Editor’s Note: Watches & Wonders (formerly SIHH) and Baselworld 2020 are canceled but that hasn’t stopped watch brands large and small from debuting their new wares. To stay on top of this year’s best new watch releases, visit our tag page.
It seems like every year is the anniversary of something for just about every watch brand. It’s worth recognizing, however, how far Seiko and Grand Seiko hve come in their ability to rival the mighty Swiss.
While much of the wider world may have awoken to Grand Seiko’s remarkable quality and sophistication only in recent years, the brand’s first watch was released back in 1960. Today, the brand is one of the stars of luxury watchmaking, and it’s marking its 60th anniversary with several restrained new watches that well represent the brand’s conservative aesthetic. The new timepieces feature deep blue dials, automatic movements and a new quartz caliber.
Four models make up the anniversary releases, with three men’s pieces and a smaller, diamond-covered, automatic women’s watch. The new quartz movement is featured in two mens watches, and it’s promised to have an accuracy of +/-5 seconds per year with an hour hand that can be adjusted without stopping the movement — the idea is that the wearer can easily change time zones without stopping the crazily accurate seconds hand.
Side by side, the men’s watches all have a similar look, but they differ in their details. Each has a different case, but all measure 40mm wide with dials featuring red highlights and subtle anniversary references. The sportier model has a more angular case, a blue ceramic bezel, and 200m of water resistance (the others have 100m of water resistance). All the new models are limited editions, with the quartz SBGP007 priced $3,800 (limited to 2,500 pieces) and the SBGP015 Sport model at $3,900 (limited to 2,000 pieces) The hi-beat automatic Grand Seiko 60th Anniversary watch (SBGH281) is limited to 1,500 pieces with a price of $6,300.
