Seiko Baselworld

[bondtoys]

Originally Posted by GB-man

Crap it looks pretty damn good in this shot from Hodinkee.

That‘s exactly what I thought.
I really wanted to hate that design from the pics.... as usual, they look much better on the wrist

[Txkill]

Originally Posted by bondtoys

That‘s exactly what I thought.
I really wanted to hate that design from the pics.... as usual, they look much better on the wrist

That watch is absolutely cool. The dial makes it with a black bezel! Sick.

[Travelller]

Originally Posted by Fleetlord

...where is all fell apart was the crown ...
Rolex crowns are perfect. They unscrew and screwdown with no effort or drama. Twin or Triplock, it doesn't matter. Smooth and they alway thread confidently and easily when screwing them back down ... The GS (and other GS I have tried) Not even close. They are gritty, hard to seat and feel like they are moments away from cross threading and stripping out...

I hear ya. Seating my SLA025's crown-stem is a royal pain... once seated, threading is as smooth as my Rolexes. I even sent it in for service but the Tokyo SC said it was fine ... On the the other hand, my SBDX001, SLA017 & SBGA125 all seat fine. So a hit n miss as you and I are not the only ones that reported issues.

Originally Posted by pickettt

Grand Seiko will never have the reputation (deserved or not) of Rolex. That being said, Rolex can’t (or won’t) match the quality of Grand Seiko’s WATCHES. That’s what it’s supposed to be about, right? The watches?

I own both and cannot come to that conclusion. I think they both deliver high-quality products. If interested, click on any of the watches in my Sig. for a review. My 126600 is king of the hill for now

Originally Posted by Styles Bitchley

I think the point is that the special editions aren’t dramatically superior in movement and finish etc. We’re talking prices that are more than 10x what a typical turtle sells for. Is it 10x the watch? I don’t think so. It just feels like gimmicky marketing to me. Don’t get me wrong, I still want one!

I agree with you apart from the 10x factor. A perfect comparison is the newer MM300s (SLA021) vs. the SLA033. Both use the same exact 8L35 mvmt, sapphire crystal, etc. So technically they should be equally priced but the SLA033 is easily $1K more retail.

Originally Posted by Locust

And just fyi. The sla017 was $3,250 US. The sla025 was around $5k. So the sla033 is right in the middle. $4250 too expensive. Should’ve been closer to the sla017 price. But it’s pretty dang sweet looking on the wrist.

IMO, they should have asked maybe $300~$500 more than they did for the SLA017 due to the two-year difference and changes in the general market pricing. Instead, it's $1K more for no good reason...

Originally Posted by bondtoys

As for pricing of the new LX models, I am reading the following on another forum which sums it up pretty well imo

>>From a price perspective, I suppose the question is whether you see these as expensive Prospexes, or conversely, much more affordable Grand Seiko SBGA231s. When compared to the latter, which has a virtually identical movement and a similar titanium case, they're all over a thousand dollars more affordable, and in some cases, two thousand<<

However, I am not sure, if the SD movements are the GS variant or the cheaper Seiko version.

I have the SNR029 on my radar But man, the price-tag is a real eye-opener! The 5R65 has been used for many ~ $4K Seikos whereas the 9R65 is the next-level SDs used by GS. The Ti Snowflake is inching towards $6K and the SNR029 was announced at $6K... Ok, perhaps that's not fair, so let's take the SBGA231 (Ti diver) - $7K. I understand the SBGA231's braclet is no better (functionally) than that of the SBDX017's, so essentially the extra $1K is for the movement (same accuracy, PR, but much better finish. Kind of useless in a closed caseback, though...). Having thought it through like that, the 6K price tag is not completely crazy so I guess it will come down to how it feels on my wrist. My ADs always have an SBGA231 on hand, so it should be easy enough to compare the two.

[Travelller]

Finally