Precision timekeeping from Japan and internal competition within the House of Seiko.

While major players in the Swiss watch industry collaborated in the development of the first European high-beat watch, on the other side of the world the same development goal was the subject of intra-company competition in Japan’s foremost watch manufacturer, Seiko. Seiko’s Daini and Suwa factories each with their own research and development capabilities engaged in a “brotherly competition” that was sanctioned by ownership at the highest level in the parent company.

The Suwa factory brand, known as Suwa Seikosha or Seiko, and later also manufacturing watches under the brand Grand Seiko, had developed a high quality manual wind movement, the cal 5740 for their flagship watch model, the Lord Marvel. The first version of this movement, the 5740A, was introduced in 1964 and operated at 18000 vph. It was followed by the 5740B that operated at 19800 vph and introduced in 1966. In 1967, just months after the introduction of the 32A by Girard-Perregaux, by a leap of development Suwa Seikosha introduced the cal 5740C that oscillated at 36000 vph. Watches with this movement were branded Lord Marvel 36000 and were manufactured from 1967 to 1978.

Chronometer-grade automatic winding high-beat precision from Seiko (Grand Seiko).
Following its success with the cal 5740C in the Lord Marvel 36000, Suwa Seikosha developed its original chronometer grade, automatic movement for top-of-the-line Grand Seiko watches operating at 36.000 vph, the iconic cal 61GS Hi-Beat.
Grand Seiko created a large variety of 61GS examples during the model's seven-year production run, using seven different movements and approximately 10 different case designs. In 1969, the first "V.F.A" (Very Fine Adjusted) movements were introduced, which allowed Grand Seiko to increase its internal accuracy standard to +/- one minute per month, a nearly unheard of figure for a mechanical movement at the time. The cases used on the 61GS watches were primarily influenced by "The Grammar Of Design," a set of aesthetic principles established by designer Taro Tanaka that prized flat surfaces with mirror finishing and sharp lines.

Independently, in 1968 the Daini factory brand (known as King Seiko) developed a manually winding “hi-beat” movement, the cal 45KS with a 36,000 vph beat rate. King Seikos never achieved the same status as Grand Seiko later would because at the time, they did not have the testing facilities to ensure chronometer grade accuracy. Nonetheless, the cal 45KS was a significant watchmaking achievement at the time and another milestone for the House of Seiko.

Grand Seiko Hi-Beat 36000 – Black Dial.
The High-Beat Collection features a relatively rare black dial example of the Grand Seiko Hi-Beat 36000 reference 6145-8000, designed by Taro Tanaka. He set out to design a watch that would “sparkle brilliantly” while on the wrist and compete with the best Swiss watches of the era. The Hi-Beat 36000 houses the GS6145A automatic movement with 25 jewels, 40 hour power reserve, sweep center seconds and date function.