Grand Seiko Commemorative Watches – The Cycle Of Life

Andre Rowell

The number sixty is one of the most important numbers in the world of horology and watchmaking, but, in Japan, it has an additional significance as a moment of new energy and re-birth. Sixtieth birthdays or Kanreki, which literally means “return” and “calendar” and signifies that the 60th year of a person marks the end of one cycle in the zodiac calendar, a return to birth year and beginning a new cycle.

To celebrate their 60th year and the beginning of a new cycle, Grand Seiko have been busy on several fronts. Of course, they have commemorated their important landmark with remarkable timepieces, but they have also launched their first boutique in continental Europe and a new Grand Seiko Shizukuishi, the birthplace of Grand Seiko mechanical models, designed by master architect, Kengo Kuma.

The range of Grand Seiko commemorative watches, launched in 2020, have dials in Grand Seiko’s signature blue colour, but each one exemplifies a very different aspect of the wide range of expertise and craftsmanship that have gone into the first 60 years of Grand Seiko’s story.

One of the celebrations of Grand Seiko’s 60th anniversary is the automatic limited edition [SBGR321], which harnesses the brilliant blue sky over Mt. Iwate at dawn when it is tinged with the red of the morning sun that greets the watchmakers and technicians as they arrive to work. It is this combination of colours that has inspired the design of this new automatic timepiece. The blue of the dial is echoed in the vivid blue of the titanium sections of the oscillating weight and a red ring inside the sapphire crystal case back mirrors the glow of the morning sun.

Paying homage to the famous 44GS from 1967, whose design became the Grand Seiko visual signature is the Hi-Beat 36000 Limited Edition [SBGH281]. In honour of the 60th anniversary, the Grand Seiko logo is in gold and the seconds hand is in a vivid red; colours that, together, symbolise a sunrise and of course a new dawn.

Model – SBGP007

The quartz limited edition [SBGP007] gets to showcase a new quartz movement in the form of the Calibre 9F85. The dial has a unique marking with a 2020 pattern, a modern case design and a thin bezel, all offset with a vivid red seconds hands.

Another commemorative watch to have the new quartz calibre is the Sports Collection quartz limited edition [SBGP015] featuring a ceramic bezel that is almost impervious to scratches. The Grand Seiko blue dial is offset with LumiBrite markers and hour and minute hands.

These Grand Seiko commemorative watches really are a testament to the very best of Japanese precision and craftsmanship which has been coveted the world over. This is formalised even further with the first continental European Grand Seiko Boutique which opened its doors at 7, Place Vendôme, Paris in March this year. As well as having a very fashionable address, it can boast that it is the largest Grand Seiko Boutique in the world and home to the widest range of Grand Seiko timepieces outside of Japan.

Inside Japan meanwhile, Grand Seiko have also unveiled a new manufacturing studio set in a landscape of trees near the slopes of Mt. Iwate. An entirely new free-standing building of 2,095 square metres, the studio was designed by master architect, Kengo Kuma who celebrated its natural environment with construction out of natural materials and an abundance of natural light.

The studio is home to the watchmakers who assemble and adjust Grand Seiko’s mechanical watches, as well as an exhibition space where visitors can learn about the last sixty years of Grand Seiko and watch the next sixty years unfold.