THE STORY OF THEGRAND SEIKO,FROM THE PAGESOF WATCHTIMEMAGAZINETHEWORLDOFFI NEWATCHESSEIKOSEIKOSPOTLIGHTwww. watchtime. comEIKOSGRAND PLANFor 50 years, to get a Grand Seiko, youhad to go to Japan. Not anymore.BY JOE THOMPSONAssemblinga Grand Seikomovement atMorioka SeikoInstrumentsCLOSE-UPSeikos Grand SeikoastfallImadeback-to-backreportingtrips, first to Japan, then to Switzerland.OntheSwisstrip,inameetingwithaprominent CEO of a Swiss watch brand,thesubjectofJapanesewatchescameup.Unprompted,hedeclaredSeikomakes the best mechanical watch in theworld. I hate to say it, but its true. Hewas referring to the Grand Seiko, a lux-urymechanicalwatchthatSeikohasproducedinJapanfor52yearsfortheJapanese market.Twodayslater,inaconversationaboutmytravelswiththetechnicaldi-rectorofanotherSwisswatchfirm,hesaid, unprompted, I would love to havea Grand Seiko.Behind the scenes and off the record,such heresy is not unheard of in Switzer-land. In the Mecca of mechanical watch-making,oneoccasionallyencountersopenadmirationforawatchthatisaparadoxanexpensive,small-batch,chronometer-qualitymechanicalmadeby the worlds most famous producer ofquartz watches.In watch circles, Grand Seiko enjoyssomethingakintocultstatus.Onerea-son is its exotic Japanese origins: GrandSeikoscontainhand-mademanufacturemovementswithSeiko-madecompo-nents,includinghairsprings.Anotherreasonisitsrarity:SeikobarelymakesenoughGrandSeikosforJapanandacoupleofotherAsianmarkets.Butmostly its cult status stems from its per-formance:GrandSeikosclaimtofameisthateachonemustpassabatteryoftestsmorerigorousthanSwitzerlandsCOSCconductsforitsofficialchronometer designation. Seiko calls thetests, which it performs itself, the GrandSeiko Inspection Standard. Seiko doesntovertly claim that Grand Seikos are bet-ter than Swiss mechanicals, but it comesclose.TheverybestofmechanicalwatchmakingishowSeikophrasesit.It leaves it to others, such as watch col-lectorswhobuyGrandSeikosonvisitstoJapanandsingtheirpraisesonvari-ouswatchwebsites,tomaketheclaimfor them.Nowforeignersnolongerhavetotrek to the Orient to seek this object ofwatch-collectorfascination.Inadra-matic break with a half-century of tradi-tion,Seikoannouncedin2010thatitwouldsellGrandSeikoson20globalmarkets. Four models are now availableintheUnitedStates,ranginginpricefrom $4,400 to $25,000. The latest ar-rivalsarethe130thAnniversaryCom-memorativeEdition,whichisareplicaoftheoriginalGrandSeikowatchof1960.(TheanniversaryreferenceistothefoundingoftheSeikofirmbyKin-taroHattoriinTokyoin1881.)Thewatch features a new hand-wound me-chanicalmovement,Caliber9S64,andcomes in three limited-edition versions:stainless steel (1,300 pieces at $6,500),18k yellow gold (130 pieces at $16,500)andplatinum(130piecesat$25,000).TheothermodelsaretheGrandSeikoHi-Beat 36000 watch with a new auto-maticmovementwithafrequencyof36,000 vph ($7,200); three Grand SeikoAutomatics ($4,400 and $5,100); and aGrand Seiko Automatic GMT ($5,500). ThedecisiontodistributeGrandSeiko internationally is the latest step inSeikos effort over the last decade to ele-vate the brands image by showcasing itsability to make luxury watches in addi-tion to its standard quartz fare. In recentyears, Seiko has launched on global mar-ketsKinetic,SpringDriveandevenafewmechanicalwatchespricedabove$1,000. The arrival of Grand Seiko me-chanicalsisthepiecederesistance inSeikos grand brand-elevation plan.Yellow gold andplatinum GrandSeikos from the130th AnniversaryCommemorativecollection and themovement thatpowers them,Caliber 9S64SPECSGRAND SEIKO 130TH ANNIVERSARYCOMMEMORATIVE COLLECTIONManufacturer: Morioka Seiko Instru-ments, 