In 1993, back when it was still a sub-brand of the main Seiko collection and scarcely known outside its native Japan, Grand Seiko introduced its first exclusive quartz movement, Caliber 9F. Among that pioneering movement’s attributes were an instantaneous calendar change for the day-date display; a ?backlash? auto-adjust mechanism that prevented shuddering of the seconds hand; a twin-pulse control system for increased torque, which allowed for minute and second hands that reached all the way to the dial’s edge; and a special shield that protected the gear train and motor from dust. Most significantly, Caliber 9F maintained a precision of just +5 to -5 seconds per year, which meant Seiko could claim that watches equipped with it were “the highest performing in the world” in their category. This year, in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of caliber 9F, the now independent and world-renowned Grand Seiko adds a GMT complication to its flagship quartz movement, debuting it in three new watches, one a limited edition.
Grand Seiko Caliber 9F86 incorporates new components, created especially for this movement, which allow for the independent adjustment of the GMT hand while still maintaining then watch’s timekeeping precision. Despite the addition of these new components into the base Caliber 9F movement, the thickness of the new watches’ cases have increased only slightly over those of their predecessors (just 12.1 mm in total), owing to a ...