GRAND SEIKO IMPRESSIVE NEW LIMITED EDITION RELEASES - APRIL 2022 NEWS

When, in 2020, Grand Seiko introduced a jewellery watch into the Masterpiece Collection for the first time, its design evoked the landscape of the region where it was created. Today sees the introduction of another Spring Drive jewellery timepiece whose craftsmanship is of the same high standard but whose inspiration is very different. Since 1960, the lion has symbolised the strength of Grand Seiko but now it finds a new expression. The white lion has arrived.

The strength and power of the lion are still at the heart of this watch, but the white lion has a beauty that is as striking as it is rare. Sparkling diamonds, black spinels, white gold and Platinum 950 combine to create a stunning timepiece of exquisite artistry. It is offered in a limited edition of just five and will be presented at selected Grand Seiko Boutiques in May 2022.

While the strong and angular lugs speak of the power of the lion and the graceful tresses of its mane are reflected in the pattern on the dial, it is the jewels that attract the eye. 112 diamonds are embedded in the upper surfaces of the case and a further 60 baguette diamonds surround the dial on the bezel. No fewer than 94 diamonds are set in the dial, contrasting with the 26 black spinels to create a stunningly intricate effect. The seconds hand is tempered to a perfect grey colour to match the overall tone and a single brilliant-cut diamond is set into the crown.

On the dial, the carefully selected spinels and baguette diamonds are tapered and serve as minute and hour markers. All these gems are set by hand between a very thin pair of 18ct white gold rails by the most skilled of the jewellery craftsmen and women in the Shinshu Watch Studio in Shiojiri. The diamonds on the bezel are also set by hand with a precision that allows the light on their table surfaces to flow evenly, as if the bezel were a single surface. The same high level of jewellery expertise is to be seen on the lugs where the diamonds are set so exactly that they also seem to create a single, flat surface.

The case is made of Platinum 950 and has the sharply defined edges and prominent ridges that are among the central characteristics of Grand Seiko. This is achieved by the cold forging of the case and by a special kind of Zaratsu polishing that was designed especially for Platinum 950. 

The combination of the muscular case design and the exquisite detail of the gemstones is strikingly unusual. Powerful yet graceful, just like the white lion itself, this new Grand Seiko Masterpiece Collection watch has a beauty all of its own.

Today marks a new milestone in the sixty-two year history of Grand Seiko with the introduction of the brand’s first mechanical complication watch, the Grand Seiko Kodo Constant-force Tourbillon. At its heart is a uniquely innovative movement that delivers a level of stable accuracy unprecedented for Grand Seiko by combining a tourbillon and a constant-force mechanism as one unit on a single axis for the very first time in horological history. 

The watch is named Kodo, the Japanese word for heartbeat. With its unique appearance when in motion and with its carefully designed sound, this revolutionary watch reveals its vitality both audibly and visually, thanks to the open-work design and the sapphire case back.

Most remarkable of all is the way that the constant-force mechanism and the tourbillon have been integrated together to allow the creation of an overall design that is in perfect harmony with the values of Grand Seiko and whose technical ingenuity is encased in a watch of great elegance and wearability. 

The Grand Seiko Kodo will be available as a limited edition of twenty in October 2022.

This April, J Farren-Price has just received two Grand Seiko limited editions: the SBGP007 60th Anniversary Heritage limited edition of 2,500 and the SBGJ255 Mechanical Hi-Beat 36000 GMT 44GS 55th Anniversary Limited Edition.