I'm new to Grand Seiko this year so can't say anything about them getting better. But I will say their dials blow almost amy Swiss or German watch away in finishing quality and clarity. I've had most Swiss brands at the high levels (Patek Philippe, AP, VC, Lange, Breguet, Journe, etc) and Rolex, Omega and others, and have often lamented about the often flat, listless appearance of the dials and relatively poorly finished indices and markings. Take a look at any Grand Seiko under a loupe and you'll find diamond polished indices and hands along with crisp, clear markings on the dial. Way above the industry standard, imo.
The industry has tried to improve timekeeping for centuries through all kinds of methods, some of them gimmicks. Tourbillons, all kinds of escapements (cylinder, detent, lever, coaxial and Spring Drive), remontoires, multiple spring barrels, improved oils, better hairsprings, better materials, etc, etc. Most of it done by the Swiss over the last century or so. The Japanese invented the Spring Drive concept and perfected it which probably rankles some people. I look at a Spring Drive as a mechanical watch with a quartz regulator that does not require a battery to operate. If you want to call it a quartz watch, fine, but it isn't like the billions of battery operated quartz movements that have been around for 40 years and which most collectors ignore. It's a mechanical watch powered by your wrist that happens to have a quartz regulation. Call it what you will.
Much has been made that a battery quartz watch will outperform a Spring Drive. OK, but the real question is how many Swiss or German mechanical watches will outperform a Spring Drive in accuracy over a long period of time? The answer is, not many. I've only had mine for six months and if it isn't on my wrist it's on an Orbita winder at 650 rotations per day (auto reversing) and it has consistently run at +0.7 seconds per WEEK. Maybe it's just a freak occurrence. Please give me an out of the box mechanical watch that will keep that kind of accuracy.
Grand Seiko recommends a full service every three or four years, but this is NOT due to anything about the electronic escapement. Per their operating manual: "For the Spring Drive, wear and damage occur less than mechanical watches since the spinning speed of the rotor is adjusted by a 'contact free' electromagnetic brake. However, as the structure of the gear train is the same as mechanical watches, abrasion powder may be generated by contact of the wheels and pinions." So a Spring Drive watch should probably run longer than a lever escapement, all things considered. Most watches will easily go five or six years these days and I would expect a Spring Drive model to at least go this long, or longer, assuming it is constructed to similar standards as most Swiss watches.
Grand Seiko is just starting to expand in the US now (since 2017) so there will be some growing pains along the way in the service area but I don't think this is a reason not to buy one. And isn't current Grand Seiko management in the US now headed by an old Omega hand? Whether that is good or bad remains to be seen, but they seem to be going in the right direction.
Click to expand...