Creating the new face of Grand Seiko for the next 60 years
As Grand Seiko reached its sixtieth anniversary, Sakai and his colleagues faced a special challenge as they sought a new design direction. They fully realized the significance of the moment and the obligations that Grand Seiko’s long history imposed but were determined to look ahead as much as they wanted to respect the past.
“The aim was to create an ‘impressive look.’ In an era where an individual’s way of thinking and behavior are more valued, I thought we needed a design that announced the presence of the person wearing the watch. You could also say it’s like a unique aura that surrounds the watch. I moved ahead with the design, conscious of embodying that kind of special charm.”
Sakai continued his ever deeper investigation into the many designs that have, together, defined Grand Seiko over six decades. Of course, the first Grand Seiko loomed large. “The hour and minute hands of the first Grand Seiko are distinctive, but what I had my eye on was the sharp balance between the hour and minute hands: the thick, bold hour hand contrasting with the long and slender minute hand. With the new design, I wanted to further deepen this balance to achieve even greater visibility.”