Watch Journalist Yasuhito Shibuya's Useful Watch Industry Chat
In March 2022, Grand Seiko will exhibit at Watches & Wonders Geneva (WWG) 2022, an event exclusively open to Swiss luxury watch brands. While not much is discussed, I would like to offer my own unique perspective on the groundbreaking significance of this exhibition.
(Article published on October 9, 2021)
After half a century, the developer's dream has come true! Grand Seiko has finally become the "world's watch."
Watches & Wonders Geneva 2022 is scheduled to be held in March 2022. Grand Seiko will be exhibiting at this one-of-a-kind luxury watch festival.
This is a historic milestone for Japanese watches.
I have been covering Seiko since the mid-1990s, covering topics such as Seiko's watches, technology, and design, as well as its entry into the Swiss chronometer competition and the development of timing equipment for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. I am the editor and some of the contributors to "THE SEIKO BOOK" (published in 1998 by Tokukan Shoten, out of print), which compiles these articles into a single volume.
Therefore, this news has a special feeling to it. There is also something I would like to share with the watch-loving readers of Chronos Japan and those involved in the watch industry.
It's a bit long, but I would like to take this opportunity at the end of the year to say it.
Grand Seiko's WWG exhibition. In my opinion, there are only two comparable events in the history of Japanese watches after World War II.
One reason is that in the late 1960s, Seiko dominated the two observatory chronometer competitions in Neuchâtel and Geneva, Switzerland, effectively bringing the competition to an end.
The other is the development and establishment of the basic technology of quartz watches, symbolized by the Seiko Quartz Astron 35SQ, a quartz wristwatch that was the first in the world to be sold in 1969, is now a Japanese science and technology heritage item, and is also on display at the La Chaux-de-Fonds International Horological Museum in Switzerland.
A long-cherished dream: taking on the world of luxury
Grand Seiko's participation in WWG2022 is a major event on a par with these two. I hope that as many people as possible will understand the significance and value of this groundbreaking event.
The greatest significance of this exhibition is that Grand Seiko has been recognized as a true luxury watch brand with the same value as the prestigious Swiss and German watch brands exhibiting at this fair.
Over the past 30 years, from the 1990s to the present, the status and presence of Japan and Japanese companies have only declined. Unfortunately, Japan has been overtaken by other Asian countries in many areas, especially in "manufacturing," a field that was once considered its forte. While there are success stories like Uniqlo in the fashion world, Japanese manufacturing brands have fallen into decline, and Japan has suffered a string of defeats in high-tech equipment and other manufacturing fields. In this climate, this "success" in the luxury business, a field in which the Japanese are not particularly adept, is truly groundbreaking.
The first Grand Seiko model was born in 1960. It wasn't until 2010 that the brand began expanding globally as Japan's top watch brand. In other words, for half a century after its launch, it was a brand exclusively available in Japan.
However, the people who created the first Grand Seiko half a century ago were clearly aiming for "true luxury." The name "Grand" (meaning "great") embodied many passionate thoughts.
At the time, people admired Swiss watches for their precision, reliability, and beauty. They had the ambition to surpass them, and they already had the unwavering confidence that they could achieve it.
In other words, Grand Seiko was born from the very beginning as "Japan's top watch brand with a global reputation."
This is something I learned directly from the staff members who were in charge of planning, developing, and designing the original model, all of whom are former employees, when I interviewed them for "THE SEIKO BOOK" from 1996 to 97.
There is objective evidence to support this claim: an advertisement for the first Grand Seiko that appeared in the legendary watch industry magazine, International Watch Communication, which was published at the time. The advertisement carried the modest yet confident tagline, "From a Japanese watch to a world watch."
Details on this matter are included in the chapter on "Grand Seiko" written by watch journalist Nabata Masayoshi in the aforementioned "THE SEIKO BOOK," which is unfortunately out of print, so if you would like to know more, please refer to that.
"Until now, Grand Seiko has been considered a practical watch. If that's the case, then surely the goal of being the best in the world is about precision? I just can't help but feel uncomfortable calling Grand Seiko a luxury watch."
It seems that there are some long-time watch fans like this.
It is true that the expression "Grand Seiko is a practical watch" was often used in press releases from 1988, when Grand Seiko was revived, until just before 2010, before the decision was made to expand overseas. However, I believe that this expression was used to mean "it is not a jewelry watch."
Traditionally, the word "luxury" has been translated into Japanese as "gorgeous" or "extravagant." In that sense, the Grand Seiko is not a "luxurious jeweled watch." Therefore, it cannot be said to be a luxury watch.
However, the definition of "luxury" has changed dramatically since the beginning of the 21st century. Now, creative directors of luxury brands are trying to break away from this image, focusing on environmental protection and social justice. They are trying to create a world of "new luxury." And at the core of this are the concepts of "essence" and "origin."
Grand Seiko, which pursues the essence and origins of watches, is a watch that truly embodies this ``new luxury.''
Furthermore, the expression "practical watch" may, with all due respect, suggest a deep-rooted inferiority complex about Swiss luxury watches, which is perhaps unique to Japanese watchmakers who started out modeled on Swiss watches. Whenever I hear this phrase, I feel it's a precaution to avoid making comparisons with Swiss watches. However, as the success of Grand Seiko in the United States proves, there's no need to feel inferior these days.
I believe that Grand Seiko's first appearance at WWG2022 will be a great opportunity to completely overcome this complex. By shedding this "inferiority complex," which may seem strange to outsiders, Grand Seiko, and indeed Japanese watchmaking in general, will be able to soar to a new level.
