This was the last of the catalogues to feature an introductory hero shot of a Grand Quartz, (note – there was no 1982 volume 2 catalogue published). In fact, a quick perusal of those early regular catalogues shows no quartz watches in any of the 1970 or 1971 issues – all of which lead with Grand Seiko. In 1991, Seiko creates a special reissue of the original U.T.D. Rounding out the collection are a pair of watches with champagne and light blue sunburst dials. We have a pair of 18K gold cased watches with integrated bracelets – one in yellow gold, and one in white –. Here, we know from examining actual watches in the metal that the two dials are actually the same – indeed, they even have the same dial code of 4843-8030. No watch, neither before nor since, has ever had such a significant impact on the watch industry, nor has one ever more clearly defined the beginning of the end of one horological epoch, and the start of another. A History of Grand Seiko – 1975 to 1988 – The Grand Seiko Guy Whereas when the range was launched, every model utilised the day-date 4843 movement, here we see that the customer was presented with more movement options, with references also powered by the 4842 date, and 4820 time-only calibers. Photocopy of Casio Overland watch purchased Oct. 1993. At times, it is very difficult to discern dial details just from catalogue photos. M6, M5, 635CSi, 633CSi, 630CSi, 533i, 528e, 524td. SEIKO Eyewear. We led this section of the article with a live shot of QNK020. Clearly the Grand Seiko range sat at the top of the wider Seiko offer, so perhaps this use of the ‘8’ accuracy designation in the movement numbers makes sense. Whereas moving from the 1976 volume 1 catalogue to volume 1 of 1977 we see little change – with all references from 1976 appearing once again, and just one new model launched, there is a wholesale change between the content shown in the 1977 volume 1 and volume 2 catalogues. Seiko is one of the few fully integrated watch manufactures. One thing that is clearer when comparing the 1975 V1 and V2 catalogues is that the Grand Quartz range wasn’t just about filling the gap created by the impending departure of the mechanical Grand Seikos, but it was also going to take over from another range in the catalogues – the quartz VFA’s. Six of the eight introductory Seiko Grand Quartz were presented in solid 18K gold cases, with prices ranging from 460,000 to 1,350,000 Yen. The introductory hero shot remains the same as that in the previous catalogue, followed by three pages showing a total of seventeen watches. Below are the full scans of the two pages from the 1977 volume 2 catalogue featuring Grand Quartz. For what it’s worth, here are scans of the two pages from this catalogue featuring Grand Quartz. In our view, the rebranding in 1975 of Grand Seiko to Seiko Grand Quartz, and then the introduction of Grand Seiko Quartz in 1988 is little different – indeed, arguably less significant – to the rebranding of Grand Seiko in 2017 when “Seiko” was dropped from the dials. 1978 Seiko Catalog.V1. Show all files, Uploaded by Both watches feature the same case and dial design of the QNJ020 and QHK040. Following a brief few pages presenting a selection of precious metal dress watches, and early liquid crystal display digital watches, a more logical hierarchy ensues. Please download files in this item to interact with them on your computer. Photographs of both watches from our private collection, along with macros to highlight the dial detail, are shown below. Here’s a close-up of the movement photos in the above documents. There’s no doubting though that it is a very desirable reference – as usual, live photos of an example from our collection show details that are simply not possible to appreciate from the catalogue shot alone –, From a price tier perspective, the above pair of watches can be viewed as replacing QNK050 and QNK061, reposted here for ease of reference –. Personally we would take an HSS 4843 over a SS 9943 any day of the week! Also making an appearance for the first time is the 9942 time and date movement. Whatever the truth of the matter is, there can be no denying that these (and indeed the Daini’s coming up next) are extremely attractive watches. With a precision… The same “hero” shot continues to be used to introduce the Grand Quartz section of the catalogue, with, again, three pages detailing the watches themselves. Clearly the quartz revolution had a significant impact on mechanical watch making, but as discussed earlier, it took quite a few years for quartz to be able to build up a sufficient head of steam to force Grand Seiko mechanical watches into submission. So much is clear from a study of the Seiko catalogues of the early 1970’s. