Seiko has released a new 9F Quartz model with 5-seconds-per-year accuracy. It is a limited edition of 300 units, released in commemoration of the 15th anniversary of the launch of the 9F Quartz movement in 1993. The watch, Grand Seiko SBGT027, retails for ¥399,000, and is only available in Japan.

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On June 11, Richard Garriott reported on his mission blog about his Seiko Spacewalk. Garriott is a video game programmer and son of a NASA astronaut, and will be the sixth private citizen to travel to the International Space Station. He’ll use the specially-designed Seiko watch that uses Seiko’s Spring Drive technology during an October 2008 mission.

I have had the Seiko watch with me for a couple months now and this is what I can tell you about it. I visited the Seiko factory in Japan in early March. During this visit I meet the amazing team that created this watch. In talking with them, and learning about what they went through in designing the watch, my enthusiasm and respect for Seiko grew immensely. My knowledge of what goes into making fine watches grew, and with that, my faith that the watch would perform very well in the unusual and extreme environments of space…. more »

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Seiko Quartz Type II 7546-7010 — mine was manufactured in May 1978

The Seiko Type II Quartz holds a unique place in the history of three watch companies: Seiko, Citizen, and Bulova. How’s that? And what does “Type II” mean? Two Japanese quartz watch fans provides clues on Japanese-language watch blogs.

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“Oh Nooooo!”  That was my thought as I picked up my Grand Seiko yesterday morning realizing that it was dead.  Time for a new battery.  Well, I knew this day was inevitable; the day I would have to change the battery on one of my high-end Seikos.  I just wasn’t sure which watch it would happen to first.  I have a couple of Prospex divers that are 6 or 7 years old that I’ve been expecting to die any day now, so I was surprised to see that this 3-year-old Grand Seiko was the first to go.

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LOGAN put another new Casio G-Shock TV commercial up on their Web site. It’s called “Attack,” and features Casio G-Shock Mudman G-9000. Enjoy!

Citizen watches don’t get a lot of ink … er … pixals, on GMT+9. Petew’s recent review of a long-sought-after Campanola is a noteable exception. Without objection, I’d like to focus on another unusual Citizen today. The Citizen i:VERT is a digital watch that syncs with Sharp 3G cell phones — a combination remote control, pager, message displaying and storage device. Oh, and it also tells time.

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Copyright ©2008 Casio Japan

Here’s a 25-second-long video from G-Shock Japan’s website that highlights—again—creative G-Shock marketing to Japanese youth. The commercial features Japanese b-boy ISSOP (Satoshi Maruyama). Enjoy!

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Editor’s Note:

Chronograph.com launched in 1996 — at the dawn of the Internet era. It took remarkable foresight for owner Wee Wah Lee to realize online shopping would be the way of the future and to register the domain name “Chronograph.com.” Thousands of Internet businesses have come and gone; that Chronograph.com is still going strong is a testament to its outstanding customer service, and impressive selection of Japanese watches. GMT+9 is proud to present this interview with Mr. Lee, one in our ongoing series chronicling key members of the Japanese watch community. Enjoy!

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Those familiar with the traditionally ornate look of Citizen’s Campanola line would be surprised to see the watch pictured above.  After all, this simple, time only pilot style watch is the antithesis of what collectors expect from a Campanola branded watch.  Just as surprising as the name on the dial is the caliber of the movement within.  This Campanola is run by Citizen’s super high accuracy A660 quartz perpetual module.

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