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THE STORY OF THE GRAND , FROM THE PAGES OF WATCHTIME MAGAZINE

SEIKOSEIKO Assembling a Grand Seiko at Morioka

EIKO’S GRAND PLAN For 50 , to get a Grand Seiko, you had to go to . Not anymore.

BY JOE THOMPSON CLOSE-UP Seiko’s Grand Seiko

formance: Grand Seiko’s claim to fame SPECS is that each one must pass a battery of GRAND SEIKO 130TH ANNIVERSARY tests more rigorous than Switzerland’s COMMEMORATIVE COLLECTION COSC conducts for its official chronometer designation. Seiko calls the Manufacturer: Morioka Seiko Instru- tests, which it performs itself, the Grand ments, 61-1, Itabashi, Shizukuishi-cho, Seiko Inspection Standard. Seiko doesn’t Iwate-gun, Iwate, Japan overtly claim that Grand Seikos are bet- Reference number: SBGW033 ter than Swiss mechanicals, but it comes Functions: , , close. “The very best of mechanical Movement: Caliber 9S64, manual-wind- watchmaking” is how Seiko phrases it. ing; diameter = 28.4 mm; height = 4.9 It leaves it to others, such as col- mm; 24 jewels; 146 components; lectors who buy Grand Seikos on visits Spron610 ; 28,800 vph; 72- to Japan and sing their praises on vari- power reserve; magnetic resistance ous watch websites, to make the claim = 10,000 A/m for them. Case: Stainless steel; diameter = 35.8 mm; Now foreigners no longer have to high definition dual-curved crys- trek to the Orient to seek this object of tal with nonreflective coating; 30-meter watch-collector fascination. In a dra- water-resistance ast fall I made back-to-back reporting matic break with a half- of tradi- Strap and clasp: Crocodile with stainless trips, first to Japan, then to Switzerland. tion, Seiko announced in 2010 that it steel buckle On the Swiss trip, in a meeting with a would sell Grand Seikos on 20 global Rate: Mean daily rate between -3 to +5 prominent CEO of a Swiss watch brand, markets. Four models are now available seconds per under static conditions; the subject of Japanese watches came in the United States, ranging in price between -1 to +10 seconds per day when up. Unprompted, he declared “Seiko from $4,400 to $25,000. The latest ar- the watch is worn makes the best mechanical watch in the rivals are the 130th Anniversary Com- Variations: Limited edition of 130 pieces world. I hate to say it, but it’s true.” He memorative Edition, which is a replica in 18k-yellow gold ($16,500); limited edi- was referring to the Grand Seiko, a lux- of the original Grand Seiko watch of tion of 130 pieces in platinum ($25,000) ury mechanical watch that Seiko has 1960. (The anniversary reference is to produced in Japan for 52 years for the the founding of the Seiko firm by Kin- Limited edition of 1,300 pieces Japanese market. taro Hattori in in 1881.) The Price: $6,500 Two days later, in a conversation watch features a new hand-wound me- about my travels with the technical di- chanical movement, Caliber 9S64, and rector of another Swiss watch firm, he comes in three limited-edition versions: said, unprompted, “I would love to have stainless steel (1,300 pieces at $6,500), a Grand Seiko.” 18k yellow gold (130 pieces at $16,500) Behind the scenes and off the record, and platinum (130 pieces at $25,000). such heresy is not unheard of in Switzer- The other models are the Grand Seiko land. In the Mecca of mechanical watch- Hi-Beat 36000 watch with a new auto- making, one occasionally encounters matic movement with a of open admiration for a watch that is a 36,000 vph ($7,200); three Grand Seiko paradox — an expensive, small-batch, Automatics ($4,400 and $5,100); and a chronometer-quality mechanical made Grand Seiko Automatic GMT ($5,500). by the world’s most famous producer of The decision to distribute Grand watches. Seiko internationally is the latest step in In watch circles, Grand Seiko enjoys Seiko’s effort over the last decade to ele- something akin to cult status. One rea- vate the brand’s image by showcasing its Yellow gold and son is its exotic Japanese origins: Grand ability to make luxury watches in addi- platinum Grand Seikos contain hand-made manufacture tion to its standard quartz fare. In recent Seikos from the movements with Seiko-made compo- 130th Anniversary years, Seiko has launched on global mar- Commemorative nents, including hairsprings. Another kets Kinetic, Spring Drive and even a collection and the reason is its rarity: Seiko barely makes few mechanical watches priced above movement that enough Grand Seikos for Japan and a $1,000. The arrival of Grand Seiko me- powers them, couple of other Asian markets. But chanicals is the piece de resistance in Caliber 9S64 mostly its cult status stems from its per- Seiko’s grand brand-elevation plan. CLOSE-UP Seiko’s Grand Seiko

