The Spring Drive

Shinji Hattori, President and CEO of the Seiko Watch Corporation (whose roots go back to 1881, when the enterprise was founded by his ancestor Kintaro Hattori), declares it right from the start: “The Spring Drive movement is only the beginning. We are sending a strong signal to the international watch market - Seiko is moving upmarket! TheSpring Drive demonstrates our innovative potential and will gradually open markets for us in the mechanical haut de gamme sector. This is a long-term strategy.”
There can be no doubt that his statement expresses the company’s goal of targeting the long term. More than 25 years, yes, 25 years, of development and major investments were necessary to arrive at this juncture. The Spring Drive movement is at the heart of Seiko’s strategy to evolve its watch business. It is a platform, a base, which will allow the brand to explore new terrain and to gradually bring new complications to the art of fine watchmaking.
Hattori himself says it quite clearly, “The commercial success of the Spring Drive is not the most important aspect; it is a central tool, a technology that is so unique, that no one can copy or steal it. It is the beginning of a great adventure, a new chapter, which is opening in the history of timekeeping.”

A brief look back in time
Before beginning this new chapter, let’s first take a look back into history and remind ourselves from where Seiko has come. Contrary to what many people believe, Seiko was not born when it launched the first quartz watch in the world back in 1969. At this epoch, the company was already nearly a hundred years old.
Its founder, Kintaro Hattori, opened his first clock repair shop in 1881, but soon the entrepreneur became a retailer, importer, and then manufacturer, and introduced his first model in 1924. Before the Second World War, Seiko was one of the nation’s leading watchmakers, but after the war, it was forced to reconstruct everything from scratch. It was not long, however, before the firm was again successful. It created the first 100-percent Japanese automatic watch, and went on to taunt the Swiss on their own soil, by winning first prize in the Chronometric Competition at the Neuchâtel Observatory. (Strangely, as the brand’s management recalls with a smile, this competition was abandoned after Seiko’s win.)
Nonetheless, Seiko made a definitive mark in the history of watchmaking the following year, when it presented the Astron, the first quartz watch in the world. As we all well know, this began a period of intense change and upheaval that would seriously damage the supremacy of Swiss timekeeping, and would ultimately completely transform the industry. From this point on, watchmaking would never be the same.
The year 1969 marked the beginning of an expansion era for Seiko. The Japanese brand began developing its activities overseas, and then adopted a multi-brand strategy that would, between 1974 and 1981, grow to unprecedented heights (see sidebar). Between 1982 and 1989, the firm acquired its first major technologies including, among others, the first television watch (1982), the Seiko Voice Notes (1983), the world’s first watch capable of recording voice messages, the first computer watch (1984), and the Kinetic, its first hybrid movement (1988). However, in addition to all these remarkable innovations, Seiko was making intense strides in the areas of design and styling, structuring its offer in collections that were becoming increasingly better targeted to the many markets where it was present.
Beginning in 2001, the company started to clarify its structure, a structure that, over the decades, had become packed with various diversifications and acquisitions (see sidebars above). In 2003, it defined its global strategy with the motto Innovation & Refinement.

Innovation & Refinement
‘Innovation & Refinement’ or, in other words, technological efforts combined with extreme attention to design, have become the two inseparable terms describing Seiko’s new development orientation, a direction marked by a move upmarket on all levels.
The re-qualification effort touches all aspects of the brand, from ‘merchandising’ (passing from a price-oriented approach to a design-oriented philosophy) to after-sales service (earlier centred on repair but now primarily based on customer satisfaction). It also includes technological development (earlier dictated by feasibility but now based on the desires of the client), design (conceived and executed according to very specific targets), marketing and publicity (moving from being product-based, to based on the brand’s image), strengthened public relations, and a distribution strategy, which is shifting from quantity to quality. This strategy aims to globally strengthen the image of the Seiko brand around the world, in order to gradually enhance its value and, in time, to improve profits.
Solid evidence of this strategy in action is the recent launch of Seiko’s first global advertising campaign called ‘It's your watch’. It combines the product with a portrait of the targeted customer, and involves major efforts on the sales point level, including a global unification of the presentation, an obvious improvement in marketing material, and the creation of corners presenting a clear and hierarchical image of the offer. The culmination of this strategy is the progressive opening of Seiko boutiques around the world, as exemplified by the first ‘Seiko Centre’ inaugurated recently in Paris.
This strategy has also led Seiko to significantly reduce the number of its windows and retailers, by putting into place a ‘system’ favouring selective distribution. Retailers in the ‘elite’ category have thus passed from 52 percent in 2003 to 60 percent in 2004, and this trend is continuing.
In the same vein, if we look at the evolution of sales prices, we note that Seiko, since 2002, has slowly but gradually increased its average sales price, which has gone from US$ 202 in 2002, to US$ 222 in 2004, while competitive brands have lowered their prices by noteworthy percentages over the same period.
On the product level, the increase in average sales price is a reflection of the gradual and strategic re-centring of its highest quality collections. For example, the Elite and Conceptual lines have progressed from 31 percent and 27 percent of sales, respectively, in 2003, to 38 percent and 34 percent in 2005. The so-called ‘regular’ collections have, however, decreased from 41 percent to 26 percent over the same period.

