Seiko Basel 2012

Mar8 by azfinetime

What a long journey it has been. After 20 hours of travel and very little time to rest, we made it to the Basel Fair. Switzerland is beautiful and the people here are extremely friendly, but we are here to see some great watches. Believe me when I say, there are PLENTY here.

Our 1st meeting was with our biggest brand, SEIKO. Here is what we saw as we walked through the halls of their booth…

Seiko Astron GPS

Seiko Astron GPS Limited Edition 2012

Seiko Ananta Kumadori Limited Edition 8R28

Galante Rolling Stones Limited Edition 2012

Grand Seiko Hi-Beat Special 18ktGrand Seiko Hi-Beat Special 18kt

Seiko Sportura 2012

We spent a lot of time in Seiko’s booth examining the new releases. There were many impressive items to come out, but the highlight of the show was the new Astron GPS. This model is going to be extremely limited production, with a couple of variations being exclusive to AZFT. This is the 1st watch in the world that will not only update its accuracy by using GPS satellites (up to 4 of them), but also adjusts the date automatically, and most importantly, the time to what current city you are in at the push of one button. It can take anywhere from 6-30 seconds to update, but this is one of the most convenient watches for travel ever produced! Seiko Quartz Astron GPS Solar SAST001, SAST003, SAST009 will definitely be coming to the US.

Seiko Astron GPS

Seiko’s new releases also included a couple of new Ananta Limited Editions. They use the same Maki-e artist who did the SRQ013 dial (Isshu Tamura) to do the dials for these models. One utilizes the same 8R28 movement and is inspired by Japanese face painitng. The other has a new 6S28 (a variation of the 6S39 less the power reserve) that has a higher accuracy rating and square sub dials. Seiko Ananta SSD001 and SRQ015 (Kumadori) will deliver around October.

Seiko Ananta Kumadori Limited Edition 2012 6S28

Grand Seiko has some tremendous new releases including 3 Hi-Beat SPECIAL models in 3 types of gold (white, yellow and rose) with an accuracy rating of +/- 2 to 4 sec a day. 1 second higher than the typical GS Standard. Grand Seiko Hi_beat Special SBGH019, SBGH020 and SBGH022 will deliver in October.

Grand Seiko Hi-Beat Special 18kt

The new GS GMT SBGE021 (green dial) is scheduled to arrive in a couple of weeks and looks far more impressive in person than any picture.

Grand Seiko Spring Drive GMT Limited Edition SBGE021

There is also 2 new blue mechanical GMT’s. This year celebrates the 10th anniversary of the 1st GS GMT. The rotors cover the whole movement and are made of titanium. The weight to swing the rotor is tungsten and can barely be seen through the display back. Both the Grand Seiko GMT SBGM029 and SBGM031 will deliver around October.

Grand Seiko Mechanical GMT Limited Edition 2012

There is also a new release of a GS diver, limited to 150 with a blue dial and gold sec hand. The dial is truly beautiful and I’m sure they will sell out quickly.