61-1, Itabashi, Shizukuishi-cho,Iwate-gun, Iwate, JapanReference number: SBGW033Functions: Hours, minutes, secondsMovement: Caliber 9S64, manual-wind-ing; diameter = 28.4 mm; height = 4.9mm; 24 jewels; 146 components;Spron610 balance spring; 28,800 vph; 72-hour power reserve; magnetic resistance= 10,000 A/mCase: Stainless steel; diameter = 35.8 mm;high definition dual-curved sapphire crys-tal with nonreflective coating; 30-meterwater-resistanceStrap and clasp: Crocodile with stainlesssteel buckleRate: Mean daily rate between -3 to +5seconds per day under static conditions;between -1 to +10 seconds per day whenthe watch is wornVariations: Limited edition of 130 piecesin 18k-yellowgold ($16,500); limited edi-tion of 130 pieces in platinum($25,000)Limited edition of 1,300 piecesPrice: $6,500CLOSE-UPSeikos Grand SeikoThe original GrandSeiko watch from 1960The first watch to carrythe Seiko brand, 1924Seikos first wristwatch,the Laurel, from 1913SEIKO HAS MADEMECHANICAL WRISTWATCHESSINCE 1913 LONGER THANMOST SWISSWATCH COMPANIES.The strategy has its critics, of course.ThereisonlyonethingwrongwithGrandSeiko,theSwissCEOwhosoadmiresitsaidwithaCheshire-catsmile: The name! His point is that forallGrandSeikostechnicalmerits,con-sumersoutsideofSeikoshomemarketwill be loath to spend $4,000-plus for asteelmechanicalwatch(letalone$16,000-plusforagoldone)bearingabrandnametheyhavelongassociatedwith mass-produced quartz watches. THATSEIKO evenmakesmechanicalwatches,letalonechronometer-qualityones,willcomeasasurprisetomanypeople,whoonlyknowitasthebrandthatlaunched(in1969)andledthequartz-watch revolution. But there is farmoretoSeikothanjustquartz.SeikoWatch Corp.s proudest boast is that thegroup is the worlds only watch produc-er to master four timekeeping technolo-gies:quartz,Kinetic,SpringDriveandmechanical. (Two of those, Kinetic andSpring Drive, are exclusive to Seiko.) InSeikobeganmakingmechanicalwatches, pocketwatches then, in 1895. Ithas been making mechanical wristwatch-es longer than most Swiss watch compa-nies. Next year it will celebrate the 100thanniversary of the Laurel, the first wrist-watchmadeinJapan.(Forreasonsun-knowntoday,Seikoscustomfromthebeginning was to give new products Eng-lish names. Perhaps Kintaro was alreadythinkingoffutureexportpossibilities,writesMasaharuNabatainTheSeikoBook: The Real History of Seiko Watch-es.) Most Swiss watch companies did notbegin producing wristwatches until afterWorld War I. The Laurel, Nabata writes,most likely contained components madeentirelyin-house.By1913,Seikosha,asthe company was called, was making itsownbalancespringsandenameldials.The first watch to carry the Seiko namewasawristwatchwithasmallsecondshand at 6 oclock that debuted in 1924.In 1937, Seiko created a second factory,DainiSeikosha(literallySecondSeikosha) exclusively for watch produc-tion.World War II crippled Seikos watch-making development. Production shiftedto military products during the war; af-terward,theJapanesewatchindustryhadtroublerebounding.Itwasntuntil1954thatSeikoachieveditspre-warproduction level of 100,000 watches permonth.Inthemid-1950s,however,Seiko went on a crash program to raiseits mechanical watchmaking expertise toworld-classstandards.Itwasthattech-nical push that led to the creation of theGrand Seiko series.A turning point in Seikos mechanicalwatchhistorywastheSeikoMarvelof1956,a17-jewelmanual-windwithan11.5-ligne movement that represented aquantumleapinaccuracyforJapanesewatches. Seiko entered the watch in do-mestic watch competitions sponsored atthe time by the Ministry of InternationalTrade and Industry. The Marvel lived uptoitsname.Ittookthetopfiveplacesand seven of the top 10 in the 1957 com-petition. In 1958, it took nine of the top10 spots. The next year Seiko introducedtheGyroMarvel,withanautomaticmovement containing a major mechani-cal innovation that is a Seiko exclusive,theMagicLever.