Collection Spotlight: Grand Seiko Japan Seasons Special Edition Watches
Japan’s reverence for the passage of time can be seen clearly in the concept of sekki—twenty-four sekki mark nature’s ever-changing seasons. The sekki offer a poetic journey as nature awakens, blossoms, matures and settles into winter sleep. Now Grand Seiko celebrates the nature of time, the changing of seasons, with four new timepieces for its Heritage Collection, the Japan Seasons Special Edition watches.
Grand Seiko has reimagined the iconic, refined 62GS design, featuring a mirrored, multi-sided case and wide dial opening and bezel-free construction. Utilizing Seiko’s signature Zaratsu polishing technique, these four new watches honor the idea of sekki with stunning beauty and technological precision.
Spring—Hanaikada, The Raft of Blossoms
When sakura cherry blossoms fall into water, the pink blossoms dance on the water, and the Japanese call them hanaikada—flower rafts. The textured pink dial of this model captures the spirit of this short-lived season, representing the renewal of nature.
With a titanium case and bracelet, and a sapphire crystal, the Spring watch is a true work of art. The sophisticated movement combines modern technology with the skilled hands of master craftspeople for its fine adjustments and high precision. The Spring Drive movement further reflects the smooth passage of time with every revolution.
Summer—Kunpu, The Refreshing Breeze
As spring passes to summer, the land turns lush and green. In Japanese, the refreshing zephyr that blows over waving fields is kunpu. Summer’s sumptuous green dial is richly evocative of a summer moment meant to be remembered and enjoyed forever. Gold colored accents shine like the summer sun.
The model features a stainless steel case and bracelet with three-fold clasp and push-button release. The sophisticated, modern movement makes use of innovations to its mainspring, hairspring and escapement to improve precision. Other impressive details include 37 jewels, a see-through case back with a lion emblem a date display and stop seconds hand function.
Fall—Tsukiyo, The Moonlight Night
Under the moonlight, the night is quiet except for the last of the chirping crickets. The bright moon against the dark sky in Japanese is known as tsukiyo. The dial of the Autumn model is a deep blue to celebrate the autumnal equinox, representing the clouds as they float through the sky.
The stainless steel case and bracelet work particularly well in concert with the blue dial. Features include dual-curved sapphire glass with anti-reflective coating on the inner surface, 40mm dimension and an automatic movement with manual winding capacity.
Winter—Miyuki, The Deep Snow
Pine trees draped with winter snow, silent beneath the winter sun. The world has settled into slumber, not yet ready to awaken in the spring. This model’s sculpturally textured white dial celebrates the winter snow as it gathers and glitters, refracting the rays of the sun.
The 9R65 caliber Spring Drive movement is assembled by Grand Seiko in its Shinshu Watch Studio. The striking high-intensity titanium case and bracelet with three-fold clasp are perfectly combined with dual-curved sapphire glass. The watch is completed with fine details including 30 jewels, a see-through case back, date and power reserve displays and more. A watch destined for late, glittering nights on the town.
About The Author: Scott Meller
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Scott joined Feldmar Watch Company, Inc. under the tutelage of his father, Sol. As a fourth generation family member, Scott’s forward-thinking business acumen has placed Feldmar on the cutting edge of the luxury timepiece market. Scott’s favorite part about working at Feldmar is being a part of his family’s multi-generational business and having worked alongside his father. His accomplishments are many, including the expansion and remodel of the Feldmar flagship store, as well as a second location inside The Beverly Hilton.
Since attending Santa Monica College, Scott has become an expert in the technical aspects of the timepieces sold at Feldmar. Each year, he travels to Switzerland—the watchmaking capital of the world—to attend the Baselword Watch & Jewelry Fair and build upon his extensive knowledge of this quickly-evolving industry.
Scott is very proud of the way Feldmar customers are put first: “We regularly go out of our way to meet the needs of our clients. A client once purchased a rather significant watch as a birthday gift for his brother who lived in New York. Our client asked how we were going to deliver the gift and we responded with the typical answer, we would ship it by FedEx. After we answered his question, we could tell that he wanted a more personalized experience for the delivery and offered to have it hand-delivered by one of our associates. He lit up at the thought, and so off went one of our associates to New York City for the day to hand-deliver the gift.”
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