Grand Seiko Spring Drive Chronograph GMT 60th Anniversary Limited Edition; Precious History

While tradition is cherished within Japanese tradition, they always use it as an inspiration for the future. This is all the more true for Grand Seiko, which is celebrating this year its 60th anniversary. The brand is not resting on its laurels but uses this special occasion to show how far they have come in the last six decades, and their ambition to go even further. The new Grand Seiko Spring Drive Chronograph GMT 60th Anniversary Limited Edition is the perfect example of this.

The watch’s design was inspired by the armor worn by samurai warriors during the Sengoku period, which lasted from the late 15th to early 17th century. The case is very angular, ensuring that light is always reflecting off the case from different angles. This is particularly spectacular as Grand Seiko opted to craft the case from 18k rose gold, which gives off a warm glow. It also offers a beautiful contrast with the blue color on the watch, which the Japanese refer to as “Katsu-iro.” It is named after the indigo dye that the samurai favored for their armor. We also find this color on the dial, which has a pattern representing the mane of a lion, the animal which is at the center of Grand Seiko’s emblem. Stunning is also the alligator leather strap, which features not only the same color blue but has rose gold in between the scales, matching perfectly with the watch itself.

While Grand Seiko was inspired by Japan’s rich history, is the Spring Drive Chronograph GMT 60th Anniversary Limited Edition, by all means, a very modern watch. It is powered by caliber 9R96, which can be admired through the sapphire caseback. While in essence, a mechanical movement, its precision is regulated with a quartz crystal oscillator’s help. For this watch, Grand Seiko selected particular quartz crystals with an optimum performance, which means that this watch runs with a precision of ±10 seconds a month. This makes this Spring Drive Chronograph GMT a watch that combines past and present into a single creation and a worthy limited edition for Grand Seiko to celebrate its 60th Anniversary with.