Seiko

PuristSPro (watchprosite) is honoured to bring you images and stories from the grand opening of the London Seiko Boutique on 11 August 2017.

Location

57 Brompton Road, London

The Seiko Boutique at 57, Brompton Road in Knightsbridge welcomes customers to experience the finest collections of Seiko and Grand Seiko timepieces in the UK.

Knightsbridge

It is only steps away from the famous Harrods Department Store and between two exits of the Knightsbridge Underground station.

Harrods

Seiko Boutique

The boutique, spread over two floors, reflects the unique identities of the Seiko and Grand Seiko brands.

Visitors can see the best of Seiko, including the Astron GPS Solar, Presage, Prospex and Premier collections.

Seiko Boutique

Alongside Seiko, the full international collection of the luxury Grand Seiko brand is presented for the first time in the UK.




Seiko Boutique




Seiko Boutique




Credor

Selected masterpieces from the luxury Credor collection were on show, including the celebrated hand-made Eichi, Minute Repeater and Fugaku Tourbillon creations that have, until now, never been shown in the UK. These and other Credor timepieces are part of a worldwide exhibition touring the leading Seiko Boutiques in Europe, Asia and the USA.

Koto

To the soft strains of a Japanese Koto, artists were on hand to write your name in ink-brush calligraphy and watchmakers showed the intricacies of watch movements.

Brush Calligraphy

Watchmakers

Guests

Guests included Mr Shuji Takahashi (President, Seiko Watch Corporation), Ms Kiyoko Niwasaki (SVP Public Relations), Mrs Tsuruoka and His Excellency, Koji Tsuruoka, Japanese Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Court of St. James in the United Kingdom.

Mr Shuji Takahashi, Ms Kiyoko Niwasaki, Mrs Tsuruoka and His Excellency, Koji Tsuruoka

Rob Wilson

Robert Wilson, Marketing Director at Seiko UK acted as Master of Ceremonies and introduced Seiko Watch Corporation President and C.O.O. Shuji Takahashi who explained that despite opening their first European boutique in 2004 and having 76 worldwide stores, Seiko has been disappointed not to have a London boutique as planned from the start because no suitable location could be secured.

Shuji Takahashi

"We are here tonight because we have not only found the perfect place for our London boutique but we have also found the venue to launch our Global Flagship Store. London is a huge international city and attracts people with taste from all over the world and is the perfect global showcase for our brand. There are three main objectives for this boutique:

1. Showcase the very best products that we make including Grand Seiko and Credor watches such as our unique Eichi minute repeater and Fugaku Tourbillon.
2. Play a pivotal role in the development of Grand Seiko in Europe; it will show one of the largest collections of Grand Seiko in the world.
3. Be a place where everyone - journalist, Seiko fans, watch collectors - can come to meet and talk to watch professionals.

In every city where we opened a boutique, it has helped the prestige of our brand and our retail partners know this. I'm sure this will be even more so with a new flagship store in London. Your presence has made this a very special occasion for me and Seiko."

Kagami Biraki

Sake barrel

Instead of a ribbon-cutting, the honoured guests joined Mr Kinya Iwami, Managing Director for Seiko UK Ltd in the 'Kagami Biraki' (鏡開き) Japanese traditional ceremony which literally translates to "Opening the Mirror" by cracking the lid of a sake barrel.

Kagami Biraki




Kagami Biraki




Kagami Biraki

Opened




Sake Cup

We had to drink out of a cedar wood cup for good luck and got to keep it as well.

Ambassador Tsuruoka's Grand Seiko

His Excellency Ambassador Tsuruoka congratulated Seiko and showed his Grand Seiko watch; a gift from his wife that brought good luck because he was appointed to the Court of St. James afterwards. Ambassador Tsuruoka led the toast.

Toast

Takahashi, Tsuruoka and Ross

Jonathan Ross O.B.E., British television and radio presenter, film critic, actor and comedian showed off his first Grand Seiko watch.