The original Grand The strategy has its critics, of course. Seiko watch from 1960 Seiko began making mechanical SEIKO HAS MADE “There is only one thing wrong with watches, pocketwatches then, in 1895. It Grand Seiko,” the Swiss CEO who so has been making mechanical wristwatch- MECHANICAL admires it said with a Cheshire-cat es longer than most Swiss watch compa- smile: “The name!” His point is that for nies. Next it will celebrate the 100th WRISTWATCHES all Grand Seiko’s technical merits, con- anniversary of the Laurel, the first wrist- SINCE 1913 – sumers outside of Seiko’s home market watch made in Japan. (For reasons un- will be loath to spend $4,000-plus for a known today, Seiko’s custom from the LONGER THAN steel mechanical watch (let alone beginning was to give new products Eng- $16,000-plus for a gold one) bearing a lish names. “Perhaps Kintaro was already MOST SWISS brand name they have long associated thinking of export possibilities,” with mass-produced quartz watches. writes Masaharu Nabata in The Seiko WATCH COMPANIES. Book: The Real of Seiko Watch- THAT SEIKO even makes mechanical es.) Most Swiss watch companies did not watches, let alone chronometer-quality begin producing wristwatches until after ones, will come as a surprise to many The first watch to carry World War I. The Laurel, Nabata writes, people, who only know it as the brand the Seiko brand, 1924 most likely contained components made that launched (in 1969) and led the entirely in-house. By 1913, , as quartz-watch revolution. But there is far the company was called, was making its more to Seiko than just quartz. Seiko own balance springs and enamel dials. Watch Corp.’s proudest boast is that the The first watch to carry the Seiko name group is the world’s only watch produc- was a wristwatch with a small seconds er to master four timekeeping technolo- hand at 6 o’ that debuted in 1924. The Grand Seiko gies: quartz, Kinetic, Spring Drive and In 1937, Seiko created a factory, Automatic ($4,400) mechanical. (Two of those, Kinetic and Daini Seikosha (literally “Second Spring Drive, are exclusive to Seiko.) In Seikosha”) exclusively for watch produc- tion. World War II crippled Seiko’s watch- making development. Production shifted to military products during the war; af- terward, the Japanese watch industry had trouble rebounding. It wasn’t until 1954 that Seiko achieved its pre-war production level of 100,000 watches per The Grand Seiko . In the mid-, however, Automatic GMT ($5,500) Seiko went on a crash program to raise its mechanical watchmaking expertise to world-class standards. It was that tech- nical push that led to the creation of the Grand Seiko series. A turning point in Seiko’s mechanical fact, Seiko has a long history as a me- watch history was the Seiko Marvel of chanical watch producer. Today the gi- 1956, a 17-jewel manual-wind with an cal innovation that is a Seiko exclusive, ant is a totally vertically in- 11.5-ligne movement that represented a the Magic Lever. (It’s a device that in- tegrated mechanical watch manufac- quantum leap in accuracy for Japanese creased the transfer of power to the ture. It produces mechanical watches watches. Seiko entered the watch in do- and delivered faster winding across the price spectrum, from inex- mestic watch competitions sponsored at speed. It did so by harnessing all the en- pensive, mass-produced, automatic the by the Ministry of International ergy created by the rotor as it revolves in watches called Seiko 5 at the bottom of Trade and Industry. The Marvel lived up both directions. Seiko calls it “one of the the price pyramid to Grand Seikos at the to its name. It took the top five places key breakthroughs in the modern histo- top. It makes all the components and and seven of the top 10 in the 1957 com- ry of mechanical watchmaking”; it is movements in-house. Americans are not petition. In 1958, it took nine of the top still used in most Seiko automatics to- familiar with the mechanical side of 10 spots. The next year Seiko introduced day.) In this period Seiko produced Seiko’s first wristwatch, Seiko because, until recently, none were the Gyro Marvel, with an automatic watches like the Cronos and Crown that the Laurel, from 1913 sold here. movement containing a major mechani- are prized by Seiko collectors today. CLOSE-UP Seiko’s Grand Seiko

