Seiko & Citizen were in strong competition in the 1950s and 1960s and the finest of all Japanese watches in the late 1950s was the Citizen Super Deluxe (right): characteristic and multi-faceted 35mm-case (usually in 14k-goldplated & rarely in solid 18K-gold). Raised logo and applied multi-faceted indexes with a double-index at 12 o*clock and more-faceted indexes at 3, 6 and 9 o'clock for better orientation. Dauphine hands (bowed at the end and faceted as well) moved by a "Specially Adjusted" 25-jewels movement of high class. It was presented in August 1958 and sold for JPY13'500 in the 14K-gold-plated version and JPY33'000 in the top-version in 18K-gold.

In the following year (1959) Seiko engaged Taro Tanaka, a young designer who pointed to the relevance of a balanced and characteristic design, coded in the "Grammar of Design" / "Seiko Design". And it was more than a year later (December 1960) when Seiko presented what they called the 1st Grand Seiko (left). A characteristic and multi-faceted 35mm-case (usually in 14k-goldplated & rarely in solid platinum). Raised logo and applied multi-faceted indexes with a double-index at 12 o*clock and more-faceted indexes at 3, 6 and 9 o'clock for better orientation. Dauphine hands (bowed at the end and faceted as well) moved by a "Chronometer Certified" 25-jewels movement of high class. It was presented in December 1960 and sold for JPY21'000.

The 1st Grand Seiko J14070 (left) is a grail-watch for many and for a reason, yes. But it seems plausible that we see its ancestor in the Citizen Super Deluxe (right), that seemed to be the biggest inspiration for Tanaka & the "Seiko Design".