(Itsadevicethatin-creasedthetransferofpowertothemainspring and delivered faster windingspeed. It did so by harnessing all the en-ergy created by the rotor as it revolves inboth directions. Seiko calls it one of thekey breakthroughs in the modern histo-ryofmechanicalwatchmaking;itisstillusedinmostSeikoautomaticsto-day.)InthisperiodSeikoproducedwatches like the Cronos and Crown thatare prized by Seiko collectors today. fact,Seikohasalonghistoryasame-chanicalwatchproducer.Todaythegi-ant Seiko Group is a totally vertically in-tegratedmechanicalwatchmanufac-ture. Itproducesmechanicalwatchesacrossthepricespectrum,frominex-pensive,mass-produced,automaticwatches called Seiko 5 at the bottom ofthe price pyramid to Grand Seikos at thetop.Itmakesallthecomponentsandmovements in-house. Americans are notfamiliarwiththemechanicalsideofSeiko because, until recently, none weresold here.The Grand SeikoAutomaticGMT ($5,500)The Grand SeikoAutomatic ($4,400)CLOSE-UPSeikos Grand SeikoFlush with the success of these prod-ucts,Seikofeltreadytotakeontheworldchampionsinmechanicalwatch-making,theSwiss.Seikoassembledateam of its top watchmakers on a projecttocreatewhattheycalledanidealwatch.Thegoalwastoproducethemost accurate, durable, legible and easi-est-to-wear watch in the world. This wasGrandSeiko.WritesNabata,Allthetechniciansinvolvedwiththedevelop-mentofGrandSeikoknewthattheirgoalwastoexceedSwisschronometerstandards. The company set out to makeGrand Seiko watches to a standard high-er than any timepieces ever made beforeinJapan;Swisschronometerstandardswere the key to this ambition.GrandSeikodebutedinTokyoonDec. 18, 1960. The original watch had amanual-windmovement,Caliber3180,withafrequencyof18,000vph.Itsstyling was sleek and simple and it car-riedthedesignationchronometeronthe dial. The emphasis was clearly on themovement.Despiteagold-filledcase,thewatchsoldfor25,000yen,equiva-lent at the time to two months salary ofacollege-educatedprofessional.Seikoputthewatchesthroughatestingregi-men more rigorous than that of Switzer-lands COSC.Today, Grand Seikos areSEIKO HAS JOINEDZENITH IN THE PRESTIGIOUS 36,000-VPHCALIBER CLUB.Seikos automatic Caliber9S85 (below, left), with a frequency of 36,000 vph,powers the Grand SeikoHi-Beat 36000.SPECSGRAND SEIKO HI-BEAT 36000Manufacturer: Morioka Seiko Instru-ments, 61-1, Itabashi, Shizukuishi-cho,Iwate-gun, Iwate, JapanReference number: SBGH 001Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, dateMovement: Caliber 9S85, automatic; di-ameter = 28.4 mm; height = 6.0 mm; 37jewels; 221 components; Spron530 bal-ance spring; 36,000 vph; magnetic resist-ance = 4,800 A/m; 55-hour power reserveCase: Stainless steel; high-definition dualcurved sapphire crystal with nonreflec-tive coating; screw-down crown; exhibi-tion back; 100-meter water-resistanceBracelet and clasp: Stainless steel, three-fold clasp with push-button releaseRate: Mean daily rate between -3 to +5seconds per day under static conditions;between -1 to +10 seconds per day whenthe watch is wornDimensions: Diameter = 40.0 mm; height= 13.0 mm; weight = 151 gramsPrice: $7,200CLOSE-UPSeikos Grand SeikoSeiko makes its own hairsprings using an in-housealloy called Spron. Grand Seiko watches and movementsare assembled by hand in SeikosShizuku-ishi Watch Studio. Making wristwatches at Daini