The Japanese approach to Fine Watchmaking

From the workbench

Certain of the timepieces proposed by Seiko Epson, still a family-owned group, easily meet the criteria of many a Swiss brand that prides itself on being part of the Fine Watch segment. The Grand Seiko and Credor lines are two examples.

Timm Delfs

Seiko’s greatest handicap seems to be that it is a Japanese brand. If we take a closer look at the firm’s products, part of the huge but still family-owned Seiko Epson group, some of the lines easily meet the criteria of many a Swiss brand that prides itself on being part of the Fine Watch segment. First of all, Seiko is a manufacture in the true sense of the word. This applies to both its electronic and purely mechanical watches. The Japanese make their own cases, bracelets, crystals, hands and, of course, movements. Unlike many other Japanese brands, Seiko has never stopped producing mechanical movements. There are still markets in developing countries where batteries are so hard to come by, cheap mechanical watches are the best solution for the working population to keep track of time. This is why Seiko has continued to produce mechanical movements. It is said that a company which knows how to produce large quantities with little waste is also capable of producing very high quality in small quantities.

The best of mechanical and quartz in one movement

That is exactly what Seiko celebrates with its Grand Seiko and Credor lines. Both correspond to a very high level of quality, with Credor fulfilling even higher standards. Regrettably, both lines are only available in the Far East. For the production of its exceptional pieces, Seiko’s management wisely decided to open the Micro Artist Studio in the Epson plant near Shiojiri, north of Tokyo. It is here that the best Japanese watchmakers, and indeed some of the best worldwide, come together to create and build some of the most remarkable timepieces, such as the Credor Sonnerie that was launched at Baselworld 2006. It features a Spring Drive semi-mechanical movement with quartz precision and a genuine miniature orin bell to strike the time on demand. Orin bells are a part of Japanese culture, and only a few specialised manufacturers have the ability and knowledge to produce the right alloy and shape these bells, which are used in temples and for meditation.

Spring Drive is a unique concept that combines the best of both worlds, that of mechanical watchmaking and quartz. The first ideas in this direction germinated in the Seventies. The biggest problem of the quartz watch was its power supply: batteries were usually larger than the rest of the movement and had a very short lifespan. The Japanese and the Swiss were simultaneously thinking about ways of doing without the battery. One of Seiko’s engineers, Yoshikatsu Akahane, used his spare time to develop his own solution to the problem. Almost at the same time, in Switzerland Jean-Claude Berney was thinking of a similar way to resolve the question. Berney’s solution, patented in 1977 for the Ebauches SA, was deemed impossible to put into practice and filed away in a drawer. Meanwhile, Akahane went on to develop his system without letting his superiors know. He wanted to tell them only once his project was ripe.

First prototype in 1998

However, it was a very long time before technology made it possible to even consider making Spring Drive. It was only in 1998, the same year that Yoshikatsu Akahane died, that Seiko presented a working prototype at the Basel watch fair. It was a hand-wound watch in a futuristic case. Interestingly enough, it was here that the Swatch Group’s think tank Asulab had its own display inside the group’s plaza, because another brand had pulled out. Rudolf Dinger, then president of Asulab, presented an automatic movement that worked in a similar manner. Today, the movement can be seen at the International Watch and Clock Museum in La Chaux-de-Fonds. "I’m afraid I can’t tell you why a brand in the Swatch Group has yet to make use of the system,” says Dinger, who has founded his own consulting firm. Seiko, on the other hand, continued to develop what it called the Spring Drive, perfecting it in such a way as to be able to combine it with a self-winding system. How does it work?

Spring Drive functions very much like a mechanical movement. Kinetic energy is stored in a mainspring which in turn moves the gears that drive the hands of the watch. At the end of the gear train, however, rather than a conventional escapement with a balance wheel and anchor there is a sort of miniature dynamo. This dynamo produces electrical energy as it is turned at the rather high speed of eight revolutions per second. Meanwhile, magnetic resistance can be regulated by the electric circuit that takes its energy from the dynamo. This electrical resistance in turn is regulated by a quartz-controlled integrated circuit that controls the rate of the movement. If it goes too fast, the brake is tightened; too slow and the reverse happens. The main advantages of this system are the quartz-locked precision, the fact there is no need for a battery, and the smooth sweep of the hands. This is best seen in the seconds hand that continually sweeps the dial without the least stop or ticking. The Seiko Spring Drive movement is the perfect reflection of the continuous and uninterrupted flow of time. ■