Seiko Credor

Despite their high quality and great value for money, Seiko watches haven't always been considered luxury items. As a result, in 1974, the company introduced the Credor collection in Japan. The series is dedicated entirely to luxury watches. Since 2016, some of the watches from the exclusive Seiko Boutique can also be purchased through the Chrono24 platform.

The collection's name comes from the French "Créte d'Or" (the noblest gold). Appropriately, it utilizes precious materials, high-quality technology, and the highest levels of craftsmanship. The catalog ranges from elegant, minimalist models, to extremely intricate watches with chiming mechanisms, all the way to masterful tourbillons.

The GBCC999 Fugaku Tourbillon, in particular, underscores the demand for luxury. This work of art is Seiko's first watch with a tourbillon and has a limited run of eight watches. Inspired by Katsushika Hokusai's famous woodblock print "The Great Wave off Kanagawa", a wave of 18-karat yellow and white gold decorates the dial. The embedded tourbillon and impossibly fine engraving almost make it feel alive. A background made of traditional Japanese urushi lacquer with mother-of-pearl inlays only heightens the overall feel of the piece. The wave motif continues onto the back, where it entwines with the equally artfully refined movement. This motif also gives this watch its name: Fugaku is one of the many names for Mount Fuji.

Even the caliber 6830, designed especially for the Fugaku Tourbillon, is a technical masterpiece. With a thickness of only 3.8 mm and a 25.6-mm diameter, it is one of the world's smallest tourbillons. This extremely compact construction allows the 43-mm platinum case plus a bezel studded with 43 blue sapphires to have a thickness of only 8.8 mm. A crocodile leather strap completes the watch. Be prepared to spend around 460,000 USD for one of these masterpieces.

The models GBLS998 and GBLQ998 with a minute repeater or Sonnerie, respectively, are also extraordinary since they can indicate the time acoustically. Calibers with Seiko's Spring Drive technology run inside the 42.8-mm, 18-karat pink gold cases of these watches. This innovative technology makes it possible to have mechanical automatic movements that run with the precision of a quartz movement. Since Seiko decided against giving these watches a dial and constructed the case back out of sapphire glass, these technical marvels are easy to recognize.

Both watches also indicate the time using chimes. The GBLS998 model with the caliber 7R11 does so in the style of a minute repeater. When you press a small button on the left side of the case, the chiming mechanism first relays the hours, then the 10 minutes, and finishes with any additional minutes. A Credor Spring Drive Minute Repeater GBLS998 costs approximately 320,000 USD.

On the other hand, the caliber 7T06 ticks inside the model GBLQ998, making it a watch with Sonnerie. As opposed to its sister with minute repetition, this watch sounds at regular intervals without the wearer having to trigger the chiming mechanism. You can choose whether the GBLQ998 chimes every hour, every 3 hours, or not at all. You'll have to set aside nearly 400,000 USD to purchase a Credor Spring Drive Sonnerie GBLQ998.

Seiko decided on a straightforward, minimalist design for the Credor Eichi II GBLT999 introduced in 2014. This 39-mm platinum watch with three hands and hand-painted, white porcelain dial is highly reminiscent of the Philippe Dufour Simplicity . Its elegant feel is amplified by the hands' smooth movements provided by the Spring Drive caliber 7R14. Its power reserve display is located on the reverse side under a sapphire glass case back. Only 20 Eichi II watches are produced each year. This makes it a relatively rare watch to come by. The price for an EIchi II watch is around 53,000 USD.

In addition to the previously mentioned models, Credor also includes an entire line of watches for under 10,000 euros. For example, the stainless steel, 38-mm GCLP993 and GCLP995 powered by the Spring Drive caliber 7R87. This caliber not only allows the hands to glide over the dial, but also allows for a power reserve display at 10 o'clock and an outsize date at 5 o'clock. A GCLP993 with a leather band costs around 7,500 euros, while a GCLP995 with a stainless steel bracelet costs about 7,900 euros.

Seiko have also thought of women in the Credor collection. An example is the GTTE548. This women's watch is limited to 30 examples and is made of 18-karat gold. The dial of this two-hand watch features a miniature Cupid made of mammoth ivory as well as four diamonds. It is priced around 15,000 euros.