An idea born in… 1977
At the core of Seiko’s strategy of gradually moving upmarket in terms of price and quality, the new Spring Drive movement occupies a central place. Europa Star has already explained to its readers the details of this ‘Quiet Revolution’ (see issue 2.05), but we here present again a few essential points.
The idea of the Spring Drive movement dates back to 1977, when an engineer named Yoshikazu Akahane, who worked at Seiko Epson in Suwa, made the first sketches of a new type of movement combining traditional energy with a revolutionary type of regulation. Five years later, in 1982, he succeeded in developing the first prototype of his system, still quite large, and convinced the management to allocate all available means to this new project. Between 1982 and 1997, when Seiko presented a theoretical paper describing its project to the Swiss Society of Chronometry, Seiko would develop this new technology.
The challenges were many, beginning with the energy source – the mainspring. Since 1959, Seiko has made its own springs, but in this particular case, it was necessary to obtain a larger force in order to successfully obtain the desired performance. To this end, Seiko developed a new alloy, Spron 510, and a new mainspring to acquire more energy in a more adaptable and continuous manner.
Another important innovation is what Seiko calls the ‘magic lever’. This lever allows the energy created by the rotor to be better transmitted to the barrel spring, by being directly fixed to the shaft of the oscillating weight. This permits the direct transmission of the slightest movement, thus improving the efficiency of the winding by about 30 percent.
Yet, it is in the regulation system, entirely new, that resides the most important contribution of Seiko.

A revolutionary system of regulation
As we know, traditional mechanical watches use the balance/escapement system to control the speed of rotation of the hands. This is the most ingenious part of the system, but also its weakest point. With its back-and-forth movements, the escapement is particularly sensitive to friction. The system developed by Seiko does not use an escapement. The regulation takes place without any direct contact, thanks to the Tri-synchro regulator.
The barrel spring delivers its energy to a glide wheel that is connected to the gear train. By turning, this wheel allows the coil to generate an electrical current, which then provides energy to a quartz crystal and its integrated circuit that generates a highly precise signal. This signal controls the electromagnetic brake that commands the speed of the glide wheel, letting it make only eight rotations per second – or 28,800 revolutions per hour, as opposed to the traditional vibrations per hour of 18,000 -21,600.
What are the advantages of this system?
Thanks to the absence of friction and the great stability of the system, there is greater precision: ±1 second per day, with a maximum deviation of 15 seconds per month (compare that to -4 to +6 seconds a day, which is the minimum criteria needed to obtain a COSC certificate).
The movement also features a power reserve of 72 hours (compared to an average of 42 hours) as well as rapid rewinding (about 30 percent faster than traditional watches). A visual, aesthetic, or even ‘philosophical’ advantage is that the hands move in a perfectly continuous manner – like Time itself – without any jerks, even imperceptible ones, because all the movements generated inside of the mechanism are unidirectional!