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. First introduced in the 1972 Special Luxury Catalogue, with these VFA’s we see Seiko start to differentiate references in their quartz range from a marketing perspective. The introduction of Quartz watches at the end of 1969 not only meant that the mechanical watches from Switzerland was endangered but also the Japanese. SBGS004 had an 18K gold bezel and its bracelet was steel and 18K gold, whereas SBGS003 was all steel. So at the end of the decade, the only mechanical watches listed in Seiko’s catalog are the 6309/6306 150m diver and 32 unremarkable and totally forgettable dress watches from Daini Seikosha. Whilst it’s clear from the catalogue shot that this reference has a textured dial, it’s not easy to see exactly that the texture is. 1972’s catalogues represented close to the peak of the width (if one can have just a thing) of the Grand Seiko range, with 42 different references featured. These were no longer in the Seiko catalog after 1978, and the movement was retired. We provide a detailed look at this information in a new article that you can find here. The two references – HNK644, and HNK018 – appeared on page 13 of the Crêt D’or catalogue, and we present a scan of that page below. For the remaining catalogues, we will present galleries of the pages featuring Grand Quartz, and list the references that were dropped from the range. Your email address will not be published. 1977 Seiko Catalog.V1. The newly added reference should be relatively simple to spot – it’s a blue-dialed variant of the range-topping HSS cased QNK050 – the QNK061. Share this document with a friend. The 4843 caliber we find in this first generation of Seiko Grand Quartz was as accurate as the VFA’s – +/- 5 seconds per month. User manuals, Seiko Watch Operating guides and Service manuals. What we can learn from the codes shown here is that not only did this reference have a change of catalogue code, but also case code. It’s interesting that the offer included a pair of what on the face of it are two watches performing a very similar function. The Daini designs are also more complex than their Suwa “rivals” , with very interestingly sculpted case details – particularly around the crown, and opposite at 9 o’clock. Let’s take a look at the single page from each catalogue side by side (both catalogues introduce the Grand Quartz range with the same hero shot). Note that the bezel on this watch was not rotated correctly when we first acquired it and these photos were taken. The six 18K gold references from the last two catalogues are dropped from the range presented here (although as we will show shortly, two of them do make one final catalogue appearance). It is only with a close examination of the various offers presented in the Seiko catalogues over the course of time that we are able to see the “big picture” as to what happened through the 1970’s and into the 1980’s. As is often the case, the newly introduced references can be looked at in pairs, so that is what we will do…. Two of the three new 9943 caliber references have the same case design seen earlier in QGC020. But additionally, it was clearly a wider strategic rebranding not just for Grand Seiko, but also for King Seiko (as mentioned earlier, exactly the same thing happened), and indeed Lord Marvel (which became “Lord Quartz”). QGB804 is clearly a direct replacement for the 4843 caliber QNK904. Both 9581 and 9587 movements picked up where the 994x series left off, with an accuracy of +/-10 seconds per year. From the front, there is appears to be no difference in construction between the two references, but when we turn them over…. Because in his mind, there was no significant gap at all. Indeed, it has only been in very recent years that the old catalogues have been extensively scanned and shared, and so people only really had whatever was marked on the physical watches to identify them by. Of those seven, five only ever appear in this single catalogue. We would be grateful if those who in the past have brazenly swiped content from this site (and indeed others) for their own gain refrain from doing so. Clearly space was not at a premium in this catalogue, with separate pages being given to the new 9943 based references and the older 4843 based ones, despite the fact they could have all fitted on the one page. It’s interesting to note the use of the more expensive HGP (hardened gold plated) rather than the regular plating that we see on watches in lesser ranges. All of the watches are priced at the same 100,000 Yen, and we have white and dark dial variants. Look carefully at the dials of the first two watches featured on the following two scans. You were well ahead of me in appreciating and collecting these gems! The first watch to appear in the 1977 Seiko catalogue is this one. It has been a pretty monumental task putting this article