Did you know that only 7% of Grand Seiko watches are sold outside Japan?

 

Japanese are orderly, polite, sophisticated and proudly nationalistic. In a way, the society is still feudal, with strict stratification, customs and regulations. With a population of 125 million, huge buying power and strong nationalistic support for "Made in Japan", Japan's domestic market is a perfect example of a rather unique phenomenon: it is a great environment for a strong, sophisticated brand to thrive. If it was much bigger and more open, there would be far more competition and less profit to be made; and on a smaller market, there will be not enough support for growth and longevity. For the Japanese, tradition is the way of living. Once a brand or a product reaches that status of being a truly national icon, support - and longevity - is guaranteed. A perfect example is Seiko: a company which managed to establish itself first as a domestic behemoth, then as a true global brand. Again, this success story would not be possible to replicate anywhere else in the world – only in Japan. Over the weekend, an email arrived in my inbox: "Hello Master Watchmaker, Mr. Hacko. I'm a fan of your YouTube video, especially restoration videos of iconic vintage watches around the world. I'm sending this email because I've come across an interesting YouTube video showing how real-life JNR drivers are using their SEIKO watches. Thought you might like it. https://youtu.be/jMSsZFuI060 Unfortunately, the video doesn't have any English subtitles, so I'll explain what the video is so that you may be able to, at least, guess what's going on. It's a 2013 documentary showing what a JNR Shinkansen driver's life is like. This particular route at the time achieved the top speed of 320km/h. As a part of his driving "tools", he carries a Seiko pocket watch. His schedule is specified in up to 15 seconds increments on the chart (not 15 minutes). The Shinkansen even has a special spot on the instrument panel for the watch so that the driver can keep track of exact departure/arrival time on every station on the route. The highlight of the video, I think, is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMSsZFuI060&t=819s The train is supposed to arrive at Tokyo station at 18:08, 00 sec flat. The video shows if he was able to make it by showing another JNR pocket watch. It's quite amazing. Hope you'll like the video. Masayuki N" Whether you are Seiko fan or not, you should watch this video. The core message is simple: there are still watch brands out there which put technology, product development, precision and timekeeping ahead of 'artificial branding'. Unlike Swiss megabrands, Seiko does not need to invent their history, nor to worry about the future - as long as Japanese society remains as is. Enjoy it.

Bugs on Shinkansen bonnet, photo taken by Michael during his 2019 Japan trip.

We've got it!

It's been ages since we spoke about pocket watches, and today I'm very pleased to share some good news. After many months, a very special long awaited pocket watch has finally arrived. It is a Showa 3 (1928) Seikosha railway pocket watch. What a beauty! Known as type 19 (52mm case size), it became the official railway pocket watch of Japanese National Rail from 1928 to 1945. In 1945, type 19 was then replaced with Seikosha 9119, featuring the same mechanism but in a slightly smaller case (50mm). Type 19 was the El Primero of the Japanese railway saga. Of course, Seikosha was not the only watch to be used on Japanese Rail as a time keeper. From the late 1880s, Japan imported high grade pocket watches from both the USA and Switzerland. Waltham, Omega and Longines were already well established in the land of the rising sun. But one can only imagine the euphoria which culminated with Seikosha's technical mastery to manufacture a high grade pocket watch as good as foreign. Proving itself as robust and reliable in less than a decade, Seikosha established itself as the official JNR supplier. While foreign railroad pocket watches remained in service until their 'expiry date', National Railway favoured Seikosha over all other suppliers. Externally, design-wise, the Seikosha type 19 is heavily inspired by the 1920s American Illinois Bunn railroad pocket watch. The most prominent feature is the crown bow which clearly is not an imitation of American style, but rather one of the most elegantly designed European inspired bows, rooted in the Art Deco era.

The best way to understand and appreciate the true value of a high grade railway pocket watch is to remind ourselves of what such high precision instruments cost in the 1930s. While a top of the range Rolex Oyster Perpetual was advertised for 14 pounds, the cheapest Illinois Bunn was sold for $65 USD. And the Seikosha type 19 was not any cheaper than its American equivalent. A high grade pocket watch, especially a railway issued piece, should be a corner stone in any ambitious watch collection. If you are yet to acquire your first piece, the time to look for one is now while the prices remain very reasonable. If you are interested in a pocket watch from a particular year, send us an email and we will keep an eye out for you!

Its been ages since we spoke about pocket watches...

It's been ages since we've talked about pocket watches - and today is a perfect day to share with you a couple of horological gems. The first find is a recent discovery of two Japanese National Railway pocket watches which come with very exotic 'service papers'. The first watch was manufactured in Showa 31 (1956) and issued to JNR as watch number 1747. Recorded in fine ink are six consecutive services, specifically noting the timekeeping and beat error in the years Showa 38, 39, 40, 44, 47, 55 (1963, 1964, 1965, 1969, 1972, 1980). The circular Kanji print instructs the watchmaker to fill in all the fields. Of course, my Japanese is very shaky but it looks like the label comes from Shizuoka service centre.

The second watch is JNR 5279 issued in Showa 30 (1955) with the same label. A reliable service history record of a precision instrument like a railway pocket watch provides priceless historic data and adds significantly to the value of the watch itself. Not to mention the obvious, the trustworthy number 1747 was continually in service for at least 25 years. The second little beauty is this Japanese National Railway watch shipping container.

