New Seiko Monsters Spotted

A friend shared with me a rumor that the Seiko Monster will see new life with a redesigned dial and a new caliber (4R36).

Basel 2012: Underwhelmed

After owning Basel in 2011, both Seiko and Citizen left me underwhelmed this year.  Its been only one year since the earthquake and its not too hard to believe that this tragedy has had a serious impact on product development in Japan.


Here is a link to the Seiko Basel 2012 web site.

Here and here are links to the Citizen Basel 2012 web site.

Basel 2012: Seiko Astron GPS Solar SAST003 SAST009

Presenting the new Seiko Astron GPS-Solar model SAST003

Big news coming out of Tokyo this morning...... SEIKO has released their first ever GPS-Solar watch under the coveted "Astron" name. You may recall that Seiko's first quartz watch released in 1969 was named the "Astron" and ever since the name has been closely associated with the company's foray into the lucrative and game changing world of quartz timekeeping. The Astron has seen a few limited edition releases, namely in the year 2000 and most recently, in 2010, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the first commercially available quartz watch. While the last 2010 "Astron" rendition was powered by the Grand Seiko caliber 9F62 thermo compensated quartz movement (Rated to 10 seconds a year accuracy), the Astron of 2012 is a slightly different animal.... Here we have GPS/Satellite atomic time synchronization and solar charging which removes the requirement for frequent battery changes.

Seiko Baselworld 2012 Press Conference Scheduled

Seiko has announced the scheduling of its Baselworld 2012 press conference for the opening day, March 8, 2012 at 10am where it will unveil its 2012 collection.

I'm looking forward to this and will try to post as much information as possible.

Thanks Minidriver!

Citizen Eco-Drive METAL

Fresh on the heels of the commercialization of the Citizen Eco-Drive RING, Citizen has announced the release of the METAL line.  This line is named as such because of the use of metal dials which is typical with non-solar watches.  So how is this an Eco-Drive you ask?  Well, Citizen has moved the solar cell from underneath the dial to a ring around the perimeter of the dial.  Some people who spend too much time on watch forums would recognize this as a rehaut.

I think this is a big deal.  The translucence of the dial has always been a limitation to Citizens because of the limitations it imposes to design and construction of the dial.  Over the years Citizen has developed ways around this such as the use of laser perforation or translucence in the subdials only, but for models such as the Campanola line which feature exquisite hand finished dials Eco-Drive was either not possible or was implemented at the expense of dial design.  I guess those of you who really like chapter rings will be disappointed, but I prefer the look of the dial without a chapter ring.

What surprises me is that this has only been announced on the Citizen New Zealand and Australia sites.  Nothing from Japan and nothing from North America.  An innovation like this will surely see a global launch.  Maybe more will be announced at Basel in a few weeks.

Picture and more information here.

Thanks UpstandingCitizen!

Citizen Eco-Drive RING Special Interviews

Citizen Japan's Facebook site has published three video interviews detailing the new RING model.

The first video is in English and is led by Designer, Benjamin Cheng and he highlights the depth and dimension of the dial and moonphase indicator.

The second and third videos are led by Engineer, Yohsuke Noma and Art Director Satoshi Sugiura.  Unfortunately these videos are not in English, but they offer some very nice real life images of this model.  I have to say it looks larger than I was expecting, but the dimensions on the dial are impressive.




Videos 2 and 3 after the jump.

Video Demonstration of Bluetooth Casio G-Shock GB-6900

A video demonstration from the recent CES show of the soon to be released bluetooth enabled Casio G-Shock GB-6900 has been posted and is making the rounds.  This model was previously posted about here and was supposed to be released late in 2011, but was delayed because of the floods in Thailand.

Utilizing a Low Energy Bluetooth connection to a cell phone or computer, this watch can sync the time, as well as notify for incoming emails and text messages.  The video demonstrates an interesting interaction between the watch and phone where a touch of the crystal will signal to the phone to ignore a call and stop ringing.  The video also demonstrates that Casio sees the potential in this technology to connect the watch to other devices like a television, audio player and even a medical instrument.

You know there are plenty of people who will look down their noses at any watch presented at an electronics exhibit, but I think it's great.  We are living in the 21st century and it is interesting to witness the continuing evolution of the wristwatch.  While at odds for years with the cell phone for the utility of telling time, it is great to see the watch and cell phone working cooperatively to improve the function of both items to be greater than each singularly.

The GB-6900 is scheduled to be released in March 2012.

Excellent Tutorial for the Seiko 7S26

I stumbled into an excellent online tutorial for the Seiko 7S26 written by Nicholas Hacko from Sydney, Australia.  Excellent details with great pictures.  This may be one of the best that I've seen.  Looks like it is a work in progress so check back.  Also looks like he has organized an online tutorial so if you are interested in participating please contact him through his website.

I've added a link in the Links section, but thought I'd bring attention to it here as well.

A direct link to the site can be found here.

Citizen Eco-Drive Ring BU1020-08A to be Released February 2012

The Citizen Eco-Drive Ring model was introduced as a concept at Basel 2009 and its commercialization was announced at Basel 2011.  Citizen recently announced that the Ring model BU1020-08A will be available for sale February 8, 2012.

Two Great Posts on "Watches by SJX"

Just read two great posts on Watches by SJX on two very high end Seikos...the 130th Anniversary Grand Seiko and the Credor Node Spring Drive.

SJX shares not only glamor shots of these exquisite and rarely seen models, but also the largest collection of wrist shots of the 130th Anniversary you'll ever see in a single post.  Great stuff!

130th Anniversary Grand Seiko

Credor Node Spring Drive