together – certainly it has taken a lot longer than we originally thought – and we hope that, even if you don’t agree with the overall premise, the detailed content on the history of Seiko Grand Quartz is of interest. By the end of 1975, just 9 Grand Seikos remain in the range – their last catalogue appearance. Why contentious? Fast forward to the end of the 1980’s, and the new Grand Seiko range is introduced in the 1989 catalogue with four references taking pride of place on page 1, and a full page “hero” shot opposite (whilst Grand Seiko was “reborn” in 1988, there are no domestic catalogues from that year, so the new range’s first appearance in a catalogue was the following year, with the same layout featuring in both 1989 volumes) . These can be identified by the dash in the page number shown at the bottom of the page and indicate which pages in the original catalog they should be placed between. Prior to this, with just a handful of models available, simply branding them as “Quartz” was sufficient. The initial production run of Astrons for the launch of the watch was in November 1969, but so few were actually manufactured – just 100 units – that the first Astron never even made it into any of the Seiko catalogues. The earlier 4843 based watches had HSS cases, whereas the newly introduced 9943 references are in regular stainless steel. 1983 Seiko Catalog.V1. Powered by the 3883 movement, which was accurate to an incredible +/- 2 seconds per month, are two variants of the 3883-7000 “Superior”. All three have the same textured case and bracelet, but feature radically different dials. Whilst there are some differences in the parts used between the two movements – most notably the crystal oscillator itself – the dimensions are identical. As can be seen, not only were there insufficient references remaining in the range to fill a whole page in the catalogue, but Grand Seiko was seemingly not even significant enough to warrant its own page, with King Seiko references filling up the remaining space. Once again, we see all watches from the prior catalogue retained in the range, which is expanded by the introduction of a further eight new references. The figures graphed are a count of the number of references in the range by half year. Where it concerns the Grand Quartz range, this catalogue is identical in content and layout to the one preceding it. But what about those “ears” on the case at 9 and 3 – a possible subtle nod to the Nautilus? 1981 Seiko Catalog.V2. You can see from the photos on the documents scanned below the different size of the battery in these two movements, with the 4843A using an SB-08 battery, and the 4843B an SB-A4. So given we have seen earlier with the comparison between QGB804 and QGB824 there is a significant price premium for the upgrade to the 9943 movement, how did Seiko manage to do this? The three movements that feature in these watches (38- time only, 3802- time and date, and 3803- time and day-date) were rated to an accuracy of +/- 10 seconds per month, compared to the +/- 5 seconds per month of the 3823 powered VFA’s. Next come the pair of decagonal bezeled white and blue dial watches that we are familiar with from 1975 V2 (where a watch has been pictured before in an earlier catalogue, we won’t repeat the image again), and then the final 4843 based reference in this catalogue, the 73,000 Yen QNK030 – a watch with a “TV” shaped case on a black leather strap. White gold Seikos are typically priced a little higher than their yellow gold equivalents – here the yellow gold HNK804 was 1,250,000 Yen, with the white gold HNK 018 priced at 1,350,000. The first thing to note is the layout – as will become a common theme for the next few years, we have a full-page “hero” shot, followed by a section devoted just to Grand Quartz to show the rest of the range. The HNK60G an 38SQW 016 (on leather strap) were both priced at 580,000 Yen. Sadly not! Spring Sale - All products 15% off original price! Fortunately, this period in the doldrums of insipid “style” and lackluster chronometric performance was short lived. The first three of the 9940 time-only based references making their debut in this catalogue make a natural set together. Possibly these are Seiko in-house designs – surely there can be no doubt that Seiko’s own designers would have had visibility of the Locomotive design as it was coming to fruition, and could have been heavily influenced by it – but to the best of our knowledge there has never been any confirmation either way. Scarica ora. Of those 165 references, one was a Superior, there were 21 VFA’s, and we see the introduction of no fewer than eight…. Wrapping up the Grand Quartz range in this catalogue, we have a pair of watches presented on leather straps. The case and dial codes mentioned miss off the last digit