The “best of both worlds”
After having presented the first working prototype, but with manual winding (48 hours of power reserve), at the Basel fair in 1998, and after having launched its first model on the Japanese market only, Seiko continued its research that ultimately led to the current and most advanced model, the Spring Drive automatic, whose official launch was held in Paris on September 15, 2005. Seiko is so confident about its product, for which it has filed not less that 230 patents, that it considers itself to be in the unique position of having mastered both the fine art of the most traditional mechanical timekeeping, and the most advanced electronic technology (for example, the creation of the first integrated circuit for watches requiring only 25 nanowatts of power, an ultra-small coil, the development of complex alloys, etc.).
“In 1997,” declares the brand’s management, "the Swatch Group presented a theoretical paper to the Swiss Society of Chronometry but, since then, we have never heard anything more about it, and no patent has been filed in this matter. As for Citizen, we think it is highly improbable that they will attempt to follow us in this direction because they don’t have the necessary mastery over the subject, either in the domain of mechanics or electronics.” Seiko believes, then, as a pioneer in this realm, that it alone will remain the master of this innovative technology in the future. Bringing together mechanical timekeeping and electronic regulation in a perfect alliance, this technology is, in a way, the “best of both worlds”.




Seiko Epson factory at Shiojiri



Spring Drive movements are exclusively assembled by hand.



Some of the mechanical movements made in Morioka.



The automated movement production lines in Morioka


The Switzerland of the Orient
To get a better understanding of Seiko’s mastery of timekeeping, in the artisanal sense of the term, as well as in the technical and scientific aspects, we visited two different production centres, the Seiko Epson factory at Shiojiri, near Suwa, about 300 kilometres from Tokyo, and Seiko Instruments in Morioka, some 500 kilometres to the north.
The first surprise for someone accustomed to visiting Swiss factories, is that both of the Japanese installations are located in an environment not unlike what we see in Switzerland: rural, even pastoral, at the base of the mountains, and in the centre of small villages. (When the factory was established in the Suwa region in 1942 in order to escape the bombings in Tokyo, Hisao Yamazaki, the first President of Seiko Epson, is said to have declared, “We are going to make this region the Switzerland of the Orient.”)
And, it is precisely this objective, of openly competing with Swiss manufacturers, that has guided the watch division of Seiko Epson in focussing its development. (Today, Epson, which is worth about US$ 14 billion, is primarily known for its printers. Watches account for a mere 0.4 percent of turnover, yet production still amounts to six million watches a year, out of a total of 12 million timepieces produced by Seiko).
Seiko entrusted the workshops of Suwa with the challenge of obtaining a high degree of mechanical precision. The result was the popular Marvel watch launched in 1962, followed by the prizes earned at various chronometric competitions. It was also the Suwa factory that gave birth to the quartz revolution in 1969, followed by numerous technological developments already mentioned.
And, it is here, today, that the Spring Drive movements are assembled. This task is undertaken exclusively by five master watchmakers, which explains the relatively small number of pieces — about 600 — currently produced per year.

The master watchmakers of Suwa
Contrary to Swiss watchmakers, who assemble each watch individually, the master watchmakers of Suwa assemble five watches at a time. Each of the 276 component parts, for the base model, or 280 parts for the model with a small seconds hand, is assembled by hand. No operation is mechanized or automated, whether it is the assembly of movements or, in other workshops, the encasing, or adding the dial or hands.
The general atmosphere is also surprising for the visitor unaccustomed to Japanese enterprises when invited to discover the scene behind hermetic windows. The overall operation is carried out in rooms, which, if not ‘white’, are at least completely air-conditioned and dust-free, in a climate of extreme contemplation.
Some technologies are also a bit particular, here, such as the faceting of the hour markers, which are glued to a wheel to allow them to be cut by the diamond. A closer look at the movements themselves reveals that strict attention has been paid to the finishing: the surfaces are meticulously polished, some with the Côtes de Genève pattern, edges are chamfered. However, we must say in passing, that they still don’t reach all the highest levels of manual sophistication found in some of the best prestige Swiss movements. Overall, while technically irreproachable and well finished, that little something extra in terms of finesse is perhaps still missing in the execution of the piece. (This is important knowing that the target audience for Seiko are collectors who are attentive to the slightest details in the finishing.)

