The Biggest Flaw of Grand Seiko Watches Will Soon Be Fixed

Grand Seiko makes spectacular watches. That is not up for debate. The luxury offshoot of Seiko competes with the likes of Rolex and Omega and often comes out on top in categories like case finishing, dial craftsmanship and movement innovation. But, just like any other watch brand, Grand Seiko isn’t perfect.

For years, there has been one significant flaw holding Grand Seiko back. One feature about their watches — or, rather, one feature they lack — that every watch enthusiast loves to complain about. Frankly, Grand Seiko’s bracelets do not stack up against the competition, particularly when it comes to their clasps. The vast majority of the brand’s bracelet clasps do not feature any type of micro-adjustment capability, let alone the kind of tool-free micro-adjustment seen on many of its competitors. That’s a problem.

But according to a new report, that’s about to change. Grand Seiko is finally going to give us what we’ve been waiting for.

Grand Seiko

Grand Seiko micro-adjustment is “on the way”

We now have word that Grand Seiko is indeed working on a micro-adjustment system for its bracelets, and the source is none other than Seiko president Akio Naito.

In a new report from Time+Tide Watches, editor Zach Blass noticed an interesting comment on a month-old post from the Watches and Wonders LinkedIn account. The post features a video interview between Naito and Time Talks talk show host Belle Donati, and while micro-adjustments are not discussed in the interview, a LinkedIn user nevertheless took the opportunity to comment, “Where’s my micro adjust?”.

Suprirsingly, Naito himself responded to the commenter, replying simply: “On the way…”

That’s all the information we have. We don’t know what this micro-adjustment system will look like, if it will be a toolless quick-adjust (a Grand Seiko version of IWC’s push-button clasp mechanism would be *chef’s kiss*) or an old-school spring bar system, but simply the confirmation straight from the horse’s mouth that some kind of solution is in the works is reason enough to get excited.

What’s the big deal about micro-adjustment?

If you’re reading this and are one of the few watch enthusiasts who hasn’t found yourself droning on endlessly about the travesty of Grand Seiko’s adjustment-free claps, first off: congratulations on enjoying your life. Secondly, you may be wondering what’s so important about the ability to adjust the size of a bracelet clasp. Well, I’ll tell you.

For one, after removing links in your watch bracelet, you may find that you’re between sizes. Add a link back and it’s too big, remove that same link and it’s a bit too tight. Having the ability to adjust the length of your clasp allows you to fine-tune your bracelet’s fit. This can be done with any type of adjustable clasp, but may require specialized tools to do so.

Grand Seiko

Then there’s the more desirable quick-adjustment clasp style, which is increasingly becoming the industry standard. You may have noticed that your watch feels different throughout the day, becoming looser and tighter at various times. That’s because your wrist swells and shrinks throughout a given day, particularly if there are large temperature fluctuations happening, such as entering an air-conditioned building on a very hot day.

Having a clasp on your bracelet that can be adjusted without the use of tools allows you to make your watch looser or tighter no matter where you are, sometimes without even removing the watch from your wrist, depending on the mechanism.

I’m assuming Grand Seiko will come up with an elegant solution to the problem, and I can’t wait to see it incorporated into the brand’s bracelets in the future.

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