cazalea[Seiko Moderator]
16932
I think perhaps the Evolution 9 is a new generation of cases into which many existing/new movements will go
Jan 11, 2022,23:24 PM
A GS watch "family" might be populated by manual wind, regular automatic, hi-beat, Spring Drive and/or quartz movements.
NOTE: Chronographs are seldom sold by Grand Seiko and have their own sort of lineage and by necessity their own cases.
This is not necessarily understood by the customer base, but some at Grand Seiko value Spring Drive above all the mechanical movements. Not everyone of course, because there are two main GS factories that compete with one another for prestige and products (think AUDI vs PORSCHE).
The Morioka Studio Shizukuishi is in the north where all those birch trees grow The watch captures the mood of the white birch tree forests near the studio where all Grand Seiko mechanical watches are crafted.
EMPHASIS TREES & MECHANICAL
DESKS OF WOOD FROM THE LOCAL FORESTS NO EXPENSE SPARED ON THE WOOD BENCH for the head watchmaker to tweak hairsprings and the best mechanical watches
BY CONTRAST
The Shinshu Watch Studio is located in Shiojiri in Nagano Prefecture (mid-west Japan), an area blessed with beautiful views of both the Jonen and Hotaka mountain ranges as well as with crisp air and pure water.
(This is the NAPA valley wine region of Japan and you might think of it more like "Silicon Valley" because EPSON is known for its electronics.)
The Shinshu Watch Studio houses four separate studios: the Micro Artist Studio, Takumi Studio, Dial Studio, and Case and Jewelry Studio. Among the studios' staff are numerous Contemporary Master Craftsmen, recipients of the Medal with a Yellow Ribbon, and WorldSkills medalists.They have the people, skills and technology to master every aspect of watchmaking from the development, design and production of movements to the manufacture, assembly and adjustment of complete watches, including cases, dials, hands, indexes, jewel setting, bracelets, etc. This the studio is one of the world’s few fully integrated “manufactures” and makes all Grand Seiko’s Spring Drive and quartz watches in-house. The Micro-Arts studio is the pinnacle of that facility and can make virtually anything by hand that a customer might request (but if you have to ask the price you have come to the wrong place). This is where Philippe Dufour came to talk finishing ...
EMPHASIS ELECTRONIC & QUARTZ
When I was in the Micro Arts Studio workshop at Shinshu handling the $400,000 Grand Sonnerie and Minute Repeaters, I asked "Why did you put a Spring Drive in this?"
The answers were immediate and did not require translation -- "Best watch gets the best movement" and "Chiming watch movements should be silent so all you hear is the bell; not tic-tac."
With that background, can you see why the new case design is fitted with the newest best mechanical movement AND the newest, best Spring Drive movement?
(Same reason that AUDI R8 got a Lambo platform and engine to compete with Porsche even though they are all under the same corporate umbrella).
First Spring Drive, manual wind labeled SEIKO dated 1999-2000 I got this in 2005
Early CREDOR SPRING DRIVE manual wind released 2002 I bought this from a pal who got it when new
First GRAND SEIKO Automatic Spring Drive SBGA001 arrived in the mail box early in 2005
After having dozens of GS models with all sorts of movements in the last 20 years, I will take a Spring Drive over mechanical movement or quartz. Only GS knows how many of their customers feel the same way I do; I certainly don't.