The pride of Shinshu
Originally posted on September 2019
Formerly known as Suwa Seikosha, Seiko Epson is based in the Matsumoto region of Nagano prefecture, in the center of Honshu, Japan's main island. The small town of Shiojiri is home to the manufacture of Grand Seiko watches equipped with Spring Drive 9R and Quartz 9F movements. The town's name literally means "salt's butt", as it was historically located at the end of the salt route, equidistant from the ocean up north or down south.
Shiojiri
The studio where Grand Seiko watches equipped with the 9F and 9R are assembled is called Shinshū Watch Studio. Shinshū is the former name of Nagano prefecture. It is in fact an abbreviation of the full name of Shinano prefecture. Matsumoto University is named Shinshū University.
The Shinshū Watch Studio - Credit Deployante.com
The name of the studio where these GS are assembled is therefore already a tribute to local history in itself.
When Grand Seiko released its first models equipped with the fabulous Spring Drive movement in 2004, three models were announced: the SBGA001, 003 and 005. The SBGA005 was a limited edition, and like all LEs (Limited Edition), it had a little something extra that deserves its own article.
Today, we're taking a closer look at the SBGA001, which recently became SBGA201.
As the Spring Drive is unique to the Shinshū Watch Studio, Seiko Epson's teams considered paying an homage to the local culture with this historic watch, as it is the first Grand Seiko equipped with the Spring Drive.
To understand this, you have to travel 10 kilometers south of Seiko Epson, to the town of Okaya on Lake Suwa, to find the Silk Museum.
In the past, Okaya was the Japanese capital of sericulture (silkworm cultivation) and silk-making in general, thanks to the water from Lake Suwa and the large number of mulberry trees growing in the region. A hundred years ago, Japan produced 80% of the world's raw silk, and silk accounted for half of the country's exports, indicating the importance of this craft in local culture and in Japan.
The teams at Shinshū Watch Studio have therefore succeeded in designing a sumptuous dial that is their pride and joy, paying homage to an art form specific to the region, its culture and its history. You have to see these dials with your own eyes to appreciate the silky texture and magnificent reflections they offer, and you'll find yourself transported straight back to Okaya, at the side of a granny spinning silk to produce a magnificent kimono.
These dials are made by hand, one by one, by a small handful of operators whose finely honed gestures are reflected in the delicate sunburst texture of the dials. It takes no less than 11 steps to create these silky little masterpieces, between the various stages of mirror polishing, soleillage, plating and so on. They require more manufacturing steps than the famous Snowflake dial, another symbol of the Shinshū Watch Studio!
You can now take advantage of this pride of Shiojiri on numerous references. And now you know they're not champagne dials, but silk dials, Okaya style!