Known for 'Japanorama' - a series of 18 documentaries exploring various facets of popular culture and trends of modern-day Japan, Jonathan was happy to regale all with his snapshots of Japan.

Jonathan's first Grand Seiko




Check my snapshots




Guests

First Sale

The boutique had been open unofficially  for a few days so some watches had been sold to business partners and friends.

However, at the Official Opening Ceremony of 'Kagami Biraki', this Seiko Presage Automatic watch was purchased by one of the guests that evening......

First Seiko watch purchased at Grand Opening

Photos and Text by Dr Melvyn Teillol-Foo

One thing though:

Seiko know this but after taking 13 years to find a good location since being forced to open a Seiko Boutique in Paris instead of London, you can understand why this is a GLOBAL FLAGSHIP STORE and not just a Grand Seiko Boutique

That means it can showcase even HIGHER brands than Grand Seiko in the Seiko portfolio like Galante and Credor.

However, more than half the floor space is devoted to Grand Seiko at the London Boutique. (Not just a corner)

This could not be illustrated on Opening Night as it was too crowded to photograph 

Regards,

MTF

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Promote better product differentiation

Thanks for the report, MTF!

MTF

and what looks like a genuinely excellent location for them. Love the store design and even the store next door (Porsche Design) is, I think, highly complementary (read aiming at a mutual demographic). Thank you very much for posting this, I would certainly love to pay a visit! Cheers, Filip

From Seiko Prestige, all the way up to hand-made Credor, the range is wide but the attention to detail is the same.

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Hugs 🤗 and Kisses 😘
MTF

Must visit during my next trip to London

If you are going to Harrods anyway, the Seiko Global Flagship Store is only a few doors 🚪 away.
Regards,
MTF

is a killer piece !

Best,
mahesh.,

Hi
Been hoping for a dedicated Seiko store in the UK for a while now.
Hope to visit when I'm next in London.
Good to know we can see a fuller range of Seiko watches too.
Cheers
JML

Here is the Grand Seiko half of the boutique.

SEIKO London Boutique

Definitely a step in the right direction for Seiko. While they may be late in London, getting an almost perfect spot (from the iconic Harrods) is the right thing to do. Coupled with this formal boutique launch, Seiko will definitely be a bigger brand now. Congrats to Seiko! Will definitely drop by the store when the opportunities come.

Greenwatch,

Thanks for the report. Much larger boutique than the Frankfurter one.

NT 

The choice of location is first based on "fit for use". By that I mean that it's about Location Location Location.

The new London boutique is exactly where it has to be on the Brompton Road in Knightsbridge., a few steps from Harrods. The convenient Knightsbridge Tube station has two exits and Seiko Boutique is between them so either will do. The variety(global visitors) and volume of foot traffic is huge and the association with accessible luxury on that road fits with Seiko demographics.

Unlike New Bond Street, which is also loaded with luxury brands, Knightsbridge gave opportunity for a lease.

The size of retail space is a moveable feast as you can always locate the unseen departments in the back rooms or upstairs. Or expand the retail space.

The clean lines of Seiko retail space design motifs demand a bit more space than usual because in Japan, empty space is associated with luxury. if you go into a top hotel, you are usually puzzled, at first, by the vastness of emptiness.  Until you realise that Space is Power.

Mandarin Oriental Hotel Tokyo Lobby

Obviously, as a Global Flagship Store, the Seiko London Boutique must have sufficient space to showcase a larger range of product than usual.

As the city ranked 4th for number of billionaires, and where visitors are really free to spend their money (unlike some cities), London is adjudged worthy of having a large Seiko store.

As Seiko President Takahashi said, "London abounds with people of taste..." so the ambience of London is about refined appreciation of the finer things like fashion, haute couture, food, culture etc. These things fit with Seiko's tag-line:

“Fine Mechanical Watchmaking. From Japan.” 

The boutique size is thus, related to the prestige of the location as well as the traffic volume and quality of the clientele.

Regards,

MTF

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