When, in 2005 Seiko launched, after 25 years of research and development, its range of Spring Drive watches, the Japanese brand immediately announced that this was not just a trial. The company was quite determined, thanks to this totally innovative approach, to enter into the international haut de gamme segment of timekeeping.
To get there, Seiko decided to introduce, each year, new calibres of the Spring Drive family, and to demonstrate its savoir-faire in being able to create exceptional pieces.




SPRING DRIVE CHRONOGRAPH



SPRING DRIVE GMT


In 2006, the brand presented two new additions to the Spring Drive line - the Spring Drive GMT and the Spring Drive Moon Phase. But, above all, it presented a watch that caused a great sensation, the very poetic and very Japanese Spring Drive Grande Sonnerie.
This year, Seiko is introducing a long-awaited watch that brilliantly completes the Spring Drive line, which currently includes 11 models and four different calibres. This latest piece is the Spring Drive Chronograph. In this new timekeeper, the chronograph’s mechanism, which measures tenths of a second up to twelve hours, is also powered by the Spring Drive system. Just like the hour hands in the Spring Drive, the hands of the chronograph do not move in jumps but, rather, they continuously slide. Very visual and very lovely, this system also offers the advantage of being able to precisely record the time passed in a manner that is unlike that in any other chronograph. Moreover, this chronograph has 72 hours of power reserve, thanks notably to its barrel spring laminated with the Spron 510 alloy, whose long-term reliability seems superior to all other alloys.
Its elegant case is carved in ‘high intensity’ titanium, which makes it both lighter and as strong as steel, as well as allowing for better surface finishing. The movement is visible through the transparent sapphire crystal case back. The bridges and rotor are engraved with a circular motif that is reminiscent of the Spring Drive’s attributes. Limited to 200 pieces, the Spring Drive Chronograph is offered in a special presentation case, and accompanied by an individual certificate signed by Mr. Hattori himself, the President of Seiko.




PREMIER KINETIC DIRECT DRIVE


Given the success enjoyed last year by the Spring Drive GMT collection, this line has been completed by models with a very classic design: arrow-shaped hand to indicate the GMT over 24 hours; blued steel hands; refined indices combined with Roman nu-merals; grey and champagne dials; and crocodile leather straps.

The new Velatura line
Seiko is also launching a new line of watches ‘constructed to confront the oceans’ - the Velatura collection. The sea is one domain that Seiko knows well, and has worked with for a long time. With Velatura, the Japanese company intends to expand this specialty even further.




VELATURA YACHTING TIMER, VELATURA


The Velatura collection is expected to become a permanent addition to the Elite line of timepieces, and Seiko has already announced its intention to heavily promote it.
The marine aspect has become the basis of the high-tech Velatura design, with its combination of different materials, its high strength, and the search for performance. Two years of development and design, conducted in collaboration with world-recognized seafarers, were necessary to arrive at a watch-instrument whose details are reminiscent of the deep blue, and it is intended both for professional mariners as well as sea-going aficionados.
Equipped with a new technological and ecol-ogical platform, the Kinetic Direct Drive (it requires no change of battery), the watch comes with either a manual-winding calibre or an automatic movement that indicates both the power reserve in real time and the energy generated during winding. It also displays the day with a retrograde hand and the date.
The collection’s Yachting Timer model is made for various types of regattas, including the Olympic races, with a ‘countdown’ function pre-set for 10 minutes, 6 minutes or 5 minutes, in addition to the normal chronographic functions, dual time, and alarm.
Seiko’s goal is to make the Velatura line into a complete collection, and is thus also proposing a line of very charming ladies’ watches.


Source: Europa Star April-May 2007 Magazine Issue