Grand Seiko 55th Anniversary Spring Drive Inspired By A Full Moon Over The Mountains In Northern Japan

Grand Seiko’s 44GS 55th Anniversary Limited Edition Spring Drive is a 1,500-piece edition inspired by the moon over the Shinshu Mountains in northern Japan where Spring Drive watches are made. When it comes to luxury watches, Grand Seiko is one of the newest, yet one of the most established brands. It was created in 1960 as a premium luxury collection within the Seiko line, separate from the lower-priced core collections. In 2017, Seiko Corporation made Grand Seiko a stand-alone marque, with its own distribution and design philosophy, and its cachet among collectors has never been stronger. Grand Seiko’s allure as a luxury watch brand is twofold. First, it is an accessible option compared to other luxury brands’ models in its class – watches with elite in-house calibers along with high-watchmaking finishes and case engineering. This one is priced at $8,100. Secondly, the designs are inspired by nature, specifically the natural beauty of Japan.

The dial has a deep blue color inspired by the beauty of the full moon in the night sky above the Shinshu mountains. The sunray pattern on the dial catches the light at every angle and recreates the sparkle cast by the moon over the landscape when it is at its highest point in the sky. The GS letters and the seconds hand are in a gold color that echoes the brightness of the full moon. A nice touch: the minute and seconds hands are shaped to curve gently down towards the minute track at the edge of the dial, enhancing the legibility of the exact time.

One of Grand Seiko’s strongest assets is its Spring Drive movement, which is unique in watchmaking. It is a traditional mechanical watch driven by an automatic winding system – a rotor powered by the motion of your wrist – but the energy gets transferred into a quartz module. Unlike other quartz, there is no battery needed, and it is extremely accurate compared to most traditional mechanical watches. This watch contains the manual-wound Spring Drive Caliber 9R31, with an accuracy rating of +/- 1 second per day (+/- 15 seconds per month), and a power reserve of 72 hours.