency and a power reserve of 3 days which is a good performance.

The WG version on the wrist:

A close-up of the dial, the indexes and hands finishings are perfect:

The Stainless-Steel version, available in a LE of 700 pieces. Of course, I regret the removal of the  touches of blue of the WG version but this watch has an excellent value for its price. Its finishings meet the standards of the other versions.

The dial becomes even more sober, more discreet:

The SS version on the wrist:

This is an important picture because it shows all the complexity of the case and its inspiration from the 60's. Sometimes, it looks round and when you move the wrist it becomes very sharp.

Another view of the case profile:

The PG and the YG versions, the coloured metals work quite well in this context even if due to the case shape, I think I appreciate more the neutral colour of SS or of WG:

I was seduced by this new edition of the 44GS thanks to its perfect finishings and the character of its case.

B) Present: the new Grand Seiko, the same quest for excellence

Seiko obviously didn't forget its "Present" and unveiled at the 2013 Baselworld fair new models within its Grand Seiko line.


The Grand Seiko SBGR059 features a high intensity titanium 37,8mm case and the automatic 9S65 movement with a 4hz frequency and a 3 days power reserve. Once again, the watches are very well made with flawless finishings as you can see on the dial:

But on the other hand, this close to perfection and very pure approach lacks the subtle touch of warmth which is required to create a really seducing watch. I think that Seiko has to work more on this topic. Purety and efficiency are wonderful objectives but we don't have to forget that perfection can be... boring.

It is the reason why I much prefer the 44GS because it combines the very strict Seiko approach with less controlled details (the case from the 60s, the seal on the back...).

Anyway, the Grand Seiko SBGR059 is a nice watch, perfect for somebody who looks for a sober piece with high quality contents:

I like the black dial version which is, IMHO, more exciting than the silver one:

A flawless dial, look at the small index on the right side of the date window:

The 9S65 belongs to the same family of movement than the 9S64. Do you understand now why I didn't consider the see-through caseback as mandatory for the 44GS? The 9S65, like its handwind brother, is an efficient movement but I don't find it very appealing. Anyway, it remains a great movement in terms of reliability.

The Grand Seiko SBGR059 on the wrist, its size was fine for my wrist:

The Grand Seiko SBGR059 is a good example of what Seiko is able to achieve when it comes to its Grand Seiko line: the watch will deliver all that its proud owner will expect from it. On the other hand, its indisputable quality would be reinforced by a less "clinical" design.

C) Future: the Seiko Astron GPS Kintaro Hattori LE

Astron is a very famous name since the Seiko Quartz Astron was the first quartz watch which was launched on the market.

This LE of 5.000 pieces displays all the technical breakthroughs of the Astron family: the watch connects to the GPS network to adjust the precise time of each and every timezone on Earth... so 39 ones including Nepal or some other strange countries when it comes to their timezone gaps. You travel, you enter a new country, you touch a button and the local time is automatically adjusted.

It is powered by the light absorbed through the dial and the power indicator displays the energy stored inside the watch. Due to the GPS signal, the Seiko Astron claims to be one of the most accurate watches with a deviation of 1 second every 100.000 years. I think it will be enough for me.


This LE of the Seiko Astron features a high-intensity titanium with black hard coating case:

The "dark" atmosphere is more than welcome because it reduces the feeling of size... the watch is HUGE (47mm) and thick (17,4mm):

The lovely seal of the LE on the caseback:

This is really an impressive watch in any meaning of the word: innovative, accurate, it is also very bulky and not wearable by the small wrists... this size is a pity because the technical contents of the watch would make it very attractive for the people who travel a lot. Let's hope that one day Seiko will produce smaller versions.

The report is over now. As I said previously I would have loved to present you the Ananta novelties but sadly I was too busy to shoot them. Anyway, we will have more opportunities to do it in the future... since we have now a Seiko place on PuristSPro!

I would like to thank a lot the Seiko team for the warm welcome at the 2013 Baselworld fair.

Fx

This message has been edited by foversta on 2014-02-22 02:50:12 This message has been edited by AnthonyTsai on 2014-02-23 10:18:13