A Very Unexpected Genta: The Credor Locomotive
Does this mark the beginning of a wider international presence for Seiko’s other luxury brand?
In one of the most unusual launches of the year so far, Credor – a luxury watch brand probably best known in the USA for the Eichi and Eichi II high end Spring Drive watches, heretofore much less visible here than Grand Seiko – recently released a design from its archives which was released not long after the Credor brand was originally founded in 1974. In 1979, Credor released the Locomotive – a thin, quartz-powered stainless steel integrated bracelet sports watch designed by none other than the man whose name is virtually synonymous with the genre, Gerald Genta.
The Locomotive got its name from Genta himself, and Credor says that, “the name Locomotive evoked the power of an advancing train and is also a French term meaning ‘driving force.’ Genta chose the name in the hope that it would drive Credor ahead and, by extension, lead Seiko into the future.” The design post-dates several of Genta’s best known designs, including the Royal Oak, the Nautilus, and the Ingenieur and like those three watches, it’s based on variations on a particular geometric shape.
The hexagonal shape of the case is reflected in the bezel (which extends almost all the way to the edge of the case) and in the hexagonal recesses in the bezel screws, which are reminiscent of hexagonal Allen screws (these were invented around 1910 and despite the use of the name as a generic term for such screws, it’s a registered trademark of the Allen Manufacturing Company). There’s also a hexagonal socket in the crown, and the bracelet interlinks are hexagonal as well. Even the main bracelet links are six sided, albeit in profile.
The original Locomotive as produced in 1979, is different from the original in just a few minor details, the most noticeable of which is the dial; in the original, the dial has a sort of frosted texture while in the new limited edition, there’s a more symmetrical radial pattern.
The recessed hexagonal bezel screws are functional in the new model (Credor says that, ” … only now, they have been adapted to be functional rather than merely decorative,” and a la Royal Oak, there are screw heads visible on the caseback, allowing the hexagonal recesses to be aligned up front). Of course the new model dispenses with “Seiko” on the dial (Credor stopped using the Seiko logo on its dials long before Grand Seiko) and the movement for the new model is no longer quartz, but mechanical – a new caliber, CR01 (the always reliable SJX reports that CR01 is an upgraded version of Seiko cal. 6L35) which is unfortunately not visible (the solid caseback is however, consistent with the original, albeit the new model has those screws for fixing the bezel in place). Credor credits the new movement for keeping the case fairly thin; it measures 38.8mm x 8.9mm.
The last major difference between the two is in materials – the original was stainless steel, but the new watch is in Seiko’s High Intensity Titanium, both case and bracelet; the alloy can take a very bright finish and is also harder than standard titanium alloys, which ought to keep the watch – especially the bezel – from becoming a scratch magnet.
The watch raises a couple of interesting questions and the first of course is to what degree this is an imitation of the Royal Oak or some other Genta design. The obvious answer (at least, if you ask me) is that this represents part of the evolution of Genta’s personal design language as seen through the lens of a collaboration with another brand and as such, it’s no more a copy of any of his other designs than, say, any Blue Period Picasso is a copy of another Blue Period Picasso, or any Monet Water Lilies painting a copy of any other Water Lilies painting. There are certain specific themes which you can see in many of Genta’s most famous designs but while those represent common motifs, they’re different in each of the watches in question.
The second question, is whether or not the debut of this watch internationally is part of a longer term strategy to launch Credor in international markets. Credor production historically has been pretty low and while Eichi watches (for instance) have on occasional shown up at Seiko brand boutiques, the last time I can remember actually seeing one on display was all the way back in 2016, when Credor launched the Fugaku Tourbillon – the first Seiko-produced tourbillon ever, if I’m remembering correctly, and with a baroquely complex dial based on the Hokusai print, “The Great Wave Off Kanegawa” which is one of the prints in the series, “Thirty-Six Views Of Mount Fuji.” Credor’s Eichi and Eichi II watches have been well known if very small production fan favorites in the US market for many years, and long-time followers of the work at Seiko’s Micro Artists Studio in Suwa will probably be able to remember a handful of others, including the Credor Sonnerie and Credor Decimal Minute Repeater.
If however you are looking for a point of sale in the USA where you can browse a selection of current production Credor models you’re out of luck, and their collections are much broader than just Eichi and Locomotive – there are the Goldfeather ultra-thins, and the Masterpiece collection still lists the Fugaku tourbillon as well as the Sonnerie; and then there are the Kuon, Art Piece, and other collections as well.
Now, the vast majority of these watches are only listed on the Japanese language Credor site, and until pretty recently there was no English language Credor site. That, however, changed very recently – in March of this year – when without any fanfare at all, Credor launched an English language version of its site. Right now, on the English language version of the site, there are just five watches listed out of the dozens that Credor makes; four Eichi models, and the Locomotive. That the English language site was so recently launched, that it is so bare-bones selective about what watches it shows, and that it was launched a mere couple of months before the debut of a watch bound to draw international attention thanks to its designer, might be a coincidence but maybe not. You might think that as a high luxury brand, Credor might cannibalize Grand Seiko sales but I don’t think so, at least, not based on the current designs from either brand – Seiko has a highly specific design vocabulary and Credor has done several complications Grand Seiko hasn’t, and has a very wide-ranging design language.
Maybe, just maybe, Credor is using the Genta name as well as the watch, as a locomotive to pull it into wider visibility and put it in front of a much larger audience than it’s ever had.
The Credor Locomotive Limited Edition: case, high-intensity titanium, three fold clasp with push button release; sapphire crystal with AR coating, 38mm x 8.9mm; screw down crown; water resistance 10 bar/100 meters, and antimagnetic to 4,800 A/m. Movement, automatic caliber CR01, running at 28,000 vph in 26 jewels; power reserve, 45 hours. Limited edition of 300 pieces worldwide; available this August. US price, $12,000. For more info, visit Credor.com.