Highs and Lows: Climbing the Grand Seiko Bell Curve

Welcome back to another installment of High and Low – The column where we explore the full range of a brand’s catalog, from its most affordable to its highest-priced pieces, from both our pre-owned and new offerings.

What started as a simple exercise has become a fascinating case study in how brands position themselves in the market. By looking at both extremes, you get a clearer picture of how a brand sees itself. The entry-level models often strip away the noise, with no bells, no whistles… just pure brand DNA, distilled. It’s where you see the core philosophy laid bare. On the other end, the top-tier pieces showcase the full arsenal the brand has to offer from mechanical innovation, to finishing, to complications, and their ambition. Together, they tell the complete story of a brand and not just where it is, but where it aims to go.

I recently took a quick dive into G-SHOCK to show that the watch world still offers something for everyone. You’ve got four-figure masterpieces and $99 tanks that can survive a fall off a building, and both can hold real meaning in someone’s collection. Because here’s the thing: there will always be a bigger boat. That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy being on the water.

So don’t overlook what’s within reach. There’s still incredible value out there if you know where to look. Brands like G-SHOCK, and yes, Grand Seiko, embody that better than most.

To me, Grand Seiko sits on a kind of bell curve when it comes to collector perception. They only officially entered the U.S. market in 2010, despite having been around since 1960. Most new collectors, especially in the States, see “Seiko” on the dial and freeze when they spot the four- or five-figure price tag. So GS rarely ends up being anyone’s first watch. But the more you learn, about Spring Drive, about Zaratsu polishing, about those otherworldly dials, the more it clicks. You realize these aren’t just great watches for the money. They’re great watches, full stop. That’s the first climb up the bell curve.

Eventually, you hit the peak. You start seeing the competition at that price point, Swiss brands with more clout, more recognition, and maybe you descend a bit. But that ride? That stretch where Grand Seiko goes from confusing to undeniable? It’s a journey every collector should take.

Because no matter your budget, we’re all chasing value, something that feels worth it. Someone once told me that interest in escapements is a sign of horological maturity. I’d argue that appreciation for Grand Seiko belongs in that same camp. It’s a gateway drug, not just to Japanese watchmaking, but to a deeper understanding of what makes this hobby so addictive. Here’s the High And Low take on two Grand Seikos from our pre-owned collections.

In Comparison: The Japanese Market

Japan’s watch industry isn’t just a domestic powerhouse, it’s a growing international contender, too. In 2024, Japanese manufacturers exported approximately 43.9 million watches worth around ¥188.6 billion (~USD 1.2 billion). That level of export, driven largely by analog and digital quartz models, shows Japan’s strength in both affordability and scale. In comparison, last year Swiss watches topped CHF 26.7 billion (~USD 29 billion) in export value on 16.9 million watches. The difference in average value per watch is stark, but Japan’s export figures demonstrate that its collecting ecosystem extends far beyond domestic sales.

Japanese brands hold a serious place in horology. Their strong export numbers mean they’re not just local favorites, they’re a respected part of the global conversation. With their mix of affordability, innovation, and craftsmanship, epitomized by Grand Seiko, they’ve earned real esteem among collectors worldwide.

Brief History of Grand Seiko

Grand Seiko was born not in the shadow of Swiss watchmaking, but in open defiance of it. In 1960, in a modest corner of Japan, a group of Seiko’s engineers set out with a simple yet audacious goal, to create the most accurate and best-finished watch one could buy. They wanted no borrowed movements, no outsourced parts, just pure and disciplined Japanese craftsmanship. This wasn’t about outshining Geneva with glitz. It was about elevating precision, finishing, and quiet beauty to an art form. The result was the first Grand Seiko. The elevated version of Seiko. And with a steel watch with a gold medallion on the caseback it exuded a quiet confidence that didn’t ask for attention but earned it.

For decades, Grand Seiko was a domestic secret, sold only in Japan. And maybe that is and was part of its charm. These watches weren’t made to be shouted about. They were made to be worn, studied, and slowly understood. Zaratsu polishing, hand-adjusted Spring Drive calibers, dials that play with light like a haiku in metal… Grand Seiko never really needed permission from the West to be great. But now that the rest of the world has finally caught on, it’s not so much a coming-out party as it is a reminder that excellence doesn’t have a zip code. And in Grand Seiko’s case, it might just be hiding in the mountains of Morioka or under the snowdrifts of Shiojiri, waiting to be discovered.