Seikosha in Tokyo in the late 1930stestedinmorepositions,atmoretem-peratures, for more days. (See StandardProcedures:SeikoversusCOSCside-bar.)Afteracoupleofyears,Seikore-movedthechronometerdesignationfromthedialsincethewatchesweretested at a standard greater than the in-ternational standard. SeikoproducedthefirstgenerationofGrandSeikosfrom1960to1975.Seiko itself caused Grand Seikos demise:thecompanyspioneeringadvancesinquartz watch technology killed demandfor mechanical watches. It stopped mak-ingGrandSeikosin1975.Bytheearly1980sithaltedvirtuallyallmechanicalwatch production. Miraculously,adecadelater,Seikomechanicals came back, when the trustytick-tockfoundnewlifeasaluxuryitem.In1991,Seikoresumedfull-scalemechanical-watchproduction.In1998,Seikolaunchedasecondgenerationofmechanical Grand Seiko watches with anew mechanical caliber, the 9S5 series ofautomatic and hand-wound calibers, re-servedexclusivelyforGrandSeikos.(SeikohadrelaunchedtheGrandSeikoseriesin1988,butwithquartzmove-SEIKO IS A COMPLETELY VERTICALLY INTEGRATED MECHANICALMANUFACTURE, MAKING ITS OWNCOMPONENTS FROM HAIRSPRINGSTO CASES AND BRACELETS.CLOSE-UPSeikos Grand SeikoWE ARE TRYINGNOW TO INTEGRATE OUR COLLECTIONS TO PRESENT ONE NEW SEIKO TO THE WORLD.The man backing Seikos push to show-case its luxury mechanical watches onworld markets is Shinji Hattori, chair-man of Seiko Holdings Corp. and CEO ofSeiko Watch Corp. Recently WatchTimeeditor-in-chief Joe Thompson met inTokyo with Hattori, great-grandson ofSeiko founder Kintaro Hattori, to dis-cuss mechanical watchmaking. The fol-lowing is an excerpt fromthe interview.WT: Why has Seiko decided to make apush into the luxury mechanical watchsector in recent years?SH: The main reason is globalization andthe maturing of the image of Seiko. Foryears there were, effectively, two Seikos.One was in Japan, where we have hadGrand Seiko for more than 50 years, aswell as the Credor brand. But there was adifferent Seiko in the rest of the world,where we have been the leader in mid-range quartz watches. In todays global-ized world, many people fromoutsideJapan see and like our higher priced,high-grade Japanese models, and so weare trying nowto integrate our collec-tions to present one newSeiko to theworld.WT: What are the benefits of thisstrategic decision for Seiko? And whatare the risks?SH: There are risks, of course. We cannotexpect consumers in the U.S.A. to immedi-ately accept Seiko at prices 10 timeshigher than the current prices, but, overtime, we will get there. And the benefitsare huge. We will be able to raise the aver-age price of what we sell as the propor-tion of higher-priced merchandise increas-es, and we will achieve synergies in ourproduction by rationalizing the two collec-tions into one.WT: Froma product developmentstandpoint, does Seiko intend to pro-duce a full range of mechanical watchproducts, including high complica-tions? Or does Seiko plan to specializeina certain segment of the mechanicalmarket?SH: For Seiko, the accuracy is very im-portant. The word seiko in Japanesemeans precision. Our strength is inthis area of uncomplicated, high func-tionality, as you knowfromGrand Seiko.So, yes, we will produce a very smallnumber of complications under the Cre-Shinji Hattori: No More Two Seikosdor brand as you have seen in recentyears. [Editors note: the reference is tothe Credor Spring Drive Sonnerie andMinute Repeater watches.] But the coreof our offer in mechanical watches willbe high-quality watches that deliver in-dustry-leading accuracy over time andwhich are reliable, durable and simple.WT:Are there particular Seiko