Japanese Watches

Introducing the Citizen Promaster Eco-Drive Aqualand 200m (with Live Photos)

Japanese watchmaker Citizen has unveiled the latest addition to its professionally-focused Promaster line, the new Promaster Eco-Drive Aqualand 200m. The new model is the first new addition to the Promaster collection since last fall’s Satellite Wave GPS, and is the most recent update to the Aqualand sub-collection since spring of 2019. The news also comes...

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Apr 4, 2021 by Caleb Anderson

Looking at “Infinite Possibilities,” Citizen Launches Automatic Series 8 Collection

Japan’s Citizen Watch Co. continues its month of new releases, introducing its relaunched Series 8 Collection to the U.S. market. The series comprises four models in two distinct designs, the 870 and 831. Together, the Series 8 models mark another substantial step by the brand into a more luxurious segment of mechanical watchmaking; the name...

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Mar 18, 2021 by Caleb Anderson

Citizen’s New Mechanical Caliber 0200 Fuses Swiss and Japanese Watchmaking Traditions

After several years of launching new products built almost entirely on its signature Eco-Drive and Satellite Wave technologies — as well as mining its high-profile, pop-culture partnerships such as Disney properties Marvel and Star Wars — probably the last thing anyone expected from Japan’s Citizen Watch Co. this year was a new mechanical caliber. But...

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Mar 8, 2021 by Mark Bernardo

Seiko Pays Tribute to Naomi Uemura’s Life of Adventure with Two 1970 Diver Re-interpretation Watches

With its new duo of Prospex 1970 Diver’s Modern Re-interpretation watches, Japan’s Seiko revisits one of its earliest commercially available dive watches and re-interprets and upgrades its popular vintage design for a modern audience. The pair includes a new gray-dial model (Ref. SLA051) and a limited-edition blue-dial model (Ref. SLA049). The latter model celebrates the...

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Mar 6, 2021 by Caleb Anderson

Grand Seiko Displays its Gem-Setting Mastery With Spring Drive 8 Day Jewelry Watch Ref. SBGD207

In 2020, Grand Seiko celebrated 60 years since the launch of the first watch under its label, and to celebrate the occasion unveiled an array of commemorative editions, including the GS Eagle LE Ref. SBGE263, the blue-dial SLGH003, and at least three re-creations of the first Grand Seiko. Among these many anniversary models was the Spring...

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Mar 2, 2021 by Caleb Anderson

Grand Seiko Branches Out its Heritage Collection With “Tree Rings” Dial & Platinum Case

Japan’s leading luxury watchmaker Grand Seiko turned 60 years old in 2020 and celebrated accordingly, with an all-new movement, new international boutiques, and an impressive roster of commemorative timepieces. Parent company Seiko marks its own milestone this year — 140 years since its founding by the legendary Kintaro Hattori in 1881 — and thus, the...

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Feb 26, 2021 by Mark Bernardo

Grand Seiko Goes Back to Nature with the Heritage Hi-Beat “White Birch” Ref. SLGH005

Grand Seiko has a history of taking inspiration from nature and applying these influences in its timepieces. In the past year alone, we have seen the Grand Seiko Ref. SBGR321, which celebrates the morning sky over Japan’s Mt. Iwate, and before that the Grand Seiko Toge Special Edition, recalling mountain passes through the slopes of...

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Feb 18, 2021 by Caleb Anderson

Grand Seiko: A Constant Force in Watchmaking

During the past six decades, Grand Seiko has constantly been pursuing the creation of the world’s most accurate wristwatch, pushing the development of quartz, mechanical and Spring Drive movements. Now, the Japanesegiant is ready to finally enter the haute horlogerie segment. In September 2020, Seiko Watch Corporation revealed the T-zero Constant-force Tourbillon (abbreviated as “T0”)...

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Feb 6, 2021 by Roger Ruegger

Island Inspired: Seiko Introduces Trio of 140th Anniversary Prospex Divers

Amidst all the heavy coverage of last week’s LVMH Watch Week, Seiko quietly introduced a trio of anniversary timepieces in celebration of the Japanese brand’s founding in 1881. All three limited-edition 140th Anniversary Prospex Divers are based on Seiko’s classic 1968 Hi-Beat Diver: the Seiko Prospex SLA047, Seiko Prospex SPB207, and Seiko Prospex SSC807. Each...

