Interview Seiko Watch Corporation President Akio Naito On Grand Seiko's Future

Yes, the bracelets could be better. Mr. Naito knows this; he even acknowledged that changes were coming, specifically micro-adjust, in a comment on LinkedIn that went (the watch nerd version of) viral. But across the board, the brand has seen massive growth since reaching a global audience in 2010. Multiple GPHG awards, iconic dials, signature style – it seemed unfair to distill the brand down to this one question, but it was a pressing one for the community. So, I wanted to give him a chance to speak directly to the readers about any plans he could share. That said, I had plenty more questions – some far more critical to the brand's longevity and success – that I put to Mr. Naito. As one of the most candid executives in all of watches, the interview was far more interesting (and detailed) than most.

For ease of translation and clarity, I submitted questions ahead of time. Some of these answers were delivered to me in printed form, handed over by Mr. Naito as he asked, "Now, what do you really want to know?" Some of these are written responses. Others were off-the-cuff. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Mark Kauzlarich: I often look at the market landscape and wonder what brand might fill the market role that Rolex used to have in the 1970s to 1990s or even early 2000s as an aspiration but attainable brand for the general consumer – consumers that specifically didn't know much about watches but recognized quality and character. With the success of Grand Seiko among enthusiasts for those very reasons, it feels like Grand Seiko is on the precipice of reaching a wider audience or maybe being "that brand." What will it take to push the brand past that tipping point?

Mr. Akio Naito: Although Grand Seiko was first introduced in the global market in 2010, until quite recently, Grand Seiko was regarded as a hidden gem amongst a small circle of watch aficionados in the overseas market. However, thanks to the grassroots movement from watch fans, combined with efforts in marketing and communication and the establishment of companies dedicated to Grand Seiko in critical markets, I am proud to say that today, we are on a steady path towards becoming a true luxury brand with a uniquely Japanese identity that offers creations that resonate with watch fans worldwide. Our goal now is to increase awareness of Grand Seiko from enthusiasts to the larger community.

This February, we were delighted to open a new Flagship Boutique on Madison Avenue. I believe the new boutique will serve two very important purposes. One, it will be a place where watch connoisseurs from all over the world visit to experience the worldview of Grand Seiko. The other is to increase the awareness of Grand Seiko among the wider public. I believe that success in such a famous destination will lead to further growth of Grand Seiko as a global luxury brand. 

Another important factor in spreading awareness of Grand Seiko to the wider public is to clearly communicate the unique qualities of Grand Seiko and the unique stories behind each creation. Grand Seiko is truly unique in the way that it embodies Japanese ideals, and many of our creations are inspired by the natural surroundings where the watches are made. The fact that there has been a growing interest in the world toward Japan, not just its food or nature, but its culture and heritage, is, I think, certainly a tailwind for Grand Seiko as a brand from Japan.

MK: During the pandemic there seemed to be a point at which the Grand Seiko collections reached a critical mass and some of the feedback among collectors I spoke with was that there was almost an over-saturation and an overwhelming number of SKUs, especially limited editions. It seems Grand Seiko's collections have been consciously pared back over the past year or so. How can collectors expect the brand's collections to be handled moving forward?

Mr. Naito: Your observation is correct. While it was necessary in the past for a young and fast-growing brand like Grand Seiko to meet the demand of our fans who wanted to see more variations and newness from the brand, we did not make it a priority to develop a "face" of our brand, i.e. a long selling and iconic model. Moving forward, we will be focusing on a core group of SKUs and limit the number of regional editions.

By focusing the number of our offerings, we aim to have customers find a creation that most resonates with them easier. Today, we are seeing a trend in key creations that enjoy popularity in all regions, including the United States, Europe, and Asia. These watches include the "Shunbun" watch, which captures the cherry blossoms falling on the surface of a river in Spring, the "Snowflake," which continues to enjoy great popularity worldwide, and our "White Birch" high-beat watch that won the Best Men's watch prize at the GPHG in 2021. By having a strong set of creations that are not limited editions, I believe we can more effectively communicate the beauty of Grand Seiko to the wider public.

