In many cultures in East Asia the 60th birthday signifies new beginnings and a moment of rebirth. The Japanese embrace the tradition of Kanreki, which literally means your years completed in a circle and symbolizes a return to the time you were born. Grand Seiko turns 60 this year and boy, its watchmakers have taken this reinvention business very seriously indeed.

The escapement on the T0 beats at 4 Hz.

After introducing a new escapement that riffs on the direct impulse escapement (Ref. SLGH002) earlier this year, Grand Seiko this month unveiled a concept constant-force tourbillon movement it calls the T0 (that?s tee-zero). This isn?t the first tourbillon from the House of Seiko; that would be the Credor Fugaku tourbillon from 2016. Nor is this the first wristwatch to combine a remontoire (a constant-force mechanism) and a tourbillon, but this is a first for Grand Seiko and the brand claims that this is the only time a remontoire and a tourbillon have been brought together on the same axis.
In a sense, this is a continuation of Grand Seiko?s original pursuit of creating the world’s most accurate wristwatch. Back in 1960, Grand Seiko was born out of parent company Seiko?s quest to create ?the ideal watch? ? a beautifully handcrafted timepiece that would be durable, legible and possessing higher chronometric standards than Swiss watches. By the end of the decade, Grand Seiko mechanical movements had swept the top spots at chronometry competitions held by the Ne...