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Feb 1, 2021 by Caleb Anderson

60 Years Soaring: Grand Seiko Unveils U.S.-Exclusive GS Eagle Limited Edition Ref. SBGE263

As we’ve covered extensively throughout the year, 2020 marks 60 years since the release of the first Grand Seiko watch, and if you thought the brand was done announcing new commemorative editions for the year just because we’ve reached late December, you would be mistaken. Last week, the Japanese luxury watchmaker unveiled the new U.S.-exclusive...

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Dec 23, 2020 by Caleb Anderson

The WatchTime Q&A: Grand Seiko U.S.A. President Brice Le Troadec

We sat down with Grand Seiko USA President Brice Le Troadec to talk about the brand’s strategy and why collectors can hardly resist the Japanese brand. Le Troadec joined the team of Grand Seiko USA chairman and CEO Aiko Naito in May 2017, shortly before the creation of the Grand Seiko of America company in...

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Dec 17, 2020 by Roger Ruegger

Grand Seiko Rounds Out its 60th Anniversary Collection with Blue-Dialed SLGH003 Limited Edition

Grand Seiko’s 60th anniversary year has brought a number of noteworthy timepieces and two entirely new in-house movements. One of those movements — the automatic Caliber 9SA5, which debuted in a gold-cased replica of the first Grand Seiko watch from 1960 — now finds itself installed inside a new steel case, behind a shimmering blue...

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Oct 30, 2020 by Mark Bernardo

NEWS

Grand Seiko Marks 60 Years with Four New Limited Editions

It was in December of 1960 that Japanese watchmaking giant Seiko released its “King of Watches,” the first Grand Seiko timepiece, which became legendary for reaching new heights of precision, durability, legibility, and ease of use. This year, the Grand Seiko brand — once Japan’s best-kept horological secret, now a worldwide phenomenon — celebrates 60...

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Jan 31, 2020 by Mark Bernardo

PROMOTION:

The G-SHOCK GMWB5000D-1 is a Full Metal Take on the Classic G-SHOCK Design

The G-SHOCK Full Metal collection has emerged as one of the Japanese brand’s most successful recent ventures. First introduced at Baselworld 2018, the line quickly expanded with a number of different colorways to match demand, but one of the first references, GMWB5000D-1, with its cool silver tone, stands out as perhaps the most memorable design. Taking...

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Jun 28, 2019 by WatchTime

COUTURETIME 2019:

The Time of the Seasons: Grand Seiko Unveils Four New U.S. Exclusive Editions

The annual CoutureTime watch exhibition kicked off yesterday at the Wynn and Encore in Las Vegas, and a handful of watch brands have taken the opportunity to introduce new timepieces to the U.S. that were not on display at the two major Swiss watch fairs, SIHH in January and Baselworld in March. One of these...

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May 31, 2019 by Mark Bernardo

NEWS:

Casio Releases a Surprise 10-Piece Collection of New Edifice Models

While G-Shock continues to reign supreme in the worlds of fashion and utility (especially in light of the model’s 35th anniversary this year), Casio’s Edifice line is where the brand has continually experimented with highly-accessible prices combined with high-tech gadgetry such as Bluetooth connectivity. Last week, the Japanese brand surprised its global following with 10 new...

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Aug 20, 2018 by Logan R. Baker

BASELWORLD 2018:

Solar-Charging Bull: Citizen Tsuno Chronograph Racer Channels 1970s Bullheads

Japan’s Citizen Watch Co. will mark 100 years of operation in 2018, and to commemorate the occasion the brand is releasing a unique, vintage-inspired bullhead chronograph, the Tsuno Chronograph Racer, at this week’s Baselworld watch fair. The new watch takes its design influences from a 1972 chronograph known as the Challenge Timer, and especially from...

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Mar 22, 2018 by Caleb Anderson

FEATURE

Vintage Eye for the Modern Guy: The Re-Creation of the First Grand Seiko

For all the historic, groundbreaking, and trend-setting watches we’ve covered in this series — and the lineages they’ve begotten — there’s a type of watch that we tend to cover less often but one that deserves no less attention. These are the pieces that are famous not for being forerunners of technical innovation or iconic...

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Sep 24, 2017 by Caleb Anderson

FEATURE

Vintage Eye for the Modern Guy: Seiko Prospex SLA017

A few months ago, we covered a modern descendent of the original Seiko "Tuna" divers' watch. At Baselworld this year, Seiko decided to go back even further into its timepiece archives by reissuing the grandfather of all the brand’s divers: the famed Seiko Ref. 6217, also known as the 62MAS (below). We compare that historical model with the all-new Seiko Prospex SLA017.

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Apr 2, 2017 by Caleb Anderson