mechan-ical watch projects that you are pleasedabout?SH: There are many! The recent Credorpieces made by the Micro Artist Studioare very special and have had a major im-pact on the luxury market. But perhapsmost of all, I amproud of the GrandSeiko Hi-Beat watch we launched in2010. I believe that the hi-beat mechani-cal caliber is the highest formof thewatchmakers art, as it requires excel-lence in every aspect: engineering preci-sion, materials and innovation. I believeour hi-beat caliber to be one of the verybest mechanical calibers in the world.WT: Seiko has a tradition of innovationin quartz watch technology. Will thesame go for mechanical watchmaking?SEIKO WATCH CORP. CEO SHINJI HATTORIments. To this day, the Grand Seiko lineinJapanincludesquartzandSpringDrive models.) In 2006, Seiko upped theantewithanewcaliber,the9S6series,with a 72-hour power reserve.TOFINDOUT whatmakestheGrandSeiko so grand, you travel north out ofTokyo340milestothemountainousIwateprefectureonJapansnortheastcoast.Inthecenteroftheprefectureisthe city of Morioka, with majestic viewsofnearbyMountIwate.ThecityofShizuku-ishi,justoutsideMorioka,isthe home of Morioka Seiko InstrumentsInc.MSIisapowerhouseinSeikoIn-strumentsInc.,oneofthetwogiantwatch-producing companies in the SeikoGroup. (The other is Seiko Epson.) Thefactory, with 550 employees and 30,000square meters of floor space, churns out10millionwatchesamonth.Thesearethe quartz pieces that made Seiko worldfamous. Within MSI, however, there is anoth-erworld.ItscalledtheShizuku-ishiWatch Studio. Here a staff of 60 highlyskilledwatchmakersandtechniciansmakewatchestheold-fashionedway.The Watch Studio is a full-fledged man-ufacture, theonlyoneinJapan.Here,says an MSI executive, we develop, wedesign,wemanufactureandweassem-ble luxury mechanical watches.Atspotlessworkbenchesinalarge,spotlessroom,19watchmakersmanu-facture mechanical watches, one by one,by hand.Attached to each watchmakers spa-ciousdesk(thewordworkbenchdoesnt do it justice) is a plaque with thewatchmakersnameinJapaneseandEnglish. Each desk is customized for thewatchmaker. The lacquered wood desksandcabinetsinthestudioareIwayadoTansu, traditional craft furniture that isa specialty of the Iwate region. The watchmakers make and finish thecomponents,theyassemblethemove-ment, and they adjust and regulate it. Us-ing customized tweezers, they adjust thecurves of hairsprings, made of an exclu-sive, Seiko-developed alloy called Spron,whichareonly0.03mmthick.Thentechnicians test the movement. A lot. TheSH: We are constantly innovating in me-chanical watchmaking. You can find manyexamples in our current mechanicalwatches. We have created newSpron al-loys for our springs. We have made signifi-cant improvements to the precision of ourcomponents with MEMS technology. Lastyear we introduced newcalibers in GrandSeiko (9S64) and in Seiko (8R39). Our inno-vations are, however, not just innovationsfor their own sake. All contribute to betterprecision over time and that will always beour focus. WT: Do you see any differencein ap-proach tomechanical watchmaking be-tween Japanese and Swiss producers?SH: There are more similarities than differ-ences because I think that our friends inSwitzerland and Seiko share a common de-termination to develop and expand themarket for high-grade watches. Perhapsone small difference is that Seiko designs,produces and assembles its high-end me-chanical models in house. We have alwaysdone so and we always will. And another isperhaps that we are always ready to lookfor radical solutions. For example, lets lookat Spring Drive. When we sought to