Japanese movement

Grand Seiko continues its yearlong celebration of the first Grand Seiko collection it debuted six decades ago with a new Heritage Collection Automatic Limited Edition powered by automatic Caliber 9S65, the impressive technical upgrade of the Caliber 9S55.

Grand Seiko Heritage Collection Automatic Limited Edition

The dial and layout of the steel-cased watch echoes the 60^th anniversary models presented earlier this year, with their blue dials and historically referenced hands and markers. Here, however, Grand Seiko adds a standard-beat automatic model to the anniversary lineup (the previously announced example features a Hi-Beat 36000 caliber).

Caliber 9S65 beats at a more traditional 28,800 bph and delivers a power reserve of 72 hours and a precision rate of +5 to –3 seconds a day.

Oxidation blue

The automatic caliber here is also marked on its visible rotor with a special shimmering blue color, created using an oxidation process that both echoes the blue dial and is meant to mirror light seen in the morning through the windows of the new Grand Seiko’s Shizukuishi and Shinshu studios.

Grand Seiko has applied the blue hue to the titanium sections of the oscillating weight, adding anniversary text and date and the Grand Seiko logo. All of this, framed in a red ring (to recall the “red of the morning sun”) is visible through the watch’s sapphire crystal caseback.

Caliber 9S65. Grand Seiko has significantly enhanced the basic performance of this caliber, and has also redesigned the way in which the oscillating weight winds the mainspring.

This new Grand Seiko Heritage Collection Automatic Limited Edition watch is offered as limited edition of 2,500. Price: $5,200.

Specifications: Grand Seiko Heritage Collection Automatic Limited Edition (SBGR321)

Movement: Caliber 9S65, 28,800 vibrations per hour (8 beats per second) Accuracy (mean daily rate): +5 to –3 seconds per day. Power reserve: 72 hours.

Dial: Blue with date and red-tipped seconds hand.

Case: 40mm by 13mm steel case and bracelet, sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating, see-through screw case back, rotor with blue color and grand Seiko lion logo, screw-down crown.  Water resistance to 100 meters. Magnetic resistance: 4,800 A/m

Bracelet: Three-fold steel clasp with push button release.

Price: $5,200 (Limited edition of 2,500)

Casio’s Edifice collection gets an update in August when Casio America adds this EFR571DB-1A1 to its online and in-store offerings. The new model carries on the overall look of the existing EQB-500 and ECB-900 families, but adds a few new, dressier stylistic edges.

The collection’s sporty, racing-focused functionality is still here, but compared to its predecessors specifically within the 570 EFR series, this model offers far fewer seconds and split-seconds markers, resulting in a significantly cleaner dial and clearer tachymeter bezel.

With the new dial and bezel treatment Casio retains all the features you’d expect within this Edifice series: chronograph, second timezone and protected steel crown.

With the collection’s 44mm steel case size, the new Edifice EFR571DB-1A1 also offers a silver stainless-steel band, black dial with red accents and an ion-plated bezel.

For the new model, Edifice moves the subdials, with the 24-hour indicator now at the 12 o’clock position and the two chronograph timing subdials at the 9 o’clock (minutes) and 6 o’clock position (seconds).

Additional features include water resistance to 100 meters, low-battery alert and a three-year battery life.

Look for the Edifice EFR571DB-1A1 in August at select retailers nationwide, as well as on Casio.com. Price: $140.

Grand Seiko Adds to 60th Anniversary Celebration

Casio Updates Edifice

Rolex Lands On The “Moon”

Chopard Returns to Mille Miglia

Hublot Sponsors Two Teams at Regatta