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.

Seiko of the day:

Japanese Railway pocket watch from 1993. Two things to get excited about. First, this is the only pocket watch I've seen with "JR" and "East" printed on the dial. Tiny, almost microscopic letters, in green.  Second: note the small number on the case back. 314367 means that this watch was manufactured in January 1993 and it was number 4367 of that model. Now, it happens that this is also Andrew's birth month and year, so I made the suggestion a few years ago that he should buy this watch off me because birth year watches are generally hard to find. He took the watch with it's display stand, set it exactly to atomic clock time, and parked it on his work bench - then the both of us forgot about it. Today, Andrew checked the time on 'his' railway pocket watch: since December 2019 it only lost 5 seconds!! This is simply unbelievable. Surely, the watch was in a stationary position, and kept in constant temperature, but nevertheless, this is a true testimony to the performance of Seiko's 7C11 standard grade quartz movement.

The most abused horological masterpieces

are pocket watches. Butchered, slaughtered, molested then discarded. Being larger than wrist watches, pocket watches are simply a magnet for 'wannabe watchmakers'. Here is a perfect example of a 1920 pocket watch made by Moser and Cie. Heinrich Moser was a famous watchmaker who set up his shop in St. Petersburg. His clients included Russian princes and members of the Imperial court. Lenin also owned a Moser watch. The original click (ratchet locking lever) was most likely missing and while the intentions were good, the lack of skills and watchmaking tools is evident. Yet bizarrely, this crude, oversized click functions - and the watch works! I happen to have another Moser pocket watch in my collection, so you can see how the original click looks like. But then again, perhaps, there could be another side of this 'less than perfect' restoration. What if the owner of the watch was positioned on a remote Siberian island? Or even worse - if he was a prisoner in Stalin's gulag, maybe an engineer who understood what the function of the click spring was, but had no tools - other than crude workshop tools - to make a sophisticated replacement? We should be not too quick to judge and ridicule. And sometimes, trying to 'fix the wrong' could cause even more injustice to our appreciation of humanity and history. My rule is simple: whatever it is - if you didn’t make it, you have no rights to destroy it. If you really feel compelled to destroy something, then here is a suggestion - start with destroying your own masterpieces.

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...

Seiko Japanese Railway Pocket Watches

PRODUCTION HISTORY, MODEL REFERENCE BY YEAR I didn't really plan to talk about this today however a number of subscribers are specifically interested in finding out which Seiko model was produced in which year. Chronologically the entire production can be divided into 9 distinctive periods with almost no overlapping. The first railway Seikosha was issued around 1929 and it is known as Type 19 Size 16. The current production run is SVBR003 introduced in 1999 and has been unchanged for the past 20 years. Here is a visual breakdown:

Omitted form the list are a few special / limited edition models, like SCVR001 silver pocket watch issued in year 2000. as well as 'labelled dial' examples which are essentially  just a cosmetic variation of the same models. Basically, if you are looking for a Seiko railway watch made and issued in a certain year (your birth year for example) then this list will assist you figuring out which model you are after. Early models are all mechanical manual wind, followed by mix of quarts/manual and after they are all quartz. However, the first quartz model 38RW only produced for 2 years (1978-1980) and it is extremely hard one to find. Back in 1978, it sold for over $600 and cost more than a brand new Rolex Submariner 5513! It goes without saying that you absolutely MUST have at least one Seiko Railway pocket watch in your collection. For many decades, Seiko pocket watches were regarded as the most accurate in the world - and this reason alone is worth the investment. Please do not copy/forward/publish any of above because this is still 'research in progress'  with more fine tuning required.