Flush with the success of these prod- SEIKO HAS JOINED SPECS ucts, Seiko felt ready to take on the GRAND SEIKO HI-BEAT 36000 world champions in mechanical watch- ZENITH IN THE making, the Swiss. Seiko assembled a Manufacturer: Morioka Seiko Instru- team of its top watchmakers on a project PRESTIGIOUS ments, 61-1, Itabashi, Shizukuishi-cho, Iwate-gun, Iwate, Japan to create what they called “an ideal 36,000-VPH watch.” The goal was to produce the Reference number: SBGH 001 most accurate, durable, legible and easi- CALIBER CLUB. Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, est-to-wear watch in the world. This was Movement: Caliber 9S85, automatic; di- Grand Seiko. Writes Nabata, “All the ameter = 28.4 mm; height = 6.0 mm; 37 technicians involved with the develop- jewels; 221 components; Spron530 bal- ment of Grand Seiko knew that their ance spring; 36,000 vph; magnetic resist- goal was to exceed Swiss chronometer ance = 4,800 A/m; 55-hour power reserve standards. The company set out to make Case: Stainless steel; high-definition dual Grand Seiko watches to a standard high- curved sapphire crystal with nonreflec- er than any timepieces ever made before tive coating; screw-down crown; exhibi- in Japan; Swiss chronometer standards tion back; 100-meter water-resistance Seiko’s automatic Caliber were the key to this ambition.” Bracelet and clasp: Stainless steel, three- 9S85 (below, left), with a Grand Seiko debuted in Tokyo on fold clasp with push-button release Dec. 18, 1960. The original watch had a frequency of 36,000 vph, powers the Grand Seiko Rate: Mean daily rate between -3 to +5 manual-wind movement, Caliber 3180, Hi-Beat 36000. seconds per day under static conditions; with a frequency of 18,000 vph. Its between -1 to +10 seconds per day when styling was sleek and simple and it car- the watch is worn ried the designation “chronometer” on the dial. The emphasis was clearly on the Dimensions: Diameter = 40.0 mm; height = 13.0 mm; weight = 151 grams movement. Despite a gold-filled case, the watch sold for 25,000 yen, equiva- Price: $7,200 lent at the time to two ’ salary of a college-educated professional. Seiko put the watches through a testing regi- men more rigorous than that of Switzer- land’s COSC. Today, Grand Seikos are CLOSE-UP Seiko’s Grand Seiko

Seiko makes its own hairsprings using an in-house Making wristwatches at Daini Seikosha in Tokyo in the late alloy called Spron.

Grand Seiko watches and movements are assembled by hand in Seiko’s Shizuku-ishi Watch Studio.

tested in more positions, at more tem- peratures, for more days. (See “Standard Procedures: Seiko versus COSC” side- bar.) After a couple of years, Seiko re- moved the “chronometer” designation from the dial since the watches were tested at a standard greater than the in- ternational standard. Seiko produced the first generation of Grand Seikos from 1960 to 1975. Seiko itself caused Grand Seiko’s demise: the company’s pioneering advances in quartz watch technology killed demand for mechanical watches. It stopped mak- ing Grand Seikos in 1975. By the early it halted virtually all mechanical watch production. Miraculously, a decade later, Seiko mechanicals came back, when the trusty tick-tock found new life as a luxury item. In 1991, Seiko resumed full-scale SEIKO IS A COMPLETELY VERTICALLY mechanical-watch production. In 1998, Seiko launched a second generation of INTEGRATED MECHANICAL mechanical Grand Seiko watches with a MANUFACTURE, MAKING ITS OWN new mechanical caliber, the 9S5 series of automatic and hand-wound calibers, re- COMPONENTS FROM HAIRSPRINGS served exclusively for Grand Seikos. (Seiko had relaunched the Grand Seiko TO CASES AND BRACELETS. series in 1988, but with quartz move- CLOSE-UP Seiko’s Grand Seiko