dra-matically increase the precision over timeof the mechanical watch, we looked notonly at refinements of existing technolo-gies. We looked at completely newideasand Spring Drive is the result. It is a me-chanical watch with a totally newkind ofregulator and it delivers a level of accuracythat other mechanical watches can neverachieve.WT: What are Seiko's top markets forluxury mechanical watches today?SH: For historical reasons, Japan is ofcourse the biggest market. After Japan,the other Asian markets are very good forGrand Seiko and our other high-end me-chanical lines. Many people in these mar-kets have been aware of Seikos excellencein prestige watches for many years andthat is why the take-up of Grand Seiko hasbeen so strong in markets like Hong Kong,Singapore, Taiwan and, in the near future,China and India. In Europe and the U.S.A.,its a longer road that we must travel, butwe have already about 60 retail partnersfor Grand Seiko outside of Japan and weare very pleased with our progress.first round is for 300 hours, after whichthe watchmakers fine-tune the movementagain. At that point it is ready for its 400-hourGrandSeikoinspection.Move-mentsthatpassarethenassembledbyhand into a case that has been hand-pol-ished. Each steel, gold, or platinum case ispolished using a special technique calledZaratsu,orbladepolishing,whichcre-atesaflat,smooth,mirrorfinish.Thecomplete watch then gets a final inspec-tion.Intotal,everyGrandSeikowatchspends more than 1,000 hours being test-ed and inspected. Each watch comes witharatingcertificatecertifyingthatithaspassed the Grand Seiko Inspection Stan-dard. TheShizuku-ishiworkshoppro-duces more than 20 different mechanicalwatchcalibersintwofamilies,Caliber68 and Caliber 9S. Caliber 68 is a seriesofmovementsusedinthinmechanicaldresswatchesthatSeikosellsinJapanunder the Credor label. Caliber 68 is anultra-thin,hand-woundmovementjust1.98mmthick.TheCaliber9Sseries,whichSeikocallstheflagshipofSeiko,isusedexclusivelyinGrandSeikowatches.Withallthehandiworkinvolved in the calibers of both families,themanufactures annualoutputissmall.HowsmallisaSeikosecret;JapanesesourcesputthenumberofGrandSeikosproducedperyearinthethousands rather than tens of thousands. SeikocreatedtheCaliber9Sseriesfor the revival of the mechanical GrandTHE GRAND SEIKOTEST IS TOUGHERTHAN THE COSCTEST FOR SWISSCHRONOMETERS. Seiko collection in 1998. The first move-ment, 9S55, was Seikos state-of-the-artmechanicalmovement,anautomaticwith 50-hour power reserve. But to liveuptotheGrandSeikoideal,Seikofeltthe watch should run for an entire week-endwithoutwindingdown.Theyachieved that in 2006 with a new caliber(the 9S6 series) that runs for 72 hours ona full charge. The long power reserve of72 hours relieved a major concern, saysone Morioka Seiko executive. There isnoneedtoresetthehandsonMondaymorning, because the watch will contin-ueoperatingthroughtheweekend.Seiko says the improved power reserve isthe result of two major advances in com-ponentmanufacturingatMSIoverthepastfewyears.OneistheintroductionofMicroElectroMechanicalSystem(MEMS)engineeringinpartsproduc-tion.MEMSisatechnologydevelopedfor the integrated circuit industry that isnow being applied to watchmaking. TheA Seiko watchmakerworking on the ultra-thin Caliber 68 used in Credor watches for the domestic marketA masterwatchma -ker at hisdesk in theShizuku-ishi WatchStudio atMorioka The Morioka Seiko Instruments factory in Iwate Prefecture in northern JapanCLOSE-UPSeikos Grand SeikootherinvolvesimprovementsinSeikobalancespringsandmainspringsmadewithSpron,thehighlyelasticin-housealloythatSeikoInstrumentsdevelopedfor