Seiko’s Micro Artist Studio, which has produced such notable timepieces as the Spring Drive Minute Repeater and Credor Sonnerie, is located in the city of Shiojori in central Japan’s Nagano Prefecture. In 2016, the Studio released the first Grand Seiko Spring Drive 8-Day Power Reserve watch in a platinum case. For this week’s Watch to Watch, we spotlight the newest version, announced at this year’s Baselworld, which contains the same Spring Drive caliber as the original but in an 18k rose gold case and featuring a black, star-dappled dial said to be inspired by the night sky in the mountains that surround the Studio.
The Grand Seiko Spring Drive 8-Day Power Reserve is now offered in a rose-gold case and black “night sky” dial. Inside the 43.mm-diameter case, and under a box-shaped sapphire crystal with nonreflective coating, the black dial of the new Spring Drive 8 Day Power Reserve appears sprinkled with stardust, the result of a special process that combines plating and painting. The sparkling, night-sky effect is enhanced by the five-faceted hands and hour markers, which are razor-edge-polished and have been given a mirrored finish by means of Seiko’s Zaratsu polishing technique, achieved by holding the case against a rotating tin plate at a very precise angle. The rose-gold case measures a modest 13.2 mm in diameter and is water-resistant to 100 meters.
A combination of plating and painting is applied to give the dial its st...