Everything indicated that the race would soon decide in favour of the Japanese, until the competitions were finally officially stopped once and for all. Year after year their rankings improved, which increasingly became a thorn in the side of the reigning top dogs. For the first time, the Japanese were involved in the race for the world’s most precise watch in 1963. In the 1960s, the Neuchâtel Observatory competitions were widely regarded as a prestigious showdown among Swiss watch brands, making it the perfect occasion for the Japanese to enter the international watch stage with a big bang. The aim was not just to stand up to the Swiss, it was much more the incentive to create the best watch in the world, unparalleled in readability, precision and quality. To be fair, however, this is an understatement, to say the least. It was precisely these attributes the watchmakers of Grand Seiko had in mind in 1960 when they presented their first watch to the world public. The Made in Japan designation of origin is still regarded as one of the most powerful ones in the world and as a guarantee of uncompromising quality and longevity. Deeply rooted in the country’s culture, this principle has changed little to this day. In Japan, when it comes to the production of commodities, the Japanese have always adhered to the maxim “all or nothing”. However, an island nation in the Pacific, almost 10,000 km away from the cradle of modern watchmaking, had a thing or two to say about it. There is no doubt that other countries were home to excellent watch brands as well, such as Germany or the United Kingdom, but the general opinion was: The best watches come from Switzerland. This of course also shaped the collective consciousness of watch enthusiasts (and those aiming to become one). At that time, the first Swiss watch brands were already looking back on a more than 200-year-old history. If you wanted to buy a high-quality watch in the 1960s, there was simply no way around Swiss brands.
Grand Seiko: On a mission to become the world’s best watch brand
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