Seiko to open on new Bond Street, two-storey shop will be a world first

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jul 1, 2022

Seiko UK is to open a boutique on London’s premier luxury-focused shopping thoroughfare, New Bond Street, this autumn. And it will be a key move for the Japanese watchmaker as it will be its first two-storey location globally.

The layout will allow it to present both its Seiko and luxury Grand Seiko collections in the same store, but with dedicated showrooms for each. 

And there will be a separate private lounge on the upper floor, which will house a display of the company’s hand-made Credor timepieces. 

The store will be at 68 New Bond Street with a façade and main entrance fronting the street and a series of large display windows that will face the covered pedestrian passage linking New Bond Street to the newly created Medici Court open-air meeting space. That also leads to Hanover Square and the Elizabeth Line’s Bond Street station. 

The boutique will host a series of events to commemorate the 140-year brand heritage. These will see “significant historical pieces on loan from the Seiko Museum, Tokyo”, as well as a preview the latest Grand Seiko ‘Kodo’ recently unveiled at Geneva’s Watches & Wonders exhibition. 

The Kodo combines a tourbillon with a constant-force mechanism within the same structure on a single axis “to achieve a superior level of stable accuracy”.

UK MD David Edwards said the opening comes at a “very exciting time for Seiko Watch Corporation globally right now, particularly Seiko and Grand Seiko in the UK & Ireland. With the new Bond Street boutique we will not only able to create distinct luxurious spaces for both brands, but also be positioned within an area of London which is rightfully globally synonymous with luxury goods”.

Landlord GPE’s Senior Portfolio Manager Sarah Goldman added: “Both the Seiko and Grand Seiko collections will strengthen our offer of premium retailers located within our world class Hanover development. The recent opening of the Elizabeth line is fantastic for the area, and we are already seeing the positive impact of improved accessibility and increased demand for units located at the northern section of New Bond Street, with luxury bridal brand including Pronovias and industry leading coffee maker, WatchHouse both preparing to open their latest stores this summer, now alongside Seiko UK later this year – all set to join luxury Italian menswear brand, Canali and the only florist to hold a Royal warrant, Moyses Stevens.”