Seiko’s Little-Known Sub-Brand Just Launched One of the Year’s Most Stunning Watches

Seiko is far more than a producer of solid, affordable watches. It’s a genuine behemoth in the watch industry.

The Japanese company is likely the most vertically integrated watch company in the world and produces every component of its watches in-house, including growing its own quartz crystals and making its own batteries for its quartz watches.

Not only that, but Seiko owns a portfolio of brands that compete at multiple price points. There’s the massive namesake brand, of course, and luxury offshoot Grand Seiko. But there are lesser-known brands under the Seiko umbrella too, including budget brands Lorus and Alba, and arguably the most luxurious brand of them all: Credor.

Credor

While the brand isn’t terribly well-known outside of Japan — its website lists just one authorized retailer in the U.S.: Grand Seiko’s flagship boutique in New York —  Credor arguably produces the most impressive watches in the entire Seiko Group.

And its latest is a real doozy.

Birds of a Feather

Credor’s new watch is the Goldfeather Tourbillon, a veritable work of art that combines an in-house tourbillon with an astounding level of handcrafted art from various Japanese disciplines on both the dial and movement.

The dial is coated in inky black urushi lacquer, which has been used in Japan for thousands of years — including on some Seiko Presage watches — but that’s just the start of the artistry. A lone urushi artisan named Isshu Tamura constructs the dial using three additional classic Japanese crafts: raden, kirikane and maki-e.

Credor

Raden involves placing differently colored pieces of mother-of-pearl into the lacquer, while kirikane is a similar process but with fine lines of gold plate instead of mother-of-pearl.

Tamura used both processes to create a multicolored flock of birds flying from the exposed tourbillon at 9:00 — which itself resembles a flying bird — to the Credor logo at 12:00. Maki-e, the process of sprinkling gold dust into the lacquer, can be seen surrounding the tourbillon for an ethereal effect.

As striking as the dial is, the caseback may be even more impressive. A sapphire caseback reveals the new Credor Cal. 6850, a manual-wind tourbillon movement with 60 hours of power that is hand-assembled by master watchmaker Katsuo Saito. Mechanical mastery aside, the movement features some impressive and unique decoration.

Credor

Half circling the movement is a layer of urushi lacquer inlaid with a green mother-of-pearl raden feather and a trail of maki-e gold dust. The mainplate of the movement is hand-engraved with feather decorations by a dedicated team using tools in various sizes to create a remarkable amount of depth.

With everything going on with the dial and movement of the watch, the case almost becomes an afterthought, but it really shouldn’t. It’s seamless in construction without a single screw and is made from solid platinum, which has been entirely hand-polished. What’s more, it measures just 8.6mm thick.

Credor

Pricing and Availability

Whether you’re a fan of the bird motif or not, there is no arguing that the Credor Goldfeather Tourbillon, ref. GBCF999, is one of the most impressive and stunning watches we’ve seen this year, from any brand.

As one would expect, its price and rarity are befitting of its magnificence. Just ten examples of the watch will be produced, with each priced at €190,000 (~$223,387).

Credor

Credor Goldfeather Tourbillon

Specs

Case Size	38.6mm
Movement	Credor Cal. 6850 manual-wind tourbillon
Water Resistance	Splash-resistant

• $223,387 at Credor

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