A Baselworld reporter got the rare chance to talk to Shinji Hattori, the CEO of Seiko. Seiko is one of largest global watch brands, and continues to create innovative new pieces.
The CEO shared a few insights into his company’s growth, noting that demand for watches was growing on a global scale, even in unexpected countries like Japan, India, and other Asian countries.
Seiko has many major debut watches at Baselworld 2015, and we’re going to be featuring them over the next week.
One of the most interesting announcements was the release of a Kinetic series of women’s watches, a first for the watch giant.
If you’re fairly new to being a watch enthusiast, this might be the first time you are following Baselworld. To give you an idea of how important it is to the industry, here’s what Hattori had to say about Baselworld:
“It is the first date I put in my business diary each year. It is where we present our new collections to the world, and is the focal point of Seiko’s year in 2015 and beyond.”
Baselworld Day 2: Introducing the Grand Seiko 62GS Historical Collection
The big announcement on Friday was the unveiling of the Grand Seiko 62GS Historical Collection.
If you need a quick refresher, the 62GS was Seiko’s first self-winding watch, created in 1967. Now, 48 years later, the historical collection has been created to honor the watch that played a major role in developing the classic Seiko style we all know and love.
The historical collection does a great job at preserving the original features. Just like the original, the new watch has a crown located at 4 o’clock, and the same original markings. The attention to detail is fantastic, as Seiko even included a lion emblem engraved on the back, just like the original.
What’s different? Upgraded water resistance, a much greater power reserve (72 hours now), as well as anti-reflective coating on the face.
It’s a beautiful watch, so keep an eye out for it in stores.
The “Billionaire” Watch
Out of all the watches unveiled on Friday, one more really stood out as out-of-this-world.
Jacob & Co. revealed their “Billionaire” watch. Guess how much it costs? $18 million. I think it’s safe to say that you and I probably won’t be buying this watch any time soon, but it’s still fascinating to see how a watch could cost so much.
The brand plays a part in the price, but the diamonds included are ridiculus. The watch is made entirely emerald-cut diamonds, 260 carats in total. Look at the picture and you’ll see that they cover not only the case, but also the band.
It’s an over-the-top watch, but brought a lot of shock and excitement to the expo.
That’s day 2, don’t forget to come back tomorrow and we’ll let you know the most exciting announcement from day 3 of Baselworld 2015.
