So – a couple of milestone dates.

Seiko produced Japan’s first wristwatch, the Laurel, in 1913. Something more may be familiar with is the year of 1960, when Grand Seiko was launched in 1960. Combining the two results in the marking of 110 years since the Laurel with a number of commemorative pieces including the new SBGW295 Grand Seiko limited edition, which they are calling a recreation of that first Grand Seiko. It falls within the Grand Seiko Elegance Collection.

This limited edition of 500 pieces is in a 38mm case (thickness of 10.9mm) made of Brilliant Hard Titanium with a water resistance of 30m, and features a urushi lacquer dial with raised gold maki-e markers.

What is Brilliant Hard Titanium and why was it chosen? It is twice as hard as stainless steel and it was chosen both for this and for its cleaner brighter lustre. It features another form of finishing familiar to Grand Seiko enthusiasts – Zaratsu polishing.

Another craft familiar more broadly to those interested in Japanese crafts (most commonly tableware and decorative items but often, pens) and which occasionally finds itself on watches is urushi lacquer, which is used for the curved dial of this commemorative watch. Derived from the sap of the lacquer tree, one thing you may not be aware of is that although this sort of decoration and technique may be most commonly associated with Japanese arts and crafts, the source is not necessarily Japan. For the SBGW295, Grand Seiko have sourced it from within Japan, and its colour is achieved through the addition of iron into the mix.

The maki-e hour markers are made by urushi master Isshu Tamura. He builds up the lacquer indices layer by layer after which gold powder is sprinkled on them. The seconds and minute hands are hand-curved down towards the dial.

Visible through the sapphire crystal case-back is the manually wound Caliber 9S64, which beats at 28,880 VPH and has a power reserve of 72 hours. Bot the serial number and ‘LIMITED EDITION’ appear on the back.

The Grand Seiko SBGW295 110th Anniversary Limited Edition comes with a Brilliant Hard Titanium folding clasp and two leather straps – one features a traditional Japanese weaving technique called yoroiori in which thin strips of calf leather and fabric are interlaced to increase durability, and the second is more straightforward but all about softness of texture. The RRP of the limited edition is EUR 14,700/ AUD 19,950.

[Photo credit: Grand Seiko]

Categories: Japanese watches, Limited Editions, Seiko, Watch Profile, watches, Women's watches