1969 Grand Seiko HI-Beat (Ref. 4520-7000) Blue Dial

Fans of Seiko have almost certainly heard the fascinating story of inter-company competition between King Seiko and Grand Seiko during the 1960s and 1970s. Back then, Seiko had two separate factories creating its watches, with Grand Seiko produced at the Suwa factory and King Seiko produced by the Daini factory. Seiko’s objective behind having its two factories compete against each other was to promote progress through competition, with the end goal of building the best timepieces possible.

Of course, while King Seiko put out some amazing and insanely cool watches in the 14-ish years they were producing, Grand Seiko ultimately won out the competition and has gone on to be the crowning jewel in the Seiko portfolio. And with pieces like the 4520-7000, part of the famed 45GS family, it's little wonder why. Taro Tanaka's "Grammar of Design" is alive and well here – just look at the angles and incredible polishing on the case. And that deep, inky blue dial is just begging to be stared at, regardless of what time it is. It also features a fantastic “Hi-Beat” movement, which refers to the manually-wound cal. 4520, which beats at a frequency of 36,000bph and offers truly remarkable precision.