Some watchmakers folded entirely or drastically modified product offerings to stay afloat, but Grand Seiko was able to roll with the punches. The advent of quartz watches brought new challenges to the entire watch industry, especially to those at the pinnacle of pricing and exclusivity. Company watchmakers continued iterating on the designs throughout the 1970s, which also included women’s mechanical watches. (Very Fine Adjusted) movements were astonishingly accurate and were able to reach a monthly time deviation of just one minute. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the company’s V.F.A.
Grand Seiko’s early movements are now the stuff of legend, but at the time they were regarded as groundbreaking. In 1967, Grand Seiko showed off its first automatic movement, and in 1968 the company took home best mechanical watches honors, besting Switzerland’s finest. Having dominated every chronometer competition on its home turf in Japan, Grand Seiko trained its focus on the Swiss watch industry. Through the 1960s, Grand Seiko continued to refine its product and develop new models. The process, though completed by machine, takes years of training for a craftsperson to learn. Timepieces with Zaratsu polishing carry an almost perfect mirror finish. That technique can be found on several of Grand Seiko’s watches today. Finally, Grand Seiko watches adopted the now-famous Zaratsu polishing method that can be seen on several of the company’s timepieces. They feature strong, contrasting angles with cases that are shaped differently than the company’s closest competition from Switzerland.
Grand Seiko’s watches are clean and upscale but rugged enough to stand up to daily wear. Despite its early design, the watch set the tone for all Grand Seiko timepieces to come.Ĭompany watchmakers focused on several key design elements that continue to define the brand and its timepieces today. The first watches were produced in 1960, and featured a 25-jewel, manual-wind 3180 caliber. That lofty goal was achieved, and still guides the company’s product development today. In 1960, Seiko started producing the first Grand Seiko variants with the goal to match and beat the quality of watches that were being produced in Switzerland at the time.
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