Takuma Kawauchiya is designated as a Contemporary Master Craftsman.
Seiko Watch Corporation is delighted to announce that watchmaker and movement designer Takuma Kawauchiya has been awarded this year’s title of Contemporary Master Craftsman, an honor the Japanese government bestows upon those who demonstrate outstanding skill and leadership in their field. The award has been given in recognition of his distinguished skills in both designing and assembling the highly complicated mechanical movement that pushed back the boundaries of Japanese watchmaking.
Kawauchiya designed Grand Seiko’s first mechanical complication, the Grand Seiko Kodo Constant-force Tourbillon. At its heart is a uniquely innovative movement that achieves increased transmission efficiency and delivers a high level of stable accuracy by combining a tourbillon and a constant-force mechanism as one unit on a single axis for the very first time in horological history. The watch won the Chronometry Prize, which rewards the best competing timepiece for its high-precision timekeeping performance, at the 2022 installment of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève, the watch industry’s leading awards competition.
Kawauchiya not only designed this movement, which comprises more than 340 components, but he is also in charge of its assembly. This highly complicated mechanical movement’s assembly requires outstanding skill and technique of the highest order, and Kawauchiya makes fine adjustments with a precision of 1/100th to 2/100ths of a millimeter.
“I am thrilled and very proud to receive this honor,” said Kawauchiya. “There were many challenges in the Kodo development process, and the creation of this watch could not have been achieved without the support of my team members. In receiving this award, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to them. In recent years, I feel that it has become increasingly important to enhance the emotional value of a watch. I believe that while Japanese watches have been appreciated for their functional values, we can further elevate them by focusing on the sensory values of our timepieces. I will continue to work even harder to contribute to and stimulate the Japanese watch industry. “
Takuma Kawauchiya, Watchmaker and Movement Designer
| 2010: | Joined Seiko Instruments Inc., assigned to R&D of mechanical watches. |
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| 2019: | Transferred to Seiko Watch Corporation, placed in charge of the development of new products at the Movement Design & Engineering Division. |
| 2022: | Received the Chiba Prefecture Outstanding Technician Award. |
For details of Grand Seiko Kodo Constant-force Tourbillon: https://www.grand-seiko.com/uk-en/news/20220330-1
