VIDEO: Grand Seiko 101 – 3 things you need to know 

Felix Scholz

For years Grand Seiko was a very underground, for-those-in-the-know type brand; its visibility outside of Japan was limited, and its passionate supporters revelled in the arcana of cryptic reference numbers, nicknames and shorthand galore. All that changed a few years ago when Grand Seiko went global, but there’s still an air of mystique around the Japanese brand.

So, to help clear a few things up, I decided to run through a short explainer, providing a flying overview of some of the key details, covering off the basics around movements, cases and dials. So, if you don’t know your Snowflakes from your Spring Drives, aren’t too sure if you’re team 9S or 9F, or have ever wondered just what Zaratsu actually is, this video is for you. We can’t explain it all in just a few minutes, but if it clears a few things up or serves as the first step down the Grand Seiko rabbit hole, we’ll claim it as a win.