ments. To this day, the Grand Seiko line THE GRAND SEIKO Shinji Hattori: No More Two Seikos SH: We are constantly innovating in me- in Japan includes quartz and Spring chanical watchmaking. You can find many Drive models.) In 2006, Seiko upped the TEST IS TOUGHER examples in our current mechanical ante with a new caliber, the 9S6 series, THAN THE COSC “WE ARE TRYING watches. We have created new Spron al- with a 72-hour power reserve. loys for our springs. We have made signifi- TEST FOR SWISS NOW TO INTEGRATE cant improvements to the precision of our TO FIND OUT what makes the Grand components with MEMS technology. Last Seiko so grand, you travel north out of CHRONOMETERS. OUR COLLECTIONS year we introduced new calibers in Grand Tokyo 340 miles to the mountainous Seiko (9S64) and in Seiko (8R39). Our inno- Iwate prefecture on Japan’s northeast TO ONE vations are, however, not just innovations coast. In the center of the prefecture is for their own sake. All contribute to better the city of Morioka, with majestic views NEW SEIKO TO precision over time and that will always be of nearby Mount Iwate. The city of our focus. Shizuku-ishi, just outside Morioka, is THE WORLD.” the home of Morioka Seiko Instruments WT: Do you see any difference in ap- Inc. MSI is a powerhouse in Seiko In- SEIKO WATCH CORP. CEO SHINJI HATTORI proach to mechanical watchmaking be- struments Inc., one of the two giant tween Japanese and Swiss producers? watch-producing companies in the Seiko SH: There are more similarities than differ- ences because I think that our friends in Group. (The other is Seiko .) The first round is for 300 hours, after which Switzerland and Seiko share a common de- factory, with 550 employees and 30,000 the watchmakers fine-tune the movement termination to develop and expand the square meters of floor , churns out again. At that point it is ready for its 400- market for high-grade watches. Perhaps 10 million watches a month. These are hour Grand Seiko inspection. Move- one small difference is that Seiko designs, the quartz pieces that made Seiko world ments that pass are then assembled by produces and assembles its high-end me- famous. hand into a case that has been hand-pol- chanical models in house. We have always Within MSI, however, there is anoth- ished. Each steel, gold, or platinum case is done so and we always will. And another is er world. It’s called the Shizuku-ishi polished using a special technique called perhaps that we are always ready to look Watch Studio. Here a staff of 60 highly Zaratsu, or blade polishing, which cre- The man backing Seiko’s push to show- WT: What are the benefits of this dor brand as you have seen in recent for radical solutions. For example, let’s look skilled watchmakers and technicians ates a flat, smooth, mirror finish. The case its luxury mechanical watches on strategic decision for Seiko? And what years. [Editor’s note: the reference is to at Spring Drive. When we sought to dra- make watches the old-fashioned way. complete watch then gets a final inspec- world markets is Shinji Hattori, chair- are the risks? the Credor Spring Drive Sonnerie and matically increase the precision over time The Watch Studio is a full-fledged man- tion. In total, every Grand Seiko watch man of Seiko Holdings Corp. and CEO of SH: There are risks, of course. We cannot Repeater watches.] But the core of the mechanical watch, we looked not ufacture, the only one in Japan. Here, spends more than 1,000 hours being test- Seiko Watch Corp. Recently WatchTime expect consumers in the U.S.A. to immedi- of our offer in mechanical watches will only at refinements of existing technolo- says an MSI executive, “we develop, we ed and inspected. Each watch comes with editor-in-chief Joe Thompson met in ately accept Seiko at prices 10 be high-quality watches that deliver in- gies. We looked at completely new ideas design, we manufacture and we assem- a rating certificate certifying that it has Tokyo with Hattori, great-grandson of higher than the current prices, but, over dustry-leading accuracy over time and and Spring Drive is the result. It is a me- ble luxury mechanical watches.” passed the Grand Seiko Inspection Stan- Seiko founder Kintaro Hattori, to dis- time, we will get there. And the benefits which are reliable, durable and simple. chanical watch with a totally new kind of At spotless workbenches in a large, dard. cuss mechanical watchmaking. The fol- are