that we actually find on the dials and case-backs, which is – in most instances – a zero. Whereas the previous catalogue showed no changes to the range, 1978’s volume 2 marked a significant step forward for the Grand Quartz offer, with the introduction of the 9943 movement. All other references would seem to carry over from the volume 1 catalogue to volume 2. As is so often the case with vintage Seikos, the catalogue shots really don’t do these watches justice. As with the watches, Seiko’s catalogue production and content also has some confusing transitional periods! The penultimate pair of twin-quartz watches are light and dark dialed replacements for an earlier 4843 reference –. With the two new references out of the way, we’ll look at the remaining eight by comparing them with what came before. Eyewear that performs. By 1975 – more than half a decade after the introduction of the seminal Astron – quartz was really beginning to gain a significant share of the market, with the cheapest reference in the catalogue priced at just 32,000 Yen. Following the publication of this article, Anthony Kable of Plus9Time contacted us to share a scan of an issue of Seiko Watch News from June 1977 that provides confirmation of the conclusions that we independently arrived at as detailed above. 1975 was the last year that Seiko produced a “Special Luxury Catalogue” (“SLC”). Those familiar with our articles on the Seiko catalogues featuring vintage Grand Seiko mechanical references will be aware that in the past we have always led with the case-back model number (comprised of the movement code and case code), rather than the catalogue number. The new decade kicks off with a catalogue featuring no fewer than thirty two Grand Quartz. Maybe that is stretching things a little too far, but there is no question that this catalogue introduces some exceptionally well – not to mention, intriguingly – designed watches! First up, here are the scans of the two pages featuring the Grand Quartz – first up the “hero” shot, and then a page listing all eleven Grand Quartz watches. Launched alongside Grand Quartz were also King Quartz branded watches. Below are scans of the pages featuring those watches. Below is a photograph of those four references laid out next to their catalogue pictures. For the purposes of this article, since the structure and content is based around a full set of catalogues from our library, it made more sense to use the catalogue numbers throughout. Note that Grand Quartz is no longer deserving of its own page in the catalogue, with the remaining King Quartz squeezed in. The 1972 catalog was updated with a series of loose leaf additional pages. Given the range had just been introduced in the second half of the year, it is perhaps unsurprising that for the Special Luxury Catalogue – published in time for the holiday season – there were no additional Grand Quartz references introduced. (Not included are the references running on the regular quartz movements from the 38-series onwards – we are only concerned with the top-of-the-range offer for the purpose of this argument.). The catalogs contained the complete line-up of standard models for men, women and specialised pieces like stopwatches that were available at that time. And finally, we have a pair of steel cased watches featuring textured cases, integrated bracelets, a decagonal bezel, and textured dial – one in white (QNK020) , and one in blue (QNK021) – priced at 80,000 Yen. There is a rapid drop-off in the breadth of the Grand Seiko mechanical offer, that coincides directly with the growth of the quartz VFA range. As we move into 1979, the entire Grand Quartz range shifts to twin-quartz calibers, with no 484x based references remaining in the offer. One question, any guess to why there were so many watches with hooded lugs from this period? All references that appeared in the 1976 volume 1 catalogue make a repeat appearance in this one, and just one new reference is added to the range. Quartz VFA killed off Grand Seiko mechanical, and Seiko Grand Quartz directly took over from both quartz GFA and Grand Seiko mechanical. The fact that the word “Grand” is even in “Seiko Grand Quartz” should be a big enough clue that Grand Seiko never really went away. This watch restores a top of the line HSS cased watch to the range, something that had been missing since the 4843 caliber QNK080 (shown alongside it above for comparison) made its final appearance in the 1978 volume 1 catalogue. This coincided with renewed interest in mechanical movements and Seiko brought the movement back into production in 1993. We design and develop our own movements using leading-edge technology. We can see right away what has changed – the -8100 has a slimmer case-back,, and the size of the battery hatch is reduced. As with the 9940, this