The Low: The High-Beat Automatic Date Ref. SBGR029

The Grand Seiko SBGR029 is one of those under-the-radar references that reminds you just how deep the well of this brand really goes. At first glance, it’s a very restrained design. But spend a little time with it, and the details start to unfold. The dial, for starters, has a vertical brushed texture that reads silver in most light, but shift your wrist and you’ll catch this ghostly ice blue shimmer. If I was writing for GS I would probably describe it as appearing “like frozen steel catching the morning sun.”

Add to that the signature Grand Seiko elements: razor-sharp lugs, Zaratsu-polished dauphine hands, multifaceted markers with black inserts for contrast, and a case that plays with light thanks to alternating brushed and polished surfaces. On paper, the dimensions are near perfect at 39mm across, 46.65mm lug-to-lug, 13mm thick, and a 19mm lug width that makes strap swaps a little frustrating but keeps proportions just right. Not to mention it comes with 100 meters water resistance making this a foundational GADA watch.

Beating inside is the 9S55, one of the foundational movements of modern Grand Seiko’s mechanical era. Introduced in the late ’90s as part of the brand’s mechanical renaissance, the 9S55 was developed entirely in-house at Seiko’s Suwa division and marked a return to high-grade automatic calibers after decades of quartz dominance. It ticks away at 28,800 vibrations per hour, holds a 50-hour power reserve, and features Seiko’s MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) technology for ultra-precise manufacturing of components like the escape wheel and pallet fork. While later evolutions like the 9S65 may have refined the formula, the 9S55 remains a milestone and the movement that put Grand Seiko’s mechanical ambitions back on the map. Paired with the SBGR029’s refined aesthetics, it makes for a deeply satisfying sleeper hit.

Priced at $2,450. Find out more about The High-Beat Automatic Date Ref. SBGR029 here.

The High: Evolution 9 Hi-Beat Limited Edition SLGH007 In Platinum

To celebrate the 140th anniversary of Kintaro Hattori’s founding vision, Grand Seiko dropped a limited edition that feels less like a commemorative gesture and more like a mission statement.

The dial, as with many Grand Seiko’s is where this thing really comes alive. Unlike the more common stamped patterns we’ve come to love from GS, this comes with an engraved wood-grain texture. It gives the dial an almost living, organic quality, like tree bark under moonlight (There goes GS with their nature inspired dials again). Overall the design language stays mostly true to the Evolution 9 line, just a bit more elevated. And yes, those markers are crafted from solid gold. Same goes for the GS logo, the date frame, and the buckle.

Weird thing I read recently as a gripe in watch design was the lack of a date frame. Something I have never thought about, but at this moment, looking at this watch, I have to say, the frame is beyond necessary for the watch design.

Inside, you’ve got the 9SA5, which depending who you ask, is arguably one of the most important movements in modern Grand Seiko history. It’s a high-beat at 36,000 vph, as the name suggests, but within that framework, it’s also a ground-up redesign with some seriously clever architecture.

The Dual Impulse Escapement inside the 9SA5 is one of those quiet revolutions you don’t really appreciate until you understand what it’s doing. At its core, it blends two methods of transferring energy to the balance: direct impulse, where the escape wheel kicks power straight into the balance wheel, and indirect impulse, where it passes through the pallet fork first. The best comparison I can think of is that it acts a bit like a hybrid car which switches between electric and gas depending on what’s most efficient at the moment.

Normally, when you crank up the beat rate to something like 36,000 vibrations per hour (or 10 ticks a second), you lose efficiency (and obviously gain accuracy). The escape wheel and pallet fork just can’t keep up because they’re moving so fast, they waste energy trying to keep rhythm.

But Grand Seiko tackled that head-on. Using MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) tech. Tie that into a twin-barrel setup, and the result is an 80-hour power reserve at a high-beat frequency, something that usually requires compromise. But here, it’s just pure, clean engineering. Elegant, even. The kind of overachievement that defines Grand Seiko when they’re really showing off.

The movement also features a free-sprung balance that regulates isochronism for a more stable, more shock-resistant movement… and it’s 15% slimmer than its predecessors thanks to a lateral gear train layout. In short this watch is beautiful, brilliant, and it’s built to last. Just like Hattori would’ve wanted.

Priced at $33,950. Find out more about The Evolution 9 Hi-Beat Limited Edition SLGH007