Watchmaking in Japan

Watchmaking in Japan

THE WATCH FILES

Watchmaking in Japan

The traditionally tech-driven Japanese watch industry is crafting a gradual upgrade towards emotion-based luxury. Meanwhile, Swiss watch brands are looking for ways to seduce a new generation less keen on luxury shopping than their parents. Discover our exclusive articles about watchmaking in Japan.

Naoya Hida: Japan's handcrafted watches for vintage lovers

Naoya Hida: Japan’s handcrafted watches for vintage lovers

Naoya Hida, a Japanese watch sales professional for several decades, was able to develop a hobby brand into a solid brand and a full-time profession. Since (...)

Orient Star is rising

Orient Star is rising

Orient Star denotes the top range of mechanical watches from Orient, a watchmaker with a history dating back to 1901 but fully integrated into the Seiko (...)

Miyota: from movement-maker to brand name

Miyota is on a mission to convince the global mid-range segment of the virtues and importance of mechanical calibres. In other words, to put the movement (...)

Watch Q&A with... Akio Naito – Seiko, Grand Seiko

Watch Q&A with... Akio Naito – Seiko, Grand Seiko

“A unique sense of beauty rooted in traditional Japanese aesthetics – sublime, yet understated and restrained”

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Grand Seiko unveils its first mechanical complication

Grand Seiko unveils its first mechanical complication

Grand Seiko’s new Constant-Force Tourbillon Kodo combines a constant-force mechanism and a tourbillon as one unit on a single (...)

King Seiko: a 1965 classic is re-born!

King Seiko: a 1965 classic is re-born!

Never before in the company’s history had there been a period of such creativity and achievement. From the first Grand Seiko in 1960 to the automatic (...)

Orient revives the M-Force Sports collection

Orient revives the M-Force Sports collection

Orient is bringing back its popular M-Force model, a much-loved member of the Orient Sports Collection. The first four models of the new third generation (...)

Citizen Super TitaniumTM

Citizen Super Titanium^TM

WHEN INNOVATION MEANS MATERIALS

As illustrated on the cover of the lastest edition of Europa Star, in 2020 Citizen is celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the first titanium (...)

Grand Seiko's new addition to the 60th anniversary collection

Grand Seiko’s new addition to the 60th anniversary collection

The revolutionary automatic caliber 9SA5 and a powerful new look are completing the Japanese brand’s celebration. Discover the three innovations that set (...)

Grand Seiko's chronometric quest

Grand Seiko’s chronometric quest

INNOVATION AS A CONSTANT FORCE

To widespread surprise, in September Grand Seiko presented a wholly unprecedented concept movement, the T0 (T-Zero) Constant-force Tourbillon. Its (...)

Grand Seiko's special relationship with nature

Grand Seiko’s special relationship with nature

The brilliant blue sky over Mt. Iwate at dawn that greets the watchmakers and technicians of the Grand Seiko Studio Shizukuishi inspires a new limited (...)

Seiko Presage Sharp Edged Series

Seiko Presage Sharp Edged Series

Sharp, angular and refined: a new Presage series features a Japanese Asanoha or hemp leaf pattern, familiar in Japanese culture for its use in design since (...)

Seiko Prospex LX line Limited Edition

Seiko Prospex LX line Limited Edition

The LX line was introduced in 2019 from the Prospex collection as the pinnacle of Seiko sports watches. The line’s name, LX, hints at the Latin word for (...)

The Grand Seiko Studio Shizukuishi opens its doors

The Grand Seiko Studio Shizukuishi opens its doors

A new chapter in the 60-year history of Grand Seiko opens with the inauguration of an entirely new studio dedicated to the production of Grand Seiko’s (...)

Grand Seiko celebrates its 60th Anniversary

Grand Seiko celebrates its 60th Anniversary

BRAND FOCUS

This year, Grand Seiko is celebrating 60 years of existence. Called “kanreki”, this anniversary is especially important in the Japanese culture. To mark the (...)

Citizen: the titan of titanium

Citizen: the titan of titanium

COVER STORY

Exactly fifty years ago, in the golden age of the Apollo missions, Japanese brand Citizen introduced a new material into watchmaking that had hitherto been (...)

Citizen sets its sights on the moon

Citizen sets its sights on the moon

SPACE

The world’s first commercial lunar exploration program, HAKUTO-R, will be equipped with Citizen’s Super Titanium™ on components used in the lunar lander and (...)

A history of sports timekeeping

A history of sports timekeeping

1964: A TURNING POINT FOR SEIKO

The Olympic Games held in Tokyo in 1964 changed Seiko for ever. That edition, the first ‘technological’ Olympics, brought the Japanese company into the (...)

Seiko: “We want to go beyond functionality”

Seiko: “We want to go beyond functionality”

JAPANESE BRANDS

How to convey not only the functional aspect of Seiko’s and Grand Seiko’s collections, but also the Japanese sense of beauty found in these timepieces? An (...)

The secret calendars of Japanese prints

The secret calendars of Japanese prints

HISTORY

To circumvent the state monopoly on calendars, ingenious Japanese craftsmen designed prints that revealed – to initiates only – the alternation of short and (...)

Visiting Seiko Dream Square in Tokyo

Visiting Seiko Dream Square in Tokyo

CONCEPT STORES

Last December, Seiko inaugurated this space, which differs greatly from a traditional boutique. Rather than simply displaying watches, the Japanese giant (...)

In the world's largest movement factory

In the world’s largest movement factory

REPORT

A quartz calibre is produced every second at the Saku factory operated by Miyota. The Citizen Group’s movement manufacturer equips a plethora of entry-level (...)

Orient: the watch brand of Epson

JAPANESE BRANDS

Orient, which specialises in automatic watches, wants to take advantage of Epson’s global infrastructure to make itself better known (...)

Minase: Japan's best-kept horological secret

Minase: Japan’s best-kept horological secret

REPORT

Minase is a good example of how technological innovation in Japan can also be an ode to nature. We paid a visit to this family company in Akita, in the (...)