huge. We will be able to raise the aver- regulator and it delivers a level of accuracy spotless room, 19 watchmakers manu- The Shizuku-ishi workshop pro- lowing is an excerpt from the interview. price of what we sell as the propor- WT: Are there particular Seiko mechan- that other mechanical watches can never facture mechanical watches, one by one, duces more than 20 different mechanical achieve. tion of higher-priced merchandise increas- ical watch projects that you are pleased by hand. watch calibers in two families, Caliber about? WT: Why has Seiko decided to make a es, and we will achieve synergies in our Attached to each watchmaker’s spa- 68 and Caliber 9S. Caliber 68 is a series push into the luxury mechanical watch production by rationalizing the two collec- SH: There are many! The recent Credor WT: What are Seiko's top markets for cious desk (the word “workbench” of movements used in thin mechanical sector in recent years? tions into one. pieces made by the Micro Artist Studio luxury mechanical watches today? doesn’t do it justice) is a plaque with the dress watches that Seiko sells in Japan SH: The main reason is globalization and are very special and have had a major im- SH: For historical reasons, Japan is of watchmaker’s name in Japanese and under the Credor label. Caliber 68 is an the maturing of the image of Seiko. For WT: From a product development pact on the luxury market. But perhaps course the biggest market. After Japan, years there were, effectively, two Seikos. standpoint, does Seiko intend to pro- most of all, I am proud of the Grand the other Asian markets are very good for English. Each desk is customized for the ultra-thin, hand-wound movement just One was in Japan, where we have had duce a full range of mechanical watch Seiko Hi-Beat watch we launched in Grand Seiko and our other high-end me- watchmaker. The lacquered wood desks 1.98 mm thick. The Caliber 9S series, Grand Seiko for more than 50 years, as products, including high complica- 2010. I believe that the hi-beat mechani- chanical lines. Many people in these mar- and cabinets in the studio are Iwayado which Seiko calls “the flagship of well as the Credor brand. But there was a tions? Or does Seiko plan to specialize cal caliber is the highest form of the kets have been aware of Seiko’s excellence Tansu, traditional craft furniture that is Seiko,” is used exclusively in Grand different Seiko in the rest of the world, in a certain segment of the mechanical watchmaker’s art, as it requires excel- in prestige watches for many years and a specialty of the Iwate region. Seiko watches. With all the handiwork where we have been the leader in mid- market? lence in every aspect: engineering preci- that is why the take-up of Grand Seiko has The watchmakers make and finish the involved in the calibers of both families, range quartz watches. In today’s global- SH: For Seiko, the accuracy is very im- sion, materials and innovation. I believe been so strong in markets like Hong Kong, components, they assemble the move- the manufacture’s annual output is ized world, many people from outside portant. The word seiko in Japanese our hi-beat caliber to be one of the very Singapore, Taiwan and, in the near future, ment, and they adjust and regulate it. Us- small. How small is a Seiko secret; Japan see and like our higher priced, means “precision.” Our strength is in best mechanical calibers in the world. China and India. In Europe and the U.S.A., ing customized tweezers, they adjust the Japanese sources put the number of high-grade Japanese models, and so we this area of uncomplicated, high func- it’s a longer road that we must travel, but curves of hairsprings, made of an exclu- Grand Seikos produced per year in the are trying now to integrate our collec- tionality, as you know from Grand Seiko. WT: Seiko has a tradition of innovation we have already about 60 retail partners sive, Seiko-developed alloy called Spron, thousands rather than tens of thousands. tions to present one new Seiko to the So, yes, we will produce a very small in quartz watch technology. Will the for Grand Seiko outside of Japan and we which are only 0.03 mm thick. Then Seiko created the Caliber 9S series world. number of complications under the Cre- same go for mechanical watchmaking? are very pleased with our progress. technicians test the movement. A lot. The for the revival of the mechanical Grand CLOSE-UP Seiko’s Grand Seiko

