An Evening of Grandeur

A kind invitation by Mr. Peter Chong allowed me to attend the Grand Seiko evening held at Thong Sia Building. Present at the event were around 15 GS owners and fanatics (like myself).

We were honoured to have the gracious presence of some senior staff of Seiko Watch Corporation Japan. From left to right: Mr. Noboru Hosokawa (Engineer), Ms. Chitose Masuda (Master Craftsman) and Mr. Harumitsu Akashi (Senior Manager PR).

The event started with a tour at Thong Sia showroom, showcasing the beautiful and exquisite range of the Grand Seiko.

Grand Seiko started in 1960 and this year coincides with her 50th Anniversary. This piece is the commemorative limited edition GS "Special" Hi-Beat 36000.

This exhibit shows the intricate components of the GS 9R65 Spring Drive caliber (30 jewels). For the first time I handled the Spring Drive and witnessed the glide motion of the second hand; the silence is deafening. The technology involved in the 28 years of research is truly amazing and I awed at the innovation of the Japanese engineers!

Extracted from "Seiko Spring Drive - The Quiet Revolution" describing the seamless glide of the Spring Drive:

"Do the planets shudder or 'tick' noisily as they cross the heavens? Of course not. Time is both continuous and silent, and it is by reflecting these essential characteristics of time itself that Seiko Spring Drive fulfils as the only watch in the world to tell time as Nature itself tells time."

The magnified view of the mechanical GS 9S85 caliber with 37 jewels and a power reserve of 55 hours.

The exploded parts view of the casing of the GS Spring Drive Divers 200m watch.

The Ananta Spring Drive Chronograph. "Ananta" is the Sanskrit word for "Infinite". Seiko has adopted the ancient Japanese art of sword making - Katana, in this range of watches.

Akashi-san has brought over one piece of the Credor 7R08. This magnificent piece has a porcelain dial with the numbers "2", "4" and "7" fired onto the dial. You guessed it, the number symbolises 24/7, the watch runs in her trademark glide motion for 24 hours, 7 days a week!

It is hard to appreciate the movement in this still picture, one can only appreciate the cosmetic through this shot. When I held the Credor in my hands and witnessed the movement in action, I quivered and at that instance, I am glad to be among this GS community. If not, I may never have the chance to hold this timepiece in my life! Kudos to the GS folks!

The next program of the event was a demonstration of assembly of the parts of the Grand Seiko Spring Drive movement by Master Craftsman, Ms Chitose Masuda. Masuda-san was the First Prize winner of the National Skill Competition 1999; she is in the fraternity of the Mastery Studio of Seiko Epson.

The Master and her tools laid out and ready to go into action.

Masuda-san will be assembling these minute components onto the Spring Drive. Just look at the size of those screws!

The Master at work! We were intrigued that Masuda-san was assembling these minute movement parts without the use of a loupe! Her steady hand holding the tweezers picked up part after part in one short and swift motion, amazing!

After the presentation, the group took a stroll over to Kuriya Penthouse at Orchard Central 12F.

More Seiko chat over dinner. We exchanged and admired one another's Seiko while enjoying the fine Japanese cuisine prepared by Chef Omakase Kaiseki.

And what's on my wrist? My trusted Tuna, the Marinemaster 1000m 8L35.

There was a mini Lucky Draw and Masuda-san was given the honour to pick one lucky collector who walked away with "12 Watches". Congrats Lionel!

And what's on our wrists? A group shot of our beloved Seiko, with Japanese sake in the backdrop.

Here I am with the Japan Seiko team.

My appreciation to Pete for organising such a wonderful evening and dinner for the GS fans. I would also like to thank Hosokawa-san, Masuda-san and Akashi-san for their informative and interactive presentation, allowing us an insight into what goes behind the scene at the Seiko Mechanical and Spring Drive workshops.

The welcome pack put together by the Thong Sia team; thank you for facilitating this GS event!

Grand Seiko - The Legend Lives On - 50 years of Dedication to Perfection