First Grand Seiko beat the Swiss to the GPHG award for best men’s watch in 2021.
Now it has elbowed out Germany’s top watchmakers to land a Red Dot Design Award.
In both instances, it is Grand Seiko’s Hi-Beat White Birch watch that scooped the prizes.
Neither GPHG nor the Red Dot Design Awards are limited to entries from their own countries.
In the case of Red Dot, the awards are voted by a jury of 48 design experts from 23 countries, but the winners’ list does tend to be dominated by German creations.
The Hi-beat 36000 80 Hours watch offers a new perspective on Grand Seiko’s philosophy, The Nature of Time.
Its dial is inspired by the white birch tree forests that thrive in northern parts of Japan, and that grow in profusion near the Grand Seiko Studio Shizukuishi where this and all Grand Seiko mechanical watches are made.
The design is true to the Grand Seiko Style defined back in 1967 with the celebrated 44GS, but its heritage is combined with a contemporary feel that points towards a new era.
The watch is powered by the Hi-beat Calibre 9SA5, which has a precision rate of +5 to -3 seconds a day and achieves a long power reserve of 80 hours.
The precision, power and slimness of Calibre 9SA5 are the result of the radical re-design of key structures including the entirely new escapement and free-sprung balance developed in-house.
Calibre 9SA5 will be the foundation upon which a whole new generation of Grand Seiko mechanical watches will be created in the future.
“With its two-dimensionality and the sensual play of light and shadow, this wristwatch succeeds in skillfully reflecting Grand Seiko’s philosophy. Its special feature is the structured dial, which is reminiscent of birch trees and refers to the location of the manufacture. The watch embodies a typical Japanese design that differs from European visual patterns. Based on the historical model, the watch has undergone an impressive evolution, yet appears unchanged and contemporary,” the Red Dot jury says.