Grand Seiko Elegance mechanical 110th Anniversary Limited Edition titanium dial black urushi leather strap 38 mm

The "First": A historical model

The story of Seiko begins in 1881 when Kintaro Hattori opens a clock repair and sales store in Ginza, a year after the death of the Meiji Emperor and at the beginning of the Taishō era. In 1892, he established a factory called Seikosha to produce his own clocks. At that time, at the beginning of the Taishō era, pocket watches were still so popular that only a few wristwatches were imported into Japan. However, Kintaro Hattori was not content to simply follow the trend, and was determined to enjoy a "head start" on any other competitor, challenging himself to create Japan's very first wristwatch. And his efforts paid off in 1913, when he introduced the Laurel to the world. Although in its early days the company could only produce 30 to 50 watches a day, this model represented absolute exclusivity: for the first time, Seiko enjoyed an incredible advantage over its competitors.

Thereafter, many innovations will advance Japanese watchmaking: in order to move upmarket, Grand Seiko is created in 1960, with the objective of designing of a watch combining precision, durability, comfort and design. It is with this guideline that the range evolved over the 1960s innovating with their first automatic movement in the 62GS in 1967, with their first Hi-Beat movements in 1968 in the 45GS (manual), 61GS (automatic) and 19GS (women's).

Today, Grand Seiko pays tribute to this first Japanese wristwatch introduced 110 years ago with a recreation of its own "First," the nickname given by collectors to reference 3180, the very first Grand Seiko. This SBGW295 is intended to be very exclusive while highlighting traditional Japanese craftsmanship and materials. It is limited to only 500 pieces.

An elegant case made of titanium

Since the release of the first Grand Seiko in 1960, durability and longevity have been the guiding principles in the making of every Grand Seiko watch. This SBGW295 is no exception, and aims to be the perfect watch. To achieve this, its 38 mm diameter case is made of "Brilliant Hard" titanium, a unique material that combines the lightness of titanium with twice the strength of standard steel. Like all GSs, its case is polished with the Zaratsu method, allowing for a unique shine and distortion-free mirror finish. The SBGW295 may be a "dress watch," but thanks to its case material, it's a practical watch for everyday wear.

The case is dressed in a calf leather strap using a traditional Japanese weaving technique called yoroiori, once used in the making of samurai armor. Thin strips of calf leather and fabric are intertwined by a skilled craftsman, allowing the durability of the watch strap to be enhanced.

An exceptional handcrafted dial

This exceptionally elegant re-creation features a raised expression of maki-e, a traditional urushi lacquer decoration technique sprinkled with a light layer of pure gold powder. The black urushi lacquer used in this watch is a compound specially designed for Grand Seiko and made from Japanese vegetable lacquer, making it extremely rare. Indeed, the majority of urushi lacquers produced today come from abroad because real Japanese urushi is known to dry extremely quickly, making it difficult to use. For the dial of this watch, the jet black color of the urushi is achieved by adding iron. The lacquer is enhanced by a treatment unique to Grand Seiko preventing its color from changing over time.

The Grand Seiko logo and the twelve pure gold maki-e hour markers were born from the hands of Isshu Tamura, a lacquer artist from Kanazawa, a city whose poetic name translates as "golden swamp."

The combination of a domed sapphire crystal and a lacquered dial gives this watch a soft look and unparalleled depth.

Mechanical side

Behind its sapphire caseback is the manufacture caliber 9S64. This is one of the rare hand-wound mechanical movements from the lion brand. Offering a comfortable power reserve of about three days (72 hours) when fully wound, it aims to be stable and precise. As Grand Seiko's chronometric standards are stricter than those of the COSC, the movement has been adjusted to 6 positions, guaranteeing a precision of -3 to +5 seconds per day, with a balance beating at 28,800 vibrations. By choosing to equip this watch with a mechanical caliber, the watch is thus very thin (10.9 mm), and lets us admire these bridges decorated 'Côtes de Tokyo', offering a lot of light play effect.