is available in two watches, this time both in stainless steel on bracelets, but with different case designs. One might be tempted to just leave it at that – the Grand Seiko story runs from 1960 through to 1975, and then there is a 13 year gap until we pick up again in 1988 with the launch of Grand Seiko quartz. (For those reading on a mobile device, it might make more sense to view this next section in landscape mode as then you should be able to see both watches on screen at the same time.). First up is the gold cap QGB604, presented on a brown leather strap, and second is the day-date version of the aforementioned QGC020, the QGB050. Whilst the range would continue to exist in the catalogues right up until 1985, no new references were introduced, and we see a steady ramping down of the number watches in the range. Here is a live photo of an example of QNK080 from our private collection where the incredible texture of these dials can be truly appreciated. Historically the reason for this is that we started acquiring the watches before we acquired the catalogues. Seiko 1972 Luxury Watch Catalogue for Men and Women, 78V2, 79V1, 79V2, 80V1, 80V2, 81V1, 81V2, 82V1, 83V1, 83V2, 84V1, 84V2, 85V1, 78V2, 79V1, 79V2, 80V1, 80V2, 81V1, 81V2, 82V1, 79V1, 79V2, 80V1, 82V1, 83V1, 83V2, 84V1, 84V2, 85V1, 79V1, 79V2, 80V1, 80V2, 81V1, 81V2, 82V1, 83V1, 83V2, 84V1, 84V2, 85V1. For half 1, this is arrived at simply by counting up the number of references appearing in the V1 catalogue. We of course recognise that this is a fairly contentious proposition to make, but the evidence is presented above, and we would very much welcome wider discussion on the matter. With the Superiors and VFA’s sitting at the top of the range, one might expect the Grand Quartz to slip in directly underneath them. Here’s a shot from an example of this reference from our collection, along with a detail shot of the dial that shows the patterned texture more clearly. The movement number used in particular reference can be identified from the first four digits of the case-back code. It wasn’t just Grand Seiko that made their last appearance in 1975’s V2 catalogue, we say farewell to King Seiko as well. It is interesting to note that on the re-introduction of Grand Seiko, the 95-series movements are given an “8” accuracy designation – the same as that of the 3883, 4883, and 9983 Superiors of the 1970’s – and not the “4” of the older Grand Quartz. It is a huge task to scan the catalogues, edit the scans, and then host them to freely share for the benefit of the wider community. 21 HOUR WHEEL0273*** 50 FOURTH WHEEL 024*** De 1975 à 1978, Hugh Holland, va photographier le phénomène skateboard à Venice Beach en Californie. The remaining Grand Quartz watches in the catalogue were all new designs. Instead we see a pair of watches with the same case and dial design, but one gold capped on a leather strap, and one stainless steel on a bracelet. Although the example in our private collection doesn’t have the correct bracelet, we do feel it worth sharing photographs of it here to show just what that dial actually looks like. The “Superior” branding would remain at the pinnacle of the quartz range for many years to come. On Christmas Day 1969, Seiko launched the world’s first quartz wristwatch – the Astron. The first new pair of 9256 caliber watches from Daini are also presented with a choice of white or blue dials. Note for those paying attention – we haven’t skipped a catalogue – there is no 1976 volume 2 catalogue. Both watches feature lightly textured cases and bracelets – the former featuring printed Roman numeral indices, and the latter raised and cutaway 3D applied indices. During these early years, Seiko used the “VFA” label to differentiate the top chronometrically performing quartz models from the rest of the range. Here’s a studio shot of an example of reference QGB011 from our collection –. The pair of original steel cased watches with decagonal bezels with blue and white dials have been dropped, as has the blue dial HSS cased reference that was only introduced in the previous catalogue. We highlighted previously how the 1980 volume 2 catalogue was the last one to feature Grand Quartz near the beginning of the publication, immediately following the Superiors. 