Frank Geelen’s Baselworld 2017 Top 10 and Musing about the Fair

Back in 2008 the world faced a new challenge. The worldwide financial crisis began with the collapse of Lehman Brothers. The following year the watch industry was kind of nervous and saw a small drop in sales. And while the financial crisis went on, on a global scale (we’re still recovering from that), the big crisis in the watch industry didn’t really come through… yet. Last year was the first year that brands and luxury groups published numbers that showed serious signs of the crisis, and this year’s numbers are actually more than worrisome. This year the crisis could also be felt in the novelties as presented by the brands, not only during the SIHH in January, but also at the 100th edition of the Baselworld Watch & Jewelry show that has just come to an end. Still, it was possible to list ten watches that got me exited! However first some musings about this year’s edition of Baselworld…

9 years ago

Grand Seiko: Already Big In Japan And Getting Bigger Near You (Archive)

Seiko’s story is much more complicated than most people might think. This is a manufacturer that doesn’t follow trends, but has created a few of its own, capitalizing on various types of expertise and knowledge that were the mother of necessity for a manufacturer located so far away from the established centers of watchmaking in Europe. Grand Seiko is the most appealing line to connoisseurs of fine watchmaking, and we look at it in some depth here.

9 years ago

Grand Seiko Spring Drive Chronograph SBGC001 Watch Review

I’ll start with what I acknowledge is a bold statement: the Grand Seiko Spring Drive Chronograph SBGC001, in its entirety, as it is out of the box, is exactly the package of design, movement, functionality, technology, accuracy, and value that one or more major Swiss brands should at least be trying to offer.

9 years ago

The Amazing History & Functionality Of The Seiko Spring Drive Movement

The Seiko Spring Drive watch movement technology is one of the most unique, ingenious, efficient, and accurate calibers ever designed and is in a class of its own among modern mass produced movements. We will begin with looking at how Spring Drive works for the simple reason that we need a good understanding of how the system functions and is constructed before we can talk about the fascinating story behind it all.

9 years ago

Hands-On With The Limited Edition Grand Seiko Hi-Beat 36000 GMT SBGJ021

Almost identical to the Grand Seiko that won the “Petite Aiguille” award in the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève in 2014, Seiko now introduces the Grand Seiko Hi-Beat SBGJ021 with a special dial and oscillating weight. The design of this Grand Seiko is based on the 1967 Grand Seiko 44GS. Let’s have a look at this […]

9 years ago

Q&A: Satoshi Higara, Grand Seiko Master Watchmaker

Grand Seiko master watchmaker Satoshi Higara was in Singapore for a watch assembly demonstration of the new Grand Seiko Hi Beat 36,000. Deployant’s Nick Gould was on site, witnessing the exquisite craft and with it, the opportunity to discuss various matters relating to Grand Seiko including the…

9 years ago

Grand Seiko SBGX093 Quartz Watch Review

When the Grand Seiko SBGX089, SBGX091, and SBGX093 collection of watches was released in around 2012, the first of those models – the SBGX089 – was a limited edition of 500 pieces with a yellow hand and some different colors read more…

9 years ago