Grand Seiko, worth buying?

[dman]

Very nice pickup Sam!! We need to get together for lunch real soon mate. Me you and Chip, need to do so for sure!! I actually may be heading south to Longhorn country after the new year.

[montecristo]

Originally Posted by Sam

All of the spring drive models are up on www.seikospringdrive.com

The Grand Seikos are just as nice...they are just your standard mechanical movement vs spring drive. If that's the one you like, I wouldn't hesitate to buy it. How much are you looking to pay? I wouldn't pay anywhere near list price. I paid less that 50% of list price for mine.

Less than 50% off list? I will try that, but doubt I can shave much off ordering it from Japan. I personally prefer the Japanese models as they are more unique as compared to the spring drive ones in the link.

Just noticed there is a price list from the dealer along with the catalog they sent me. The diver watch is 250000 yen, about 2k and 220000 yen for the SS GS. So I guess I don't have to pay retail for those. I also noticed that they barely offered any discount on the GS models, maybe I should check a few more places.

I am thinking about just picking up the dateday and diver instead of the 18k one.

Thanks for the tip. Can't wait until I get my hands on that spring drive diver, As for the GS, I just want to buy another seiko. I have a seiko 5 thats been with me for years that I picked up for about 40 bucks and its still ticking away pretty accruately, something about seiko simply intrigues me. Its kinda like buying a toyota for its quality, but when you have some extra cash laying around, you'd upgrade yourself to their lexus with all the bells and whistles.

[Sam]

I think if you're ordering from Japan, you're going to be stuck paying list...or close to it. The best deal would be to find one on a sales corner and let the original owner take the big hit.

Mine's a long story...check your PM.

[roadcarver]

Exactly what I thought as well. Wow!!!

Originally Posted by Sam

That's exactly what I thought....those old electric clocks in school.

[roadcarver]

I like this one.. http://forums.timezone.com/index.php...=1276772&rid=0

[montecristo]

Originally Posted by roadcarver

I like this one.. http://forums.timezone.com/index.php...=1276772&rid=0

Thanks for posting that review, I guess I am going to skip this diver as well since I prefer the weight of SS instead of those wimpy titanium ones.

Its decided, I am getting the SS GS + PS3

[rusi]

Hi, Recently saw a King Seiko, i think its similar to the Grand Seiko. A repairer friend had it ,it was for USD 250, old used peice, very simple, DD, silver dial,& had KS on the dial just as GS.
He told me that these movts. were very accurate & beats I think 36000 vph.
One would feel from far its just another cheap seiko.

[padi56]

Originally Posted by Sam

All of the spring drive models are up on www.seikospringdrive.com

The Grand Seikos are just as nice...they are just your standard mechanical movement vs spring drive. If that's the one you like, I wouldn't hesitate to buy it. How much are you looking to pay? I wouldn't pay anywhere near list price. I paid less that 50% of list price for mine.

Well Sam don't think I would say the Seiko Grand is a standard mechanical
movement.It will give many a high end Swiss or European movement a good run for there money ,and IMHO better than many of them.Check out the regulator adjuster on this one! And check the shock protection on the non-balance jewels. That's real quality!and there own movement test, to a much higher spec than the Swiss COSC,with accuracy to a few seconds a week.

Originally Posted by rusi

Hi, Recently saw a King Seiko, i think its similar to the Grand Seiko. A repairer friend had it ,it was for USD 250, old used peice, very simple, DD, silver dial,& had KS on the dial just as GS.
He told me that these movts. were very accurate & beats I think 36000 vph.
One would feel from far its just another cheap seiko.

Well Rusi cheap Seiko no such thing,value for money reliable watches yes.
There is a misunderstanding in some, that people assume Seiko equals affordable/cheap. Most are undoubtedly referring to Seiko's normally found on the street in Europe and the Americas, and they are definitely a good, fantastic, value for the money. But you can also get vintage and new high end Seiko's, which, until the advent of the Internet, were relatively unknown outside of Japan. And a few other far east Asian countries (Taiwan, HK, Singapore ETC.) "King Seiko","Grand Seiko", and "Seiko Credor", you will find in these watches that, movement and case finish wise, easily compete with the best of mass produced swiss watches, i.e. Omega, Rolex, etc. As for style… well, that is in the eye of the beholder. At best they can be considered very conservative. But it really depends which movements,and watches you are comparing to. One true thing the swiss, had to abandon the yearly chronometer competitions as the Japanese started to wipe the floor with them,they were that good.What this all boils down to is: Seiko makes some truly outstanding products, and some value for money ones, just like many other companies. If you want to buy one, you should, by all means do it. Because IMHO their bang-for-the-pound-factor is bloody amazing, at both ends of the spectrum.