4-5 *. There is the “vintage” period that commenced with the introduction of the first Grand Seiko on December 18th 1960, and continued through until the mid 1970’s with the final appearance of Grand Seiko in volume 2 of the 1975 Seiko catalogue; and then there is the “modern” period, with the debut of the Grand Seiko quartz range in 1988 and continuing on through to today. Then comes one Superior and the quartz VFA’s, followed not by the Grand Quartz, but by watches powered by non-VFA 38-series movements. Thanks Gerald for taking the time to put this article together. Grand Quartz comes next, followed by King Quartz. Pictured above is one of those first eight Seiko Grand Quartz – which was available with either white (QNK020 – as pictured) or blue (QNK021) textured dials. At the bottom of the text in each photo is mentioned the movement number (4843) and then in brackets, the case and dial code. (The full story of the early years of Seiko quartz will be saved for a future article – for now, a brief overview will suffice to get us to 1975.). Seiko Grand Quartz, Seiko King Quartz, Seiko Lord Quartz – they are all continuations of the original mechanical brands, updated for the quartz age. See what's new with book lending at the Internet Archive, There Is No Preview Available For This Item, This item does not appear to have any files that can be experienced on Archive.org. Clearly back in the mid-1980’s for some reason accuracy no longer became particularly important at Seiko – the calibers powering the Dolce range were only accurate to +/- 15 seconds per month. The two references with day and day-date complications are pictured above – QGC030 and QGB080. (Note – this is actually a scan from the volume 2 catalogue of 1989. At first sight, we might be led to think that there is a difference in the dial textures between the two watches, but this is actually not the case. Over the course of the next three years, that number would rapidly decline, whist at the same time the number of high-end quartz watches increased at an exponential rate. However, we do realise that should collectors look to acquire these watches, it will be the case-back model numbers that they will find the watches listed by, so below we present a table that matches catalogue code to case-back model number, along with – for added interest – the catalogues in which each reference made an appearance. Turning the page, and the first watch featured is the true range-topper, the HSS (Hardened Stainless Steel) cased QBK050, priced at 100,000 Yen. Oddly, there appear to be no biannual Seiko catalogues from that year, and so we have to wait until 1989 volume 1 to see Grand Seiko returned to its rightful place on the first pages. There is an undeniable “Genta-esque” feel to the QGB070/071, with their rounded octagonal bezels and bracelets bearing more than a passing resemblance to some of the famed designers more well known ouvres. For the remaining watches, we will simply provide side by side comparisons of the 484xA caliber watches with their 484xB caliber replacements with no commentary, apart from pointing out that the lug-width given for the updated models is listed as 18mm, a reduction from 19mm for the earlier ones, and a bracelet change moving from QNK040 to QNK090. Before taking a look in detail at the new references, here is a gallery of the three pages from this catalogue that feature Grand Quartz, starting with a new hero shot featuring the Gold Cap QGB824. Volume 1 of the 1973 catalogue (with the number of Grand Seikos more than halving to 19, and the number of quartz references going up six-fold to 25) debuts in a regular catalogue, quartz watches branded as “VFA”, or “Very Fine Adjusted” – a term of course “borrowed” from the Grand Seiko VFA’s that were still in production. The inclusion of the Gold Cap QGB824 in the range is perhaps somewhat of a mystery. Learn how your comment data is processed. Parts# 64 52 1 386 601 64-52-1-386-601 64.52.1.386.601 64521386601. As mentioned, also debuting in this catalogue are the first Grand Quartz from Daini-Seikosha, running off the day-date 9256 caliber, which, like its 9943 counterpart, was also accurate to +/- 10 seconds per year. Required fields are marked *. For half 2, it is slightly more complicated as we also have to include watches appearing any supplements to the V2 catalogue, along with those references appearing in the Special Luxury and Credor/Crét D’or catalogues. Vintage watch catalogs for Seiko watches, some in japanese. Below is a photo of a blue-dialed QGB071 from our collection. Even at this price though, it is worth keeping a sense of proportion. The second volume of the 1975 catalogue features no fewer than 165 quartz references powered by twenty seven different movements. The dark dial on QGN051 is not black, but rather a very, very deep blue, with a sunburst finish. Quite what was behind this decision to seemingly abandon pretty much every chronometric advance made during the previous decade and a half of quartz development is a mystery to us, Frankly speaking, it’s not just the technology in the analogue quartz watches in the 1985 volume 2 catalogue that leaves us cold – the “design” of the watches is so bland and monotonous that it would sully this article to include images of them.
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