Once I consider Grand Seiko, my thoughts goes to 3 locations. First, its estimable mechanical watchmaking, empowered by the tried-and-true household of 9S calibers, the class through which Grand Seiko encounters nearly all of its competitors. The second is high-end quartz, an esoteric space of luxurious watchmaking through which Grand Seiko has few friends. And final, however actually not least, there’s Spring Drive, the class through which the model hasn’t any friends. I believe we are able to chalk up a whole lot of Grand Seiko’s latest success to the consistency of its design throughout these disparate classes. That, and the unwavering strategy to imbuing its merchandise with the Japanese interpretation of craft, make GS enchantment to collectors in a approach that Swiss manufacturers actually can’t.
The corporate is rightly considered one of many world’s nice makers of in-house watch actions, but it surely doesn’t make a mechanical chronograph. Grand Seiko makes chronographs, after all. However they stay within the Spring Drive universe, rendering comparisons to the absolutely mechanical chronographs available on the market imprecise.
Solely a few years in the past, Grand Seiko launched the subsequent technology of its Hello-Beat mechanical calibers, which introduced a stage of technical, ornamental, and ending precision as much as the usual of its already well-known dials and ultra-high-end Spring Drive actions. Whereas GS was creating the 9SA5, it was additionally engaged on an idea tourbillon with a remontoir constant-force mechanism. Now that mechanism has lastly seen life in a sellable restricted version watch, the Kodo ref. SLGT003.
With the Kodo Fixed-Pressure Tourbillon, launched with Grand Seiko’s arrival at Watches & Wonders Geneva, now we have its first tourbillon, and first mechanical complication, for that matter (excluding its many GMTs). Seiko has, after all, made a tourbillon, however that watch, 2016’s Fugaku Tourbillon, was not a Grand Seiko however a Credor.
Contemplating that Grand Seiko has been round for 62 years and that that is the primary time it has entered the world of mechanical problems, the importance of the Kodo (Japanese for heartbeat) can’t be overstated. It symbolizes an evolution for the corporate, the opening of a brand new chapter in its historical past. This features a sophisticated mechanical watchmaking studio in Tokyo’s Ginza district to rival the well-known Micro Artist Studio for Spring Drive – in addition to, it seems, a few of the extra well-known mechanical watchmaking ateliers in Europe. Throughout Watches & Wonders, we frolicked with this watch within the Grand Seiko sales space and took the pictures you see right here.
The Kodo could also be Grand Seiko’s first skeleton, however the signature GS dial furnishings nonetheless makes an look.
In 2020, Grand Seiko introduced an uncased idea tourbillon motion, which it known as the T0. Developed by Grand Seiko R&D engineer and watchmaker Takuma Kawauchiya and his crew over 5 years, caliber T0 was a tourbillon paired to a remontoir constant-force mechanism. A remontoir is basically an intermediate supply of energy between the mainspring and the escapement. Often a spring hooked up to one of many prepare wheels, it takes energy from the mainspring earlier than giving it to the escapement in even increments, the precept being that whereas a mainspring loses energy steadily and due to this fact supplies much less and fewer energy to the escapement, a smaller spring can serve up energy in constant doses over an extended time.
You might need had this expertise your self with a traditional mechanical watch. Because the mainspring winds down towards the tip, it has the impact of constructing the watch run sooner. It is because diminishing energy leads to a lack of amplitude within the steadiness. A remontoir prevents this from occurring by not passing alongside an excessive amount of or too little energy early or late in a watch’s energy reserve.
So long as there’s sufficient vitality within the mainspring to wind the remontoir, it’ll ship a relentless provide of energy to the escapement. By combining each a remontoir and a tourbillon, Kawauchiya’s constant-force tourbillon accounts for each positional errors (the tourbillon) and variation in vitality provide (the constant-force mechanism), two of the elements that have an effect on chronometry in mechanical watches. Whereas tourbillons have change into ubiquitous throughout a large spectrum of worth factors and types, constant-force mechanisms stay a uncommon factor.
Shut-up of the Kodo’s power-reserve indicator
Jack Forster penned an In-Depth article explaining the technical achievement that was the T0 idea motion. However an idea it was. For one factor, it was massive sufficient to preclude its inclusion in a cased-up, sellable watch. However all that has modified. The Kodo’s motion has been modified and shrunk down to suit the wrists of collectors.
The shut integration of the 2 problems permits for a seamless supply of energy, which ends up in favorable fee stability over the constant-force mechanism’s roughly 50 hours of efficiency, although the watch itself has 72 hours of reserve. This mechanism additionally heralds a brand new customary for testing at Grand Seiko. In response to the model, every motion is examined for a full 48 hours in every of six positions and at three temperatures. Every motion is evaluated for greater than a month – 34 days, to be exact, and the chronometric efficiency of every watch is recorded on a certificates supplied with the watch.