We will also continue to focus on the Evolution 9 collection as Grand Seiko's core collection. In both design and function, our Evolution 9 watches showcase the brand's pursuit to push back watchmaking boundaries, as expressed by last year's high-beat Chronograph, the Tentagraph, and this year's manual-winding dress watch powered by the high-beat Caliber 9SA4. I am confident that the Evolution 9 collection will become a collection which watch fans will associate the brand with as we move forward.

MK: On the topic of these successful models, Grand Seiko is commonly associated with nature or season-specific related pieces that tie into Japanese heritage and history. The storytelling behind these watches is so engaging that I think much of the U.S. audience believes these are core to Japanese culture. But my Japanese friends would tell me that many of these things – like the micro-seasons – aren't concepts that most Japanese people would even be aware of. At some point, one could imagine you'd run out of these specific inspirations, or the framework could become too restrictive. Is there any consideration to pausing or moving on from these kinds of designs in general?

Mr. Naito: Although it is difficult to say if our current approach is restrictive from a design standpoint, whether we continue to focus our communication and marketing on our Japanese uniqueness and our respect towards nature is something to be considered moving forward. When Grand Seiko became an independent brand in 2017, we focused our communication on differentiating ourselves from our European counterparts. Cultural and environmental aspects and Japanese craftsmanship helped us establish a unique identity, leading to the brand's success and growth. Today, our challenge is to appeal to a wider customer base. While maintaining our brand identity, we must consider the most effective way and strategy to communicate the brand to the broader public. This is something we are discussing internally.

MK: We're now almost three years out from the release of the Kodo, which I think shocked some people on many levels. However, I get the most questions about is the aesthetic and price. While keeping within the three design principles of Grand Seiko, the company was able to make something that looked completely unlike anything else from the brand. Is there a place for the futuristic aesthetic decisions found in the Kodo to be applied to other watches from the brand? Is there any chance that parts of the Kodo – whether watchmaking or design – will find their way into more affordable lines?

Mr. Naito: Although Kodo may look completely different from other Grand Seiko creations in terms of aesthetics, the design considerations that were made are the same as all Grand Seiko creations.

Both the first Kodo introduced in 2022 and the latest Kodo introduced at Watches and Wonders this year, were an expression of the Japanese aesthetic of light and shadow, which is at the of Grand Seiko's grammar of design. While the first Kodo expressed evening twilight through the delicate interplay of light and shadow, the new timepiece uses light and shadow to evoke daybreak. Both Kodo creations feature various finishing techniques that capture the many different shades found between light and shadow.

You may recall in 2020, we introduced the concept creation called TO, which is the basis of the Kodo's Caliber 9ST1. Although taking different approaches to reach a stable and high accuracy, TO and the latest generation Caliber 9SA were developed in parallel, inspiring and affecting each movement's design and manufacturing in the development process. For example, the use of twin barrels and free-sprung balance of 9SA5 were inspired by those of TO. As Kodo was made by re-engineering TO, we can say that the qualities of Kodo are definitely shared in many of our core creations that are powered by Caliber 9SAS and that are based on Caliber 9SA5, such as the Tentagraph or our latest high-beat dress watch powered by Caliber 9SA4.

MK: With the reintroduction of King Seiko, cost increases becoming more common across the board, and individual Seiko brands releasing more watches at a wider price range, the price line that used to largely differentiate brands has become more blurred. How tightly are you managing these pricing factors and the role they play for each brand? Is there a top-down remit for each brand to stay mainly in a particular range or are brands allowed to do what they think is best for their product and the customer regardless of its competition with sister brands?

Mr. Naito: We do not differentiate our brands or collections by price, but instead focus on their different characteristics. I do not believe we can dictate the value of the product in the eyes of our consumers. Please allow me to use King Seiko as an example because King Seiko is at the highest end of our Seiko offerings and is perhaps closest to Grand Seiko in terms of price segmentation. Grand Seiko and King Seiko have their own unique identities in terms of qualities and designs and I do not believe they compete with each other. If it does, it may be a failure of our strategy in communication and product development.

