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Credor is a brand that even after several years of writing about watches professionally still feels truly exotic and mysterious to me. Most brands, even those at the very high end, are fairly easy to peg once you spend some time with the watches and do all the research that comes along with learning about these things. But Credor is so rare in the United States, and so niche in terms of its appeal, it’s a brand that has eluded me even as it fascinates me. It’s also feels in some ways like it’s multiple brands in one. They make the most complicated and extravagant watches under the very large Seiko umbrella, but an alert set for “Credor” on WatchRecon returns endless affordable and quite beautiful quartz dress watches, along with the odd contemporary Spring Drive powered piece. All made, of course, for the Japanese market.
Last week, Credor introduced a watch that will probably not be seen in my WatchRecon alerts anytime soon, sitting at the opposite end of the spectrum from those affordable dressy pieces. The new reference is GBCF999 and is part of the Goldfeather collection, a series of very refined dress pieces that explore a variety of decorative arts in watchmaking. The Goldfeather Tourbillon, as it’s officially known, is the first time a tourbillon has been featured in the collection, and the watch also incorporates a number of other advancements in decoration and iterations to the Goldfeather case design.
We have to start, of course, with the dial, which is crafted with a variety of urushi lacquer techniques. The design is a jet-black backdrop with decorative flying birds in bright colors that seem to fly out of the tourbillon cage at 9:00. The birds are created with the Japanese raden technique, which involves inlaying mother of pearl in a variety of colors into the lacquer dial. The goal here is to create a contrast between deep black lacquer and the shimmering mother of pearl. The kirikane technique is also used on the dial, which is the craft of cutting fine lines of gold plate and applying them to the lacquer surface. Around the tourbillon cage, the gold flecks surrounding it are applied with the maki-e technique, which sprinkles gold powder into the lacquer.
The dial is spectacular, and exists as a kind of tour of Japanese craft as it relates to lacquer, and it’s not let down at all by the movement. Caliber 6850, a brand new movement in the Credor family, has a decorative design that’s equally evocative, and similarly inspired by birds. The bridges are hand engraved with tools of varying sizes to provide depth and texture, and the raden and maki-e techniques are used here as well on the outer “feather” of the caliber.
The case, in solid platinum, is also a new creation for this watch. It measures 38.6mm in diameter and is 8.6mm tall. The midcase, lugs, and caseback are crafted from a single piece of platinum – there are no screws on this watch. The goal here, according to the brand, was to create an appealing silhouette that is streamlined and – literally – seamless. Credor notes that the case is hand polished, which given the level of craft present elsewhere should come as no surprise.
This is the kind of release that really makes me smile when I see it hit my inbox. It’s wildly opulent and over the top, but serves as a great reminder that there are so many approaches to watchmaking, including ones that are purely artistic and craft focused. And while you don’t have to spend €190,000 (the retail price for this limited edition of ten pieces) to enjoy a watch that has elements of handcraft associated with it, it’s fun to see what a brand like Credor can come up with without any real limitations. Credor
