The Grand Seiko Quartz with Caliber 9F: The Pursuit of Perfection

Hello everyone,

Whilst I know all of our hearts beat, more or less, to the rhythm of mechanical clocks and watches there is a lot to be said for any company that not only takes quartz watches seriously, but actually continues to develop them into ever more precise and carefully constructed timepieces.

A high precision quartz watch has a very particular appeal. It is especially attractive to someone interested in chronometry for its own sake, and is much more interesting than a radio controlled watch, which as someone (I can't remember who) other than me once said, are interesting not as timekeepers but as exercises in radio communications. They are in other words, parasites, unlike high precision quartz watches like the Grand Seiko Quartz.

The caliber 9F starts with quartz crystals Seiko grows in-house (that's right, a manufacture quartz crystal) in four story high autoclaves; they then cut and select crystals with for the Grand Seiko Quartz calibers that are pre-aged for six months in order to stabilize their rate (the aging of a quartz resonator, which is a tiny tuning fork, can cause the rate stability to drift and is one of the main causes of inaccuracy in quartz watches.) These pre-aged crystals then have their response to temperature measured --though quartz is very dimensionally stable across a range of temperatures, temperature changes can still cause frequency drift as well --and the response curve is programmed into the CMOS integrated circuit that controls the voltage fed to the oscillator.

This means that each quartz crystal is custom-matched to its IC --in a very real sense, every watch is unique and individually adjusted --the cutting edge of the evolution of the art of watch adjustment, if you like.

The ambient temperature inside the movement is measured over 500 times a day and the voltage fed to the crystal is adjusted accordingly.

The movement itself is jeweled, with the coil and crystal package completely sealed to avoid any contamination (even minute impurities or debris adhering to or detaching from the quartz crystal can cause frequency drift.) The movement itself is sealed as well, with the battery compartment isolated from the rest of the movement; the estimated service interval for the mechanical components of the 9F quartz caliber is fifty _years_.

There are a host of other refinements in the Grand Seiko Quartz, including a special anti-backlash spring built into the pivot of the seconds hand which ensures that it always stops exactly on the seconds index (especially in the Japanese market, where the Grand Seiko Quartz evolved, watch aficionados are extremely intolerant of inattention to detail) and the Grand Seiko Quartz uses a unique two-pulse stepper motor to drive the hands, which are unusually large for a quartz watch --they are in fact identical to those used in the Spring Drive and mechanical Grand Seikos, with their famous diamond-polishing which makes them so reflective that they are more legible, even without luminous material, in poor light than most watches that do use Super Luminova or some other material.

The Grand Seiko Quartz with caliber 9F is, in short, arguably the most advanced quartz watch in the world. It is an example of true excellence, and all the more so for being unostentatious, unpretentious, and as functionally perfect as can be practically achieved within the inevitable constraints of economics and time involved in making an industrial product. It has, in short, a soul --a monomaniacal, obsessive compulsive soul, but a soul nonetheless, and some of us like that kind of thing. It is available in the United States for under $3000, and to be able to own a watch that is, in its class, an example of true excellence, at such a relatively affordable price is an all-too-rare opportunity in modern watchmaking. I recommend it.

Oh, the accuracy --it is rated to a maximum deviation from a time standard of +/-10 seconds per year; worn regularly even closer rates have been reported. I'll be doing a feature story on this remarkable watch in the Fall issue of Revolution Magazine (USA) for those interested in learning more.















Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 08/18/2012 02:14PM by Jack Forster.

Thanks for the report Jack.

Seiko continues to bring watch making and timing precision to another level altogether. They are a true manufacture IMHO... very few can compare or come close to their league. They have the widest range of watches - from the very humble to the very high end.

Seiko is one of the most vertically integrated manufacture that I can think of - not many more can claim that title. Great value for money for a watch of such distinction.

Looking forward to the article in Revolution.

Cheers!

The Grand Seiko watches are of high quality, precision and accuracy. I am always impressed with their automatic Grand Seiko. Did not realise that their quartz watches are just as impressive.
Look forward to your article.

Cheers!

chua
Panerai Forum Moderator

Hi Jack,
thanks for sharing this news....and all these qualities are placed in a very classical elegant beautiful watch !!

Actually it is quite impressive to read that Seiko has its own department to make in-house quartz crystals....Also, the attention they put in stabilizing the quartz is something that belongs more to the mechanical watches realm than to quartzes one.
This tireless commitment to precision and details is what really makes Seiko stand out, being it a high-end quartz like this, or a standard cheap seiko5 mechanical.

Honestly i really wonder if exist any other watch company that is a "true manufacture" like this in the full meaning of the word....No idea, the only name that come to my mind is maybe Seagull...I can't recall a Swiss company that makes everything in house (including jewels and lubricants, as instead Seiko does) to this level.

Ciao from (incredibly hot) Milano !
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