A Seiko watchmaker working on the ultra- thin Caliber 68 used in Credor watches for the domestic market

Seiko collection in 1998. The first move- no need to reset the hands on Monday other involves improvements in Seiko ment, 9S55, was Seiko’s state-of-the-art morning, because the watch will contin- balance springs and made mechanical movement, an automatic ue operating through the weekend.” with Spron, the highly elastic in-house with 50-hour power reserve. But to live Seiko says the improved power reserve is alloy that Seiko Instruments developed up to the Grand Seiko ideal, Seiko felt the result of two major advances in com- for mainsprings. MSI says Spron, which the watch should run for an entire - ponent manufacturing at MSI over the is a registered trademark of SII, delivers end without winding down. They few years. One is the introduction more torque and resistance to shock. achieved that in 2006 with a new caliber of Micro Electro Mechanical System Calibers in the 9S6 series use a (the 9S6 series) that runs for 72 hours on (MEMS) engineering in parts produc- longer, wider, and thinner mainspring a full charge. “The long power reserve of tion. MEMS is a technology developed made of Spron510, an improvement 72 hours relieved a major concern,” says for the integrated circuit industry that is over the Spron200 mainspring in the one Morioka Seiko executive. “There is now being applied to watchmaking. The 9S5 series. Balance springs are made of

The Morioka Seiko Instruments factory in Iwate Prefecture in northern Japan A master watchma - ker at his desk in the Shizuku- ishi Watch Studio at Morioka CLOSE-UP Seiko’s Grand Seiko

A Grand Seiko Hi-Beat watch with the Grand Seiko certificate

Standard Procedures: Seiko vs. COSC How does Seiko’s Grand Seiko Inspection checks the thermal variation of daily Standard differ from the COSC tests re- rate between 8 and 38 degrees Celsius quired for a Swiss mechanical and requires that the rate variation not chronometer? In three ways, Seiko says. exceed +/- 0.6 seconds per day. Like “The Grand Seiko standard involves COSC, Seiko checks thermal variation be- more tests in more positions and at tween 8 and 38 degrees Celsius. But more temperatures than today’s Seiko conducts a second test for varia- chronometer standard,” Seiko says in a tions between 23 and 38 degrees Cel- statement. sius. The extra temperature rating is Here are the differences: closer to body temperature. Seiko has a 1. Seiko tests its Grand Seiko movements slightly tougher standard than COSC, +/- in six positions versus five for COSC. 0.5 seconds per day. Both Seiko and COSC check the accuracy, or rate, of the movement in various posi- 3. Seiko tests Grand Seiko movements tions simulating the various angles a for 17 days versus COSC’s 15. The two ex- watch is in when on the wrist. Seiko, tra days are for the test of the movement however, adds one additional position: in the sixth position. the position of the watch when it is not The Grand Seiko standard has been being worn and placed vertically on a revised several times over the years. The flat surface, crown right, with 12 o’clock current standard was set in 1998, when at the top. Seiko revived the mechanical Grand Spron610, with greater shock-resistance Seiko collection with the Caliber 9S fam- and anti-magnetism (10,000 A/m). 2. Seiko tests Grand Seiko movements ily of movements. The caliber also has a new MEMS- with two temperature variations versus The following table outlines the dif- made escape wheel and pallet. Compared COSC’s one. Changes in temperature can ferences between the COSC and Grand to traditional machined parts, MEMS affect the performance of a watch. COSC Seiko standards. technology produces components that are lighter, more precisely cut and more durable, with smoother surfaces. The re- sult, Seiko says, is greater accuracy. TESTING PROGRAM/CRITERIA Seiko uses the same technology in the COSC CHRONOMETER GRAND SEIKO Grand Seiko Hi-Beat 36000 watch in- Secs/day Secs/day troduced last year. Seiko is one of just Mean daily rate -4 - +6 -3 - +5 two watch firms (the other is Zenith) to Mean rate variation 2.0 1.8 manufacture a 10-beat caliber. High-fre- Maximum rate variation 54 quency watches have better accuracy be- cause they deliver 50 percent more Maximum difference in rate torque than a standard eight-beat move- between vertical and ment. The downside of 10 beats is a low horizontal positions -6 - +8 -6 - +5 power reserve and low durability. Greatest rate difference 10 8 Seiko’s Caliber 9S85, however, manages Rate variation per 1°C a power reserve of 55 hours. Like other between 8° and 38°C -0.6 - +0.6 -0.5 - +0.5 members of the 9S family, it has a Rate variation per 1°C MEMS-manufactured escape wheel and between 23°and 38°C (not applicable) -0.5 - +0.5 pallet and Spron610 balance spring. The Rate resumption -5 - +5 -5 - +5 mainspring is made of a new material, Number of positions 56 Spron530, which SII developed with the Metal Material Laboratory of Tohoku Time period 15 days 17 days University in Sendai, Japan.  Source: Seiko Watch Corp.