During my visit to the Grand Seiko “Nature of Time” exhibition, in my home town of New York City, I was fortunate to learn some lesser-known facts that have whet my appetite for the brand even more. Here is Part 2. If you missed Part 1, be sure to check it out here. 4. How the hands are blued Many brands will chemically dye watch parts blue, or blue them in batches via an oven-like machine that can lack consistency. This is the reason why the craftsmen at Grand Seiko will only heat-blue the hands one hand at a time. Aside from independents, the vast majority of brands blue them in batches, whether it be 20 hands at a time or possibly more. This can lead to a high defective rate. When the specialist at Grand Seiko is blueing the hand, this is what they do all day. They stare at second hands or even smaller power reserve hands. There’s no timer. They have to tell completely by their trained eye that it’s the perfect shade of blue. Only then will they take it off the heat. With this time-consuming method, the consistency is more perfect. The blue is matching every…
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