Seiko Instruments at Morioka
About 80 percent of the Spring Drive pieces are identical to those that are used in Seiko’s traditional mechanical production. These watches are haut de gamme and sold under the name ‘Grand Seiko,’ which is hardly known outside of Japan. There is a good reason for this lack of exposure since 95 percent of production is sold in the Japanese archipelago, with the remaining 5 percent distributed to other Asian countries.
In order to get a closer look at this mechanical production, we head north. The Seiko Instruments factory in Morioka – more precisely in Shizukuishi, near Mont Iwate and its ski runs that have no reason to envy the slopes in the Swiss Jura – was created in 1970. It produces mainly 120 million analogue quartz movements (the long automated production lines for these movements are very impressive) but 60 people are dedicated exclusively to the manual production of about 15,000 haut de gamme mechanical watches a year. The amount of these prestige mechanical pieces should gradually increase because, according to the company’s projections, the management of Seiko Instruments wants to reach a level of 100,000 mechanical timepieces by the year 2013. This relatively short time span says much about Seiko’s ambitions in the haut de gamme mechanical sector, especially in light of a probable introduction in Europe and elsewhere. The ‘Shizukuishi Watch Studio’, which groups together the mechanical production within the factory, is a totally integrated internal manufacturer that includes designing, fabrication of component parts, polishing, decoration, assembly, encasing, and stone-setting.
The management team is quite clear about its ambitions: to master the overall technological processes as well as the artisanal methods. This ambition involves developing new materials (such as Spron 510 used for springs, developed in collaboration with a Japanese university research centre), creating its own methodology, criteria and standards (the standards displayed are stricter than those of Chronofiable).
The impeccable CNC equipment, programmed to run 24 hours a day non-stop, creates the component parts. Company personnel are especially proud to show us the excellence reached in the manual finishing and assembly of the parts. We all know the respect that the Japanese people feel for craftsmanship and art. At the heart of this factory, therefore, are several master artisans duly recognized on a national level, such as Mamoru Sakurada, decorated by the Emperor himself, who created the Calibre 68, a superb ultra-thin movement measuring 1.98 mm in thickness, and Kiyoshi Terui, a master engraver who developed his own extremely delicate and precise engraving technique, recognized by the Minister of Labour, as well as five or six others whom we were able to see working in their respective specialties.
The assembly workshops are also very impressive. Each watchmaker works at his own independent bench, in the shape of a satellite, carved out of the most beautiful dark wood.
Besides the Grand Seiko collection, the Credor line is also produced here. Credor is, as its name indicates, the line of jewellery watches, often stone-set, that comes in a great variety of models.

Selective distribution
Let’s return to the Spring Drive. As the company says, “Watches equipped with the Spring Drive movement are the best expression of Seiko’s true DNA. It is exactly what we are, at the crossroads of creative artisanal craft and true innovation.”
Now, it is about getting the message to the public. The message is fairly complex, we might add, because it is not easy to convey in one single phrase the idea of what is really involved in “The Quiet Revolution” epitomized by the Spring Drive. And to get this message across necessarily means ‘cleaning out’ the distribution channels.
The very small number of pieces produced per year is reflective of what is happening in distribution. The Spring Drive collections will be entrusted to only one single retailer per market. To be selected, this retailer must meet several qualifications: possess a deep understanding of the Spring Drive technology; share Seiko’s long-term strategy of moving upmarket; and be able to ensure customer service befitting these goals. The collections will enjoy a specific and separate sales environment, justified by their sales price, which is quite higher than Seiko’s traditional collections. Entry level prices start at ¤ 3,200 to ¤ 3,400 for watches on a leather strap, and ¤ 3,300 to ¤ 3,500 for models on a stainless steel bracelet. The 300 or so accredited retailers around the world (for the first year) will be featured on a website specially dedicated to the Spring Drive (www.seikospringdrive.com) but no product will be sold via the internet.
The target audience are watch aficionados who are looking for originality and exclusivity, impassioned collectors of innovative mechanisms, etc.

Developments
The innovation of the Spring Drive is, it seems, only in its infancy. While the management of Seiko refuses to reveal future ‘complications’ that they intend to gradually introduce based on this movement, it was affirmed that a ladies’ version is in the works (it requires a reduction in size of the tri-synchro regulator). The company also plans to launch a chronograph in the same family within two or three years.
We must emphasize one remaining point: this technological advance goes hand in hand with an additional refinement in design. The lines are classic and pure, with a modern expression and pleasing equilibrium. The Spring Drive has a lovely allure. From now on, Seiko is part of the haut de gamme segment of the watch industry.


Source: December - January 2006 Issue

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