Grand Seiko is a luxury watch brand pursuing the highest levels of all areas in watchmaking, while King Seiko is a premium watch collection offering the highest standard of mechanical watches within the Seiko brand. The prices for our Grand Seiko mechanical watches and King Seiko mechanical watches are very different, and these differences come from various factors, including accuracy, finishing, and craftwork, which you may have observed during the factory tours. Of course, I am proud of the King Seiko collection as it offers design variations that may not be possible due to the guidelines of the Grand Seiko Style, and I am happy to say that King Seiko is enjoying great growth in Japan and steady growth internationally. We will continue to communicate the two differently toward different markets.

When it comes to price increases, of course, there are a number of factors. As we try to focus on the core values of our brand, we must be more and more selective about things like the materials, selective or more severe [providing value] in finishing or polishing of a case. All of these factors push the cost up. So yes, the average unique price of a Grand Seiko has increased quite substantially over the last five, six years. But if you look at the Swiss brands, I think their price increases have been even more. My philosophy is that we cannot push to hard to dictate higher pricing because if consumers don't appreciate the value, then the brand will die. Competition applies pressure to keep pricing down, a tremendous pressure.

MK: I think within the space, a lot of collectors still think of it as Japanese brands versus Swiss brands or European brands more broadly, a mentality that dates back to the competition during the quartz crisis. But then you see the picture of Philippe Dufour in your Micro Artist Studio, and he was more than happy to help grow people's knowledge. I'm curious: what are some things that you think Grand Seiko can teach the other brands that might not be in Japan? And then the flip side is, what places do you think that Grand Seiko can still learn from the Swiss?

Mr. Naito: Well, on that particular topic, I draw a line between corporate competition and individuals, which are totally different in my view. First of all, Japan versus Switzerland is an industry relationship that was, I think, aggravated in part because of our launch of the world's first quartz watch, which completely changed the industry in the early seventies. Japanese brands almost destroyed the Swiss watch industry, which was traditionally a national industry. And that, for a very long time, created trauma on the part of the Swiss watch industry against Japan. But prior to that era, if we go back in history to the 1950s or even 1960s, there was, as you say, an exchange of ideas and technologies, and we imported a lot of machinery from Switzerland. And there was, of course, a competition, but a friendly sort of relationship existed at the same time. 

Today, on a personal level, I think that relationship remains. Craftsmen, for example, they understand the skills of those working for Swiss brands, and they respect each other and their skills. Take Takuma Kawauchiya [creator of the Kodo]. He has many friends who are independent watchmakers in Switzerland. Most people that I am familiar with are open to exchanging ideas and trying to teach with each other. So I like that kind of exchange. It's not something that we can teach them one-sidedly. There is a lot that we can learn from them as well. Personally, I would like to see the exchange of those skills and technologies more freely.

MK: Okay, I have one last question. This has become a hot topic, and you recently opened the door on LinkedIn by commenting when people asked about bracelets. Whether its quality, design, a lack of micro-adjust, etc., can you tell me anything about the feedback you've been given and what you've been doing to fix this issue? When these changes are implemented, will they only be applied to new models? Will the bracelets be available separately for people to put on the older models they already own?

Mr. Naito: I've been aware of this issue for many years and pushing internally, very strongly, to improve. There are a number of reasons [why this has been delayed]. The technical construction is one issue, and impeding conflicting patents by number of brands is another. Practically, the reality is that it's not that easy. When I commented on the point of micro-adjust and said, "It's coming," it was because that was finally a moment when I saw some possibility of implementing one idea. But it hasn't materialized quite yet. We haven't been able to execute it fully yet, so there's no timeline. But the idea is there.

Historically we, as a manufacturer and our watchmakers and technical designers, placed a lot more emphasis on the movement, which many saw as the most important element in the wristwatch, and then followed by a case or dial. And the last piece was a bracelet. So, in that sense, we don't have the same level of human resources putting into the development of the bracelet – or same amount of passion or energy – which I've been frustrated and trying to change, but we've still got some ways to go. As for how we'll handle the release, that's something we have to think about and think carefully.