Dubai: Japanese watchmaker Seiko is winding up for an assault on the luxury end of the market. Long regarded as the archetypal mid-market brand, Seiko believes it has got the timing right with the new strategy.

To this end, a new boutique has opened in Dubai, which will retail timepieces with a price tag as high as Dh44,000. This surely is a pricing spectrum far removed from Seiko’s traditional comfort zone of Dh1,000 and over.

“We would like to go to the upper price range because it is here we can offer watches that are truly unique … with our own technologies like Spring Drive, GPS Solar, Kinetic and premium mechanical,” said Shunji Tanaka, Senior Vice-President — Sales & Marketing. ”The boutique is a showcase of Seiko’s craftsmanship and technologies in watchmaking, and features some select Grand Seiko and Astron models exclusively available only in the boutique.”

The Grand Seiko collection sells for between Dh18,000-Dh44,000, while Astron is around Dh9,000. The pieces are all made in Japan.

But will just stretching the price range ensure Seiko is taken as seriously as the Swiss labels in the premium space? More so when the Swiss competition have had traditions stretching back to centuries?

Tanaka believes Seiko can bridge the perception gaps and bring in a new set of buyers along with that. “We share with the leading Swiss brands a respect for tradition and quality, and we both want a watch to remain a valued object to which consumers aspire,” he added. “Seiko boutiques are real windows into the Seiko world.

“As we add to our network of 68 boutiques, our customers are able to experience the rich appeal of the Seiko universe in a new and engaging way.”

The next step would be a second boutique in Dubai, most likely at the Dubai Mall or Mall of the Emirates.

But there are some trends that Seiko will not be synching with. That means staying way from going the “smart” way, at least for now.

“Seiko is a traditional watchmaker, and our customers want every Seiko watch to be a long-life, self-sustaining product that needs no external energy input,” Tanaka said. “We don’t want to make any watch that is not true to our values, but we are listening carefully to the market. If we decide to enter this market, we have the skills to do it in a uniquely Seiko way.”