Originally Posted by padi56

Well Sam don't think I would say the Seiko Grand is a standard mechanical
movement.It will give many a high end Swiss or European movement a good run for there money ,and IMHO better than many of them.Check out the regulator adjuster on this one! And check the shock protection on the non-balance jewels. That's real quality!and there own movement test, to a much higher spec than the Swiss COSC,with accuracy to a few seconds a week.





Well Rusi cheap Seiko no such thing,value for money reliable watches yes.
There is a misunderstanding in some, that people assume Seiko equals affordable/cheap. Most are undoubtedly referring to Seiko's normally found on the street in Europe and the Americas, and they are definitely a good, fantastic, value for the money. But you can also get vintage and new high end Seiko's, which, until the advent of the Internet, were relatively unknown outside of Japan. And a few other far east Asian countries (Taiwan, HK, Singapore ETC.) "King Seiko","Grand Seiko", and "Seiko Credor", you will find in these watches that, movement and case finish wise, easily compete with the best of mass produced swiss watches, i.e. Omega, Rolex, etc. As for style… well, that is in the eye of the beholder. At best they can be considered very conservative. But it really depends which movements,and watches you are comparing to. One true thing the swiss, had to abandon the yearly chronometer competitions as the Japanese started to wipe the floor with them,they were that good.What this all boils down to is: Seiko makes some truly outstanding products, and some value for money ones, just like many other companies. If you want to buy one, you should, by all means do it. Because IMHO their bang-for-the-pound-factor is bloody amazing, at both ends of the spectrum.

Great post Padi!

That regulator is quite interesting - I don't think I've ever seen one like that before!

[Sam]

Originally Posted by padi56

Well Sam don't think I would say the Seiko Grand is a standard mechanical movement.It will give many a high end Swiss or European movement a good run for there money ,and IMHO better than many of them.

I wasn't implying that Grand Seiko is crap. I just said that a Grand Seiko is a standard mechanical watch....which it is....as is Rolex, Omega, Breitling, etc. That doesn't mean it's a BAD thing. The original poster was asking questions about the Grand Seiko and Seiko Spring Drive. I never said one is better than the other. The Grand Seiko's (other than GS Spring Drives) function like a typical mechanical watch vs the Spring Drive which has a completely different technology with the quartz crystal and tri syncro regulator.

I agree the Grand Seikos are up there with some of the high end Swiss watches.

[kiya]

I need a Grand Seiko..
And to be honest, i think the GS just derailed me getting another Rolex.
Any US based sites have a current model list?

[BiG JeEzY]

Hey there fellow San Franciscan!

I love Seiko watches as well and I can understand why it can derail you from purchasing another Rolex. The line that really made me gain more respect for Seiko is their "Spring Drive" line of models, they are very impressive models indeed.

Well I don't have knowledge of any websites that you're looking for but heres a pic of a Grand Seiko to look at while waiting for somebody else who knows more than me to make a post. This resembles that of the back dial Explorer II.

[904L_addict]

I'll chime in. Try this one for the GS lineup:

http://www.seiko-watch.co.jp/gs/lineup/index.html

[TARDIS]

Grand Seiko is nice.

Sort of like a Lexus. Very well made with not a marque on it.

I wouldn't be buying one for personal reasons on how I feel about the land of the rising sun right now. 'nuff said.

[904L_addict]

Steve:
I too have reservations about japan, but they make some fine watches.
I didn't truly appreciate my Grand Seiko until I looked at it under magnification.
Holy s***! The finish on the hands and indices is unreal. Highly polished beveled edges contrasting with some of the most precise satin grain I've ever seen. Under the same magnification my GMTIIC showed thin spots and some overall slop in lume. Still love it though.
I'd never buy a lexus, but I'd buy another GS.

[vukotab]

Grand Seiko is superb watch,you can`t go wrong if you buy it.I would buy it in a heartbeat if I only could(there`s no either Grand Seiko or Spring Drive in Serbia,yet).

[nethskie]

Yeah GS is only available in Japan you might need to check with reliable Japanese dealers like Seiya-san www.seiyajapan.com or Higuchi-san www.higuchi-inc.com. after checking for some GS models using the internet i saw this 72 Hour Automatic Grand Seiko it's stunning and Limited to 200 models only.

Grand Seiko Automatic SBGL003


i also saw this Grand Seiko Spring Drive Divers



and also this complicated GS model the SBGC004



also the SBGC003 in action!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4s2_gjSy8yU

more here

http://www.seiko-watch.co.jp/gs/lineup/

[stuttgart]

GS quality is really not bad even compare to Datejust...