Shizukuishi Studio Grand Seiko 60th Anniversary Editions

(Grand) Seiko is currently in high demand: Crown Chrono, Seiko Diver’s, Porco Rosso editions, is to name just a few of the new watches announced over the last few days. If that’s not enough, you can look forward to the new Grand Seikos, which are at the top end of any scale and are inspired by the nature found near the remote Shizukuishi Watch Studio in northern Japan.

Stalactite Chic

The first of the bunch is the SBGW263, of which we can only expect 20 pieces to be produced. With a case made of platinum and 39mm in diameter, here we have a classic Dresswatch, but with a very special design: the dial and hands are made of white gold, and the decoration of the hands represents water droplets (jp. Shizuku). In addition, the design of the hour markers is inspired by the bursting of said water droplets when they hit stone (jp. Ishi), represented here by the white-gold dial. This dial is engraved by the most experienced masters in the studio for days (similair to the hands), to achieve the perfection expected from Grand Seiko.

Anyone wishing to claim this unique watch for themselves will have to wait until July 2020, have €101,000 squirreled away, and stop by a Grand Seiko boutique to purchse.

Birch Trees in the Wind

If you expect a little more colour and warmth from your watch, you may want to acquaint yourself with this second watch in this series, of which we will see 120 produced. The SBGW264 comes in a pink gold case, with a brown crocodile strap. The eye-catcher here is clearly the deep green dial, inspired by the birch forests in Shizukuishi, and the elaborate texture is said to resemble the glimmer of sunlight catching the birch bark on a summer’s day.

For this edition you “only” have to cough up € 25,000, and visit a Grand Seiko Boutique from July 2020.

Both watches run on Seiko’s 9S64 hand-wound movement, which provides 72 hours of power reserve and matches the watches’ exterior in terms of quality.

If our brief outline has whetted your appetite for more, you can find lots of information about these two marvels directly on Grand Seiko’s minipage.