PRECISE RHYTHMS

Seiko Watch Corporation President Akio Naito speaks with us about Grand Seiko's Asia-Pacific ambitions, the novelties of 2022, and the importance of precision timekeeping

-  ASHOK SOMAN

Collectors matter, and nowhere is that more evident than in the rocketing profile of Grand Seiko. The Japanese watchmaker was once a little-known secret – treasured by watch collectors, and unknown to most outside its home market. Grand Seiko got its start in 1960, and was only launched on the international stage in 2010 – it only became a full brand in its own right in 2017. The Seiko Watch Corporation itself never seriously pursued a marketing strategy for Grand Seiko beyond Japan, which means that those who got themselves hyped-up for a Grand Seiko watch had to do a lot of heavy lifting. Never mind having to travel to Tokyo in search of Grand Seiko watches because first you would have to know such watches existed. Imagine, if you will, having to learn about the watches, for which no materials were widely available in English.

To hear collectors tell it, it was a little like the wake of the international success of the anime Akira, which brought Japanese animation to worldwide attention. For international audiences wanting to explore the bewilderingly wide world of anime, disappointment followed because very few series and features received international distribution. Anime fan communities did their own distribution, even if it was in legally dubious territory. They even did their own subtitles for select series and films.