Hands On: Credor Locomotive “Dawn Blue” GCCR995

Hands On: Credor Locomotive “Dawn Blue” GCCR995 More than the sum of its parts.A new day is dawning for Credor, which made its Watches & Wonders debut with the Locomotive “Dawn Blue” ref. GCCR995. Designed by Gerald Genta, the Locomotive was once the brand’s flagship sports model in the same vein as its more famous Swiss siblings, but with a quirky integrated-unintegrated bracelet. The obvious quality of the titanium case and bracelet make up for a weak spec sheet, but leave room for the Locomotive to grow alongside the newly international Credor marque. Initial thoughts The Locomotive is a great example of a watch that is more than the sum of its parts. In fact, it’s (almost) inexplicably nice for a watch with such a strange design, a mundane movement, and a micro-adjust-less pin-and-collar bracelet. While it’s cliché to say a watch looks better in person than photographs — and underestimates what a good photographer can do — I would say the Locomotive feels much better in person, like a watch of its price point should. The defining update for this edition of the Locomotive is its embossed dial, which features a repeating hexagon motif. The grooves that fill each cell are oriented at different angles, giving the dial a shimmering personality that changes with shifting light. At some angles, the dial is a uniform blue, while other angles produce an almost chequerboard-like effect. This backdrop is coated with layers of clear lacquer, enabling the Credor wordmark and (superfluous) “Automatic” text to float neatly above the three-dimensional texture. I’ve heard many people call the Locomotive ugly, and while I do love a good ugly watch — something Gerald Genta more than mastered — I don’t think the Locomotive is that. In fact, there’s a lot to like, even for collectors with more conventional, less eclectic tastes. The bracelet is one such detail. Integrated bracelets are everywhere today, as they were in the late 1970s when the Locomotive debuted. Yet the design stands out as a sort of dis-integrated bracelet. Its uniqueness, along with its Genta pedigree, make the Locomotive an ideal platform for Credor to build its identity on the world stage. And for more value-oriented collectors, there is always Credor’s other integrated bracelet line, the Kuon collection with Spring Drive movements and porcelain dials. Undiluted Genta While best known for Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak and its Genevois sibling, the Patek Philippe Nautilus, Gerald Genta designed thousands of watches for dozens of clients, including the Seiko companies. In the late 1970s, the relationship was close enough that Daini Seikosha subcontracted Genta’s company in Switzerland to make mesh bracelets for — and even case up — some models from the brand’s short-lived Acier collection. Yet, despite the hundreds of Genta-esque Seiko references, the 1978 Locomotive is the only watch confirmed by Seiko — and Genta’s own archives — as an original Genta design. Gerald Genta’s original Locomotive sketch shows plain matte black dial, though Seiko gave the final product a dramatic sunburst grey dial, which the 2024 reissue nearly replicated. The Locomotive entered regular production last year with a train signal-inspired green-hued dial that continued the hexagonal motif found elsewhere on the watch. True to form, the brand has ascribed a special meaning to the new “Dawn Blue” colour, which is said to symbolise the beginning of a bright future for Credor. Interestingly, the six large bolts that give the hexagonal bezel so much character were merely decorative on the original Locomotive. For the remake, the bezel bolts are now functional, used to clamp the watertight case together, similar to a Royal Oak. The hex-head motif continues on the screw-down crown, in lieu of the triple-pointed Credor logo, consistent with the design of the vintage original. These industrial influences contribute to a robust-looking — and feeling — watch. The original Locomotive was the only significantly water-resistant watch in the Credor catalogue, other than the similar Credor Twin Quartz models, and was rated to 100 m, which remains true today. All about the bracelet The Locomotive’s titanium bracelet is a clear step up in quality from normal Credor and Grand Seiko bracelets, even if it uses the same tri-fold clasp you’d find on a Shunbun. Like a Royal Oak, the small intermediate links sit inside a link that spans the full width of the bracelet. This seemingly impossible construction is accomplished by press-fitting a titanium pin into a slightly smaller diameter hole in the main links before grinding the side of the link smooth, making the pin almost invisible. Note the sharp inward angles where the intermediate links meet the greater links, which must have been a challenge to manufacture given the overall design of the large links. The edges of those large linked are chamfered on top, like a Grand Seiko bracelet but wider and flatter, with chamfers that continue along the sides and to the back of each link. The wrist-facing side of the bracelet is thoughtfully made too, with a rounded, almost pillow-like shape that is pleasant on the wrist and good for ventilation. The original Locomotive’s bracelet, like other high-end Seiko bracelets of the time, used single-piece screws to secure the removable links. Today, Seiko’s high-end steel bracelets use screws and floating pins, while its titanium bracelets use pins and collars. This can make the brand’s titanium bracelets fiddly to resize, but doesn’t require adhesive thread-locker and eliminates the risk of stripped threads, which is a boon to longevity. Patek Philippe has also made the switch to pins and collars for these reasons, despite the fact that many collectors still view screwed links as a marker of quality, like working cuffs on a bespoke suit. Locomotive power The movement inside, doing business as the cal. CR01, is derived from Soprod’s A10 platform, but manufactured in Japan by Seiko. It is a modest movement, with only 45 hours of going and a generous accuracy tolerance of -10 to +15 seconds per day (conceivably to avoid stepping on Grand Seiko’s toes). While at its core the cal. CR01 is functionally identical to the cal. 6L35 found in less-expensive King Seikos and Marinemasters, the Credor spec gets some refinements, including a yellow-toned finish — a Credor tradition — along with blued screws and solarisation on the barrel. Despite its ubiquity, the CR01 is appealingly slim at just 3.7 mm tall. That makes it the second-thinnest automatic movement ever used by Seiko after the discontinued cal. 4L series, on which the present calibre is based. This dimension is critical to the Locomotive’s elegant 8.9 mm-thick case. It’s worth noting there are “better” movements around this price point — some of which are the built by the same factory — but when accounting for height this movement choice makes sense. For context, Rolex’s standard automatic movements are excellent, but are also a full 6 mm thick — a dimension that would sacrifice the Locomotive’s sleek feel on the wrist. Key facts and price Seiko Credor Locomotive “Dawn Blue” CR01-00B0 Ref. GCCR995 Diameter: 38.8 mm Height: 8.9 mm Material: Grade 5 titanium Crystal: Sapphire Water resistance: 100 m Movement: Cal. CR01 Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, and date Winding: Automatic Frequency: 28,800 beats per hour (4 Hz) Power reserve: 45 hours Strap: Matching titanium bracelet Limited edition: No Availability: At select Seiko boutiques and retailers worldwide Price: US$13,200 excluding taxes For more, visit credor.com Back to top.