Submitted by: Submitted by lucijanacalisto
Views: 90
Words: 464
Pages: 2
Category: Business and Industry
Date Submitted: 11/01/2013 08:21 AM
The word "Grand Seiko" either means a lot to you or nothing at all. Seiko's high-end
brand built entirely in Japan by their most skilled watch makers is a meme unto itself.
More so, to the Japanese it means one thing, while it means something totally different
to the rest of the world.
Grand Seiko as a line started in the mid 20th century (specifically in 1960), available
only in Japan. For decades Grand Seiko was available exclusively in its homeland, as
well as some select zones outside of Japan. If you heard about Grand Seiko and wanted
one you had to contact a dealer in Japan that was willing to ship it overseas to you. As
of last year, Seiko has started to ship Grand Seiko watches (not all of them) to the
world. Watch lovers couldn't be happier.
In Japan Grand Seiko is source of national pride. Watch making is a valued art form,
and Japan's ability to make good watches is a reflection on national engineering and
artistic ability. A Japanese person who wears a Grand Seiko watch is a person who
takes pride in what Japan produces. Outside of Japan the Grand Seiko collection is
popular for a different reason - and it has to do with the reputation Japan has for
quality and reliability. I recall growing up wanting everything I bought to be made in
Japan. For the most part this included electronics and toys, but they made the best
electronics and toys I could find. If it was made in Japan, I felt as though a better mind
than mine own imagined it, designed it, and manufactured it. Japan was synonymous
with quality. What made hi beat movements difficult to master was reliability. The fast moving
escapements and anchors needed to be specially engineered to prevent excessive wear.
This is one of the main reasons that you don't see more high frequency mechanical
movements on the market. We will see how Tag Heuer industrializes some of their
ultra high frequency mechanical movements. Seiko mastered the hi beat movement
like 50 years ago, and today...