mainsprings. MSI says Spron, whichis a registered trademark of SII, deliversmore torque and resistance to shock.Calibersinthe9S6seriesusealonger,wider,andthinnermainspringmadeofSpron510,animprovementovertheSpron200mainspringinthe9S5 series. Balance springs are made ofCLOSE-UPSeikos Grand SeikoSpron610, with greater shock-resistanceand anti-magnetism (10,000 A/m). ThecaliberalsohasanewMEMS-made escape wheel and pallet. Comparedtotraditionalmachinedparts,MEMStechnologyproducescomponentsthatarelighter,morepreciselycutandmoredurable, with smoother surfaces. The re-sult, Seiko says, is greater accuracy.Seiko uses the same technology in theGrandSeikoHi-Beat36000watchin-troducedlastyear.Seikoisoneofjusttwo watch firms (the other is Zenith) tomanufacture a 10-beat caliber. High-fre-quency watches have better accuracy be-causetheydeliver50percentmoretorque than a standard eight-beat move-ment. The downside of 10 beats is a lowpowerreserveandlowdurability.Seikos Caliber 9S85, however, managesa power reserve of 55 hours. Like othermembersofthe9Sfamily,ithasaMEMS-manufactured escape wheel andpallet and Spron610 balance spring. Themainspringismadeofanewmaterial,Spron530, which SII developed with theMetalMaterialLaboratoryofTohokuUniversity in Sendai, Japan. How does Seikos Grand Seiko InspectionStandard differ from the COSC tests re-quired for a Swiss mechanicalchronometer? In three ways, Seiko says.The Grand Seiko standard involvesmore tests in more positions and atmore temperatures than todayschronometer standard, Seiko says in astatement.Here are the differences:1. Seiko tests its Grand Seiko movementsin six positions versus five for COSC.Both Seiko and COSC check the accuracy,or rate, of the movement in various posi-tions simulating the various angles awatch is in when on the wrist. Seiko,however, adds one additional position:the position of the watch when it is notbeing worn and placed vertically on aflat surface, crown right, with 12 oclockat the top.2. Seiko tests Grand Seiko movementswith two temperature variations versusCOSCs one. Changes in temperature canaffect the performance of a watch. COSCchecks the thermal variation of dailyrate between 8 and 38 degrees Celsiusand requires that the rate variation notexceed +/- 0.6 seconds per day. LikeCOSC, Seiko checks thermal variation be-tween 8 and 38 degrees Celsius. ButSeiko conducts a second test for varia-tions between 23 and 38 degrees Cel-sius. The extra temperature rating iscloser to body temperature. Seiko has aslightly tougher standard than COSC, +/-0.5 seconds per day.3. Seiko tests Grand Seiko movementsfor 17 days versus COSCs 15. The two ex-tra days are for the test of the movementin the sixth position.The Grand Seiko standard has beenrevised several times over the years. Thecurrent standard was set in 1998, whenSeiko revived the mechanical GrandSeiko collection with the Caliber 9S fam-ily of movements. The following table outlines the dif-ferences between the COSC and GrandSeiko standards.Standard Procedures: Seiko vs. COSCTESTING PROGRAM/CRITERIA COSC CHRONOMETERGRAND SEIKOSecs/day Secs/dayMean daily rate -4 - +6-3 - +5Mean rate variation 2.0 1.8Maximum rate variation 5 4Maximum difference in rate between vertical and horizontal positions -6 - +8 -6 - +5Greatest rate difference 10 8Rate variation per 1Cbetween 8 and 38C -0.6 - +0.6-0.5 - +0.5Rate variation per 1C between 23and 38C (not applicable)-0.5 - +0.5Rate resumption -5 - +5 -5 - +5Number of positions 5 6Time period 15 days 17 daysSource: Seiko Watch Corp.A Grand Seiko Hi-Beat watch with the Grand Seiko certificate