Credor: The Pinnacle of Japanese Watch Industry

My personal perception of Credor

Credor is a brand that Seiko created to compete with the very best of European watches i.e. Patek Phillipe, Vacheron Constantin, Alange Sohne, etc. Grand Seiko, on the other hand, is targeting the vast market that enjoyed by Rolex, and Omega. Credor put more effort in decorating and beautification process, while Grand Seiko concentrates on its accuracy and tough built. 

History of the Credor 

In 1969, Seiko wanted to design a specially selected wrist watch series, one that was high end and made of precious metals (14/18K gold or platinum). In 1974, the series was grouped and named "SEIKO KUREDORU” ( SEIKO CRET DOR ). “ CRET D'OR “ means " the golden top” in French. The symbol of Credor is derived from the chinese word "Mountain" and symbolise the aim of reaching the summit and touches the cloud and the heaven. 

In 1978 the Credor was introduced as a high end quartz, made of gold or platinum. Not until 1996 was it introduced as a mechanical. Along with the 6S auto movement, the 4S and 8L series movements were used in the Credor mechanical line. 

Credor Phoneix Chronograph Ref: 6S78-0A30

This is my first piece of Credor. This watch was manufactured in 1999. Phoenix symbolizes "The bird that never dies". Seiko has so much confidence in this watch, which is expected to last forever. Mine is the stainless steel edition, there is also one with titanium casing. Looking at the watch, it is built with exceptional qualities and details. The casing is well polished and the watch has an anti-reflective sapphire dome crystal. 

It also has screw down crown. At the tip of the crown, is a precious stone of dark blue to black colour. I would suspect it is sapphire, but some say it's Azura stone. My Phoenix chronograph has a silver white dials with great details. The sub-dials are all surrounded with highly polished rings. The date window is with up-lied silver frame to make it easier to see. The stopper watch hand was painted red to make the dial more attractive. The best part of its look is the case back; which has a very fine engraving of a phoenix.

The heart of this chronograph is 6S78 movement which is a 34 jewels automatic chronograph with date function. This movement has an amplitude of 28800 bph; it hacks and can be manual winded. 6S78 movement is keeping great time.

At 7.2mm thick and 28.4mm in diameter it is a robust movement. The 6S78 movement is finished with brushing on the plates and colimaconnage (“pattern of radiating lines”) on the rotors, and the manual-winding is finished with Tokyo Stripes. The whole movement is gold-plated to give it a more stunning look. 

In conclusion, this Credor Phoenix Chronograph is money worth paying for and it certainly is in the class to compete with the best of the best.