Seiko

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...