Nothing but the best is good enough for Grand Seiko. The watch manufacturer from the Far East made this a priority 60 years ago and, in order to win the Swiss chronometry competition, developed a high-speed caliber oscillating at a frequency of 36,000 vibrations per hour. Of course, even back then, people knew about the higher accuracy that went with higher frequency, but they were also well aware of the enormous technical challenges that must be mastered to achieve this noble goal.
The mainspring must do double duty: it has to deliver high torque to supply the balance with enough energy to support speedy back-and-forth oscillations while simultaneously storing enough energy to support an adequately long power reserve. Meanwhile, the gear train and escapement must be able to withstand the stronger forces acting on them. Then as now, Grand Seiko and Zenith are the only brands that have successfully tamed these forces in fast-oscillating, serially manufactured calibers.
Grand Seiko’s Caliber 61 passed the chronometer test administered at the Neuchâtel Observatory in 1969. At the same time, Grand Seiko was ready to launch its first quartz watch (the Astron) in keeping with the brand’s striving to build the world’s most accurate watches. It is therefore not surprising that this year’s Grand Seiko 60th anniversary collection includes both a quartz watch encasing newly developed Caliber GS 9F85 and a mechanical model with a speedily oscillating movement of the highest quality. The latter caliber ticks inside the Elegance GMT, our test watch.
A High-frequency Automatic Movement with a Modern Time-zone Display
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der July - August 2020-Ausgabe von Watch Time.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der July - August 2020-Ausgabe von Watch Time.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
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Mirror of Civilizations
With the new Tonda PF Xiali Calendar (Ref. PFH982-1022301100182), Parmigiani Fleurier celebrates the Chinese New Year (Jan. 22, 2023) with a world premiere: a Chinese complete calendar that is covering a period of 12 years. This model follows the maison's earlier Gregorian Annual Calendar and the Tonda Hijri Perpetual Calendar, or Muslim calendar, a feat of miniaturization that was awarded the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) in the Innovation category in 2020.
Return Flight
Longines brings back the famous \"Majetek\" pilot watch from 1935 with a 43-mm case and new bezel system.
Black Capsule
On January 31, Carl F. Bucherer unveiled five new versions of some of its most popular models in a different cosmopolitan city on the same day - each city having played an important role for the three generations of the Bucherer family over the past 135 years.
Touchdown in Le Locle
Aaron Charles Rodgers (born Dec. 2, 1983) is a quarterback for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL).
Flat Floor
Just three months after Bulgari had unveiled the world's latest thinnest watch, the 1.8-mm Octo Finissimo Ultra (Ref. 103611), Richard Mille set a new world record with the RM UP-01 Ferrari (in 2021, Ferrari and Richard Mille had announced a multi-year partnership agreement).
Tourbillon Waltz
On June 26, 1801, Abraham-Louis Breguet (Jan. 10, 1747 Sept. 17, 1823) was granted a patent for a new type of regulator.
Tudor's Tool Watch Is Back
Two years ago, Tudor started to quietly decommission its ETApowered Heritage Ranger from 2014, perhaps one of its most quintessential time-only models that had first appeared in the collection in the 1960s.
License To Dive
Underwater explorers and frogmen play as prominent a role in the history of Omega's dive watches as do the seahorse and the world's most famous secret agent.
HEART-STOPPING MOMENTS
The TAG Heuer Autavia embodies the excitement of 1960s motorsports and the optimism of the time. The new 2022 models reflect the Autavia's beginnings as a cockpit instrument and build on this history.
The Lasting Influence of The Nineties
A look back at the decade that saw an industry recover from crisis and steady itself at the cusp of a new millennium.