Grand Seiko’s Stunning Titanium Skeleton Watch Benefits A Worthy Cause

The striking Grand Seiko Kodo SLGT001 is being auctioned off to benefit the Children’s Heart Foundation.

For the first time since the Grand Seiko’s launch in the 1960s, the upscale Japanese watchmaker has launched its first mechanical complication. And it’s being auctioned for good cause with a clever tie-in.

The Grand Seiko “Kodo” SLGT001 employs a final version of the T0 Constant-Force Tourbillon concept movement, which incorporates a constant-force mechanism and a gravity-counteracting tourbillon into one unit on a single axis.

To ensure all 340 components of the production Caliber 9ST1 function perfectly, it was tested in six positions at three temperatures for 48 hours—twice as long as Grand Seiko requires for its other watches.

Aside from the complication, there are several other one-of-a-kind features, including a case made entirely out of “Brilliant Hard Titanium,” a material that’s previously only been used for portions of other Grand Seiko watches.

The bridges, mainplate, and many of the movement’s components are plated in silver, while the power reserve and seconds track of the six-arm tourbillon carriage are yellow gold. The tourbillon carriage itself is made from blued Brilliant Hard Titanium.

The watch is presented with a brown calf strap hand-painted with Urushi lacquer for a multi-layer sheen and a GS-emblazoned clasp that’s hand-engraved.

The sole Grand Seiko “Kodo” SLT001—named for the Japanese word for “heartbeat”—is being auctioned by Phillips, with a portion of proceeds going to the Children’s Heart Foundation, a leader in the research and funding of congenital heart defects.

Visit Grand Seiko’s website to learn more.