Taking a web page out of conventional open tourbillon shows, this mixed mechanism can also be a sub-seconds show, however within the case of the Kodo, a ruby on the constant-force carriage acts because the second hand, making it a deadbeat seconds. Within the picture beneath, word the higher object with the three largest arms within the construction at six o’clock. That is the bridge over the tourbillon/constant-force mechanism. Under that’s the fixed drive carriage, which has three arms, together with the one with the ruby indicator. And beneath that’s the tourbillon carriage, which additionally has three arms. Whereas it may be troublesome to discern the 2 carriages from each other in a static image, it’s a lot simpler once you see the constant-force carriage leaping in one-second increments juxtaposed with the sleek turning of the tourbillon carriage beneath.
As it’s a skeleton watch – Grand Seiko’s first – the dial of the Kodo is, in impact, its motion. And whereas this might have been a drawback, say, when evaluating the Kodo to different masterpieces by Grand Seiko, the development of the motion and important elements of the interface greater than make up for the shortage of some finely textured dial or stark white enamel canvas. Gentle penetrates the watch from numerous angles and enhances the interaction of brilliant and darkish. As I zoom in on the arms and indexes in Atom Moore’s images, I discover that these parts present no imperfections.
On the wrist, the Kodo performs with gentle and shadow in a beguiling approach because of its open development and, once more, the ending of these arms and markers. Discover the extra downward sloping side on the hour hand because it nears the tip. No person would have thought to criticize this hand if it weren’t there, and but there it’s, offering one other level for gentle to replicate. All through the motion, we see six-slotted screws.
Observe the additional side resulting in the tip of the hour hand.
On the wrist, the Kodo is, as I anticipated, a formidable presence. Its 43.8mm diameter and 12.9mm thickness be certain that you can’t overlook you could have it on. Nevertheless it’s not huge for this type of watch actually, and even when it had been smaller and extra slender, this isn’t the form of watch able to receding into the background. From the facet, you possibly can see that the case has a mild curve to it, with wrist-hugging lugs and a field crystal that gives a good portion of the completed watch’s peak. We additionally see that the six-slotted screw type discovered all through the motion has additionally been used to connect the strap on the lugs. Standard screws on the again safe the see-through caseback.
The Kodo seen from the crown facet. The big field crystal provides peak.
The Kodo’s case is created from a mix of 950 platinum and Sensible Exhausting Titanium, and Grand Seiko’s signature Zaratsu-polishing enhances the sunshine reflection on the case. There’s an internal case and bezel in platinum 950 and the outside case sides and bezel are created from Sensible Exhausting Titanium. It’s as good as platinum and twice as arduous as stainless-steel.
Rear motion shot of the Kodo.
At first look in press photos, I assumed this was a galuchat, or stingray, strap. However that’s not the case. It’s a calfskin strap handled with actual Japanese Urushi lacquer made with sap harvested from Japanese timber. The fabric is usually related to Japanese artworks and tableware, however right here the gorgeous black look and texture present extra depth to the Kodo watch. The strap is water resistant, a top quality you may not count on, however contemplate that the lacquer on it’s used to make objects that routinely get moist, reminiscent of effective chopsticks and miso soup bowls.
The Kodo tourbillon SLGT003 actually is a masterpiece, as Grand Seiko classifies it. And its look at Grand Seiko’s very first Watches & Surprise’s Geneva delivered a sense of evolution for the model.
The halls of the Geneva Palexpo have ushered some very monumental items of high-watchmaking into the general public consciousness, from manufacturers with names like A. Lange & Söhne, Vacheron Constantin, and Audemars Piguet. A number of of an important manufacturers within the watch trade joined Watches & Wonders for its first bodily Geneva present. With no scarcity of noteworthy watches, it’s price contemplating that essentially the most talked-about high-complication of 2022, thus far, got here from Grand Seiko.
The Grand Seiko Kodo Fixed-Pressure Tourbillon Ref. SLGT003 options the manually wound Caliber 9STI beating at 28,800 vph and working in 44 jewels for an influence reserve of 72 hours (50 hours of fixed drive with accuracy of +5 to -3 seconds per day). It’s water resistant to 100 meters and is available in a 43.8mm x 12.9mm Zaratsu-polished case product of 950 platinum and Sensible Exhausting Titanium. The retail worth is $350,000 and there might be 20 items made.
All pictures by Atom Moore