This one is designed to accommodate two pocket watches while transported around. I have not seen anything like this before! The industrial robustness of the container is clearly evident,  but the box is an art piece in itself showing the impeccable attention to detail of the Japanese. The latch still works perfectly despite at least 50 years of use. If you ever come across one, snatch it in a heartbeat!

Speaking of Shizuoka, this is the view of Mount Fuji from the city edge.

Omega Koku Tetsu on black sage himo

It has been ages since we've talked about railway pocket watches! But if you appreciate the historical importance and undeniable horological value of watches which have played such a significant role over the past hundred years, then this short note will delight you. A Journey Through Time is Omega’s Bible and a ‘must have’ book in your library.  While section five, "Official Watches", bundles railway watches with shooting and military pieces, it still provides records of Omega's involvement in the production of railway watches, showing examples sold to various Government Railway authorities from the late 1800s to 1980s. An important account, but far from being complete or definite. For that reason, we are always excited when new pieces are discovered and catalogued - like the three Omega pocket watches from the early 1950s for Japanese National Railways that we recently acquired. All three pieces are almost identical, yet with some case, dial and hand variations, 48mm nickel ‘open face’ stem wound and set. The case back is stamped with two kanji characters: Koku (country) and Tetsu (steel) which translates to Japanese National Railway. The issue year is Showa 27 (1952) and issue numbers are 148, 681, 1076. Form the inside, the case backs are stamped 141 21 and 141 22 which are Omega model reference numbers. One also bears the stamp 'GR' which is the same GR we've seen on other Omega watches supplied to Government Rail - in other words, a special issue. The serial numbers are 12.4 mill range corresponding nicely with early 1950s Omega production. Mechanism: the trustworthy Cal. 38.5L.T1. It is important to remind you that Cal 38.5L was first introduced in 1932 and remained in production until 1966. It was an inexpensive mechanism to manufacture and in 34 years of production, Omega made 998,700 movements. I do however dislike the fact that 38.5L is non-incabloc which means a slightest drop would be fatal to balance staff. As any watchmaker would testify: finding an original balance staff in a Cal 38.5L is almost unheard of! Hands and dial variations: I will leave this for further in-depth study once more examples become available. Small curiosity: one JNR piece comes with a nice, well-preserved black sage himo. All three pieces are sourced directly from Japan and trust me, it took a fair bit of arm-wrestling to convince three individual collectors to part with them. But I am very pleased that JNR Omegas are reunited, once again. The search continues!

Omega: A Journey Through Time (ISBN 9782970056225) is out of print, occasionally available on ebay. And slightly off the topic, but still on subject - page 213, Omega pocket watch for Bulgarian Railroads, erratum:

The caseback monogram is not АЖБ but  ДЖБ. It is easy to confuse Cyrillic letters А and Д, but in this case there is no room for misinterpretation: the monogram ДЖБ stands for Bugarska Drzavna Zeleznica or Bulgarian State Railway (not Royal Bulgarian Railroads).

Yes, while Bulgaria in 1925 was ruled by a Tzar Boris Klemens Robert Maria Pius Ludwig Stanislaus Xaver aka Boris III, the railway was owned by the state. And while we are on Bulgarians... here is a pic of Boris's father, Ferdinand Maximilian Karl Leopold Maria of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. All the medals aside, Ferdinand is one of a few monarch who lost 3 wars - the Second Balkan war of 1913, World War I and World War II. Not much luck picking the winners...

One man's trash is another man’s treasure

Recently at the Watchmakers AGM auction there was a lot consisting of four Seiko spare parts catalogues. Since Seiko's spare parts policy is to keep the parts in stock for 20 years and since the catalogues were from 1971, I was the only bidder. Quite frankly the bid was just a courtesy because a fellow watchmaker who dragged them in would pay five dollars to get rid of them. Yet to any student of horology, watch spare parts catalogues are often of more interest than the parts themselves. And there it was, a data sheet of Calibre 9119A. A 15 jewel movement in production from 1961 to 1971, used exclusively in Japanese railway watches. Every single component, with catalogue numbers and full descriptions. Absolutely priceless.

It’s been ages since we’ve talked about railway pocket watches. Which is a good reason to feature quite a rare Seiko railway watch today. It is a rather strange watch because the case back comes with no description except for a symbol and an issue number. It was clear that it would take a fair bit of effort to identify the railway that issued this Seiko pocket watch and even Japanese railway enthusiasts struggle to provide more information. Eventually we got the answer. Hanshin electric railway company that operates a 48.9km line, linking Osaka and Kobe. The name Hanshin comes from the second character for Osaka (大阪) and the first character for Kobe (神戸) combine to form the company name, 阪神, which can be read Han-shin.

Needless to say, a little historical gem like this is something that is worth preserving for generations to come. Sixty years old and still in perfect working order.

OMG! I have always wanted one of those

A 1970’s desk alarm clock with flip over digits.

I am sure you had one like it but tell me; what happened to it? Just died? Been thrown away? First wife took it? Most importantly - would you like me to start looking for a replacement?

So, what makes this baby special? It was made for the Japanese National Rail by Copalco Ltd. The alarm is a buzzer and sounds exactly like most stereotypical alarm sounding clocks from cheap American movies - just love it.