Power To Change The Future Of Watches
Grand Seiko developed its protective shield construction to ensure that the rotor, the heart of the quartz movement, is encased in a highly airtight environment. The movement of the crown is another unique facet of the 9F quartz movement. Grand Seiko watches set themselves apart with their clear, conservative designs. Beyond technological perfection, Seiko’s watchmakers pay particularly close attention to finishing. We design and develop our own movements using leading-edge technology. Schedule periodic servicing with a professional watchmaker or service center.
From the case shape and domed crystal to the dial design, Seiko achieved a stunningly accurate remake. However, the modern Prospex outdoes its predecessor when it comes to water resistance. While the original was only resistant to 150 m (15 bar, 492 ft), the new watch is resistant to 200 m (20 bar, 656 ft). Furthermore, the remake’s caliber, the 8L35, is a state-of-the-art movement with a 50-hour power reserve.
And that’s precisely what’s most interesting, most attractive, about these early quartz watches. With prices for Grand Seiko in the four figures, many of these pieces that were once more expensive than the Grand Seikos can be found for less than $200 pretty easily. The Astron collection is by far Seiko’s most modern line of watches. The “Astron” name dates back to the world’s first quartz watch, which Seiko introduced in 1969. Like their historical predecessor, current Astron watches stand for state-of-the-art technology and precision. As for functionality, the Premier collection offers everything from classic three-hand watches and chronographs to timepieces with moon phases, alarms, or perpetual calendars.
In fact, in the 1976 JDM catalogue, only the QZ Quartz remains, positioned below the Grand Quartz, King Quartz, and even the 08QZ. The QZ is the longest lasting of the three, ‘Qs’, as the others were out of the catalogue by 1975, but the QZ continued on until 1977 with a few 0922s. Today, they produce almost all of their own watch components — a unique trait in the world of watchmaking. When Seiko introduced the first Japanese wristwatch “Laurel” to the public in 1913, every single component had been made in-house. Prior to that, they had manufactured pocket watches and wall clocks. The Lukia collection has been part of Seiko’s portfolio since 1995 and is mostly comprised of women’s watches.
It was the “seiko watches for men ASTRON.” The quartz frequency at that time was 8192 Hz, one-fourth the frequency today. One of the major features of the watch was its step motion second by mounting an open step motor, which became the symbol of quartz watches later on. In the beginning, quartz clocks were large, heavy, and anything but transportable. However, after ten years in development, Seiko’s engineers managed to comfortably fit the necessary circuitry on an integrated circuit (IC) inside a wristwatch in 1969. It was far ahead of most mechanically powered watches in terms of accuracy and power reserve.
The third Alpinist model is especially elegant and takes after the original Alpinist from 1959 with its dauphine hands and Art Deco dial. The Prospex LX series is home to the collection’s high-tech models. Inside their cases, you’ll find ultra-modern Spring Drive calibers, some with a GMT function. You can recognize these timepieces by their fourth central hands and bidirectional 24-hour bezel. Seiko equips other Prospex LX editions with compass or diving bezels. The first is the Seiko VK63 which we use in our FORZO Enduratimer Chronograph.
The manufacturer outfits most current Seiko 5 Sports models with the caliber 4R36. Unlike the calibers from the 7S family found in older editions, this movement boasts a stop-seconds mechanism and the option to set the time manually. No matter which Alpinist watch you choose, it will be water-resistant to 200 m (20 bar, 656 ft) and use the automatic in-house caliber 6R35. Be sure to have between 720 and 970 USD on hand for one of these timepieces. The dress watches in the Presage collection change hands for as little as 400 USD on Chrono24.
S23631J1 with a black bezel and quartz caliber, is much more affordable at around 2,600 USD. A quartz watch is a watch that uses what is called an electronic oscillator, which is regulated by a quartz crystal to keep time. The signal generated by the quartz oscillator is very precise and is generally more accurate than mechanical watches. This is due to the presence of digital logic that counts the cycles of the generated signal and provides a time display in the form of hours, minutes, and seconds. Each comes with a mechanical in-house caliber, and the designs cover the full spectrum from sporty to classic.