The first Grand Seiko, launched in 1960 as reference J14070 and known to collectors as “The First”, was made to prove that a Japanese watch could match Swiss precision. It has a 35 mm round case in 14K gold-filled metal (80 microns of gold), a creamy white dial with dauphine hands, crisp applied markers, the word “Chronometer” under the logo and “Diashock 24 Jewels” at 6 o’clock. Inside is the hand-wound calibre 3180, catalogued with 25 jewels, beating at 18,000 vibrations per hour, with a power reserve of 45 hours and an accuracy of +12/-3 seconds per day. The 3180 was the first Japanese calibre to meet the standard of excellence of the Bureaux Officiels de Contrôle de la Marche des Montres, the Swiss chronometer testing authority, which is why it matters.

The reference was produced for about three years, from 1960 to 1963 according to Phillips, before the line moved on to the updated 57GS in the mid-1960s; the calibre was later renamed 5720. Variations exist, notably the “raised logo” dial. The design of the first watch became the template that Grand Seiko keeps returning to: more than a dozen later reissues follow it, though none carry the “Chronometer” text under the logo. The 2024 SBGW314, for example, is a limited edition of 50 pieces in 38 mm 18k rose gold with a navy dial and the hand-wound calibre 9S64, offering a 72-hour power reserve and +5/-3 seconds per day.

Collectors treat the first Grand Seiko as the foundation of the brand, and the many reissues show how central the design remains. Phillips notes that sharply defined lugs are rare on watches of this age, so well-preserved cases and clean dials are what collectors look for. At Phillips Geneva in November 2022, a raised-logo J14070 with sharply defined lugs and its presentation box, estimated at CHF 5,000 to 10,000, sold for CHF 20,160. The original reference is no longer produced; Grand Seiko continues to honour it with reissues such as the SBGW314.