‘Asa Borake’ – ‘Daybreak’ Spring Drive 44GS

The white textured dial of this timepiece is inspired by the ‘Asa Borake’ or beautiful rising light at ‘Daybreak.’ ‘The Nature of Time’ theme features prominently in Grand Seiko watch designs – a Japanese spirituality where each moment is a unique expression unveiled through light and shadow. The watchmakers’ pride in their surroundings is represented from engineering watch movements which emulate the smooth motion of time passing, to creating dials reflecting the beauty of Japanese nature.

This timepiece was created to mark the anniversary of the ‘Grand Seiko Style;’ the embodiment of the Grand Seiko design philosophy first established with the 44GS model in 1967. The 44GS created a visually recognisable “grammar” of design for Grand Seiko watches to follow – balancing legibility and light with a beautiful dial layout.

The SBGY011 is powered by a manual-winding Spring Drive Calibre 9R31 that delivers an accuracy rate of ±15 seconds per month, or ±1 second per day. The movement uses two mainsprings set in parallel within a single barrel to deliver a power reserve of 72 hours. Spring Drive was uniquely pioneered by Seiko Watch Corporation’s watchmakers – it generates energy like a traditional mechanical watch but combines this with an electronic regulator to deliver a superior level of precision. The signature of Spring Drive is the smooth motion of its second hand which moves in a silent and beautiful glide motion. Spring Drive is one of the most significant developments in recent watchmaking which took 28 years to develop and is only available in Seiko Watch Corporation timepieces.

Every Grand Seiko features signature high standards of precision, durability and legibility, handcrafted in Japan by Takumi artisans. Grand Seiko: beautifully, precise Japanese watchmaking, from the pinnacle of Seiko Watch Corporation’s in-house ‘manufacture.’