I've always assumed you were an under-the-desk paid Grand Seiko ambassador. You produce more content, graphics, mockups, and Instagram content than they do. That's impressive! 👍🏼

For me. I've always been interested in the history of Seiko and where they take their "higher end" offering. Especially Spring Drive and the promise to the customer of attention to detail in the Japanese way.

They have so much potential, if they can just keep their design ethos and make improvements here and there with case sizing, bracelet adjustability.

 

They have so much potential, if they can just keep their design ethos and make improvements here and there with case sizing, bracelet adjustability.

Fully agree. I feel GS have shown what they master - and it's time for them to move on. E.g. GS making a dress watch with a simple moon phase or a complication of some "romantic" sort would be next level and really appreciated.

I've always assumed you were an under-the-desk paid Grand Seiko ambassador. You produce more content, graphics, mockups, and Instagram content than they do. That's impressive!

Thanks. Now that would be nice if it was true. Sadly, I'm just a watch nerd. However, that is totally OK as I can appreciate GS craftsmanship unbiased of other means that pure watch appreciation.

 

Found GS in the early years of my addiction and acquired SBGW231, a no longer in production GS diver, a couple Wako LE's. They dropped by the wayside as I continued to experiment with other watches on the way to full aesthetic maturity. With said maturity established, have found that a few of the newer SBGW dial colors and slimmer models excite . . . .

 

Found GS in the early years of my addiction...

Lovely line-up.
SBGW235?
SBGW283?
SBGW291?
SBGW289?

 

I have 2 GS.
The sea of cloud quartz and the snow flake.

I plan to add a cherry blossom in the next year or 2. I also plan to add a diver in similar time frame.
In my opinion Grand Seiko only holds them self back. It wasn’t until I was able to go to vegas and go hands on that I knew I wanted one. If they were a bit more focused on marketing and had a larger AD representation, I think it would take off better.

fit, finish, aesthetics, accuracy, uniqueness are all reasons I went GS. I really think for a $5k GS watch, you are getting more of a $7k watch in a comparable Swiss brand. If I could have only GS going forward then id be very happy. I love all brands but it’s became my favorite.
The only thing I’d like to see change is micro adjustment ability to bracelets. I landed mine on natos instead of keeping on bracelets

 

Great stuff! GS has caught my attention lately, especially the spring drive divers. They offer an awesome alternative to the “popular” divers everyone is fighting over.
I absolutely love this particular model. Officially added to my grail list.

 

I have always liked Japanese culture, starting back in the 70s when my school set up a pen pal exchange with students in Japan. I've liked the look of GS for several years but hadn't really been spending much money on watches when my kids were younger and family responsibilities were more important. About 3 years ago I held a used GS at a local watch shop and that is when I knew I had to have one. The feel, finishing, design etc were just off the charts. GS and I share similar ideas of what is important in a watch - beauty, precision and legibility. I got my first GS a year ago -

The slga007. As soon as I saw it, I knew it was the one. I am from coastal New England and grew up on the water and the dial just feels like home. This is my favorite watch and I wear it at least once a week. I also really like the more "sporty" look of the Evo9 series.

Once I owned a GS, it was even better than I thought it would be, it exceeded expectations. It sits right next to my Submariner in the watch box and if there was a house fire and I could save only one, it would be the GS. Now I wanted a 9F quartz and a Hi-Beat and basically more GSs.

I next got the SBGP017 because the sky like dial called to me. I had also wanted something in a 44GS case. I am very happy with this watch as well. It is a little dressier than my style, but the design, accuracy and wearability are just excellent. I put it on a strap instead of the bracelet.

I still need a hi-beat and a diver and a few others, but I will enjoy what I have while I keep an eye out for what's next. I am much more likely to spend my next chunk of money on a GS than anything else at this point.

 

I guess I found out about them when I rediscovered by love of watches a few years ago. I only have one, a SBGX265. Not just having a nice watch, but actually reading the time when needed and I like the SBGX265 because the 12/9/6 are double wide markers and that makes it easier for me. I love a blue dial too. The grab and go quartz and technology/accuracy in the 9F62 are wonderful. But a GADA watch has to have lumed hands for me so I doubt I would by another GS and their lumed dive watches are too big for my wrist.

 

Cool graph. I have the sbgm221 and got it because I like the Grand Seiko aesthetic and know the overall quality is very hard to beat for the price. Their dials are stunning, the movements are nicely finished, and the winding feel of my 221 is so smooth. Both Seiko and Grand Seiko have good heritage and I enjoy the stories of GS beating the Swiss at the observatory trials. I like having a varied collection so I’m glad to have Japan represented, along with Switzerland and Germany.

However, their watches run fat. Yes, the 221 feels fine on wrist but it’s still way fatter than it should be, at 13.7 mm. That’s my fattest watch and I’ve got several divers.

I grew up in a house with shoji screens and some other bits of Japanese style, I’ve traveled to Japan, and have a few other Japanese items, like kitchen knives, so there’s a bit of a Japanophile in me.

 

GS take incremental steps towards thinness @Ced Craig. E.g. the SBGY011 (released in December 2022) with a Spring Drive (manual wind) is 10,5mm including the crystal.

 

I consider Spring Drive a whole separate category of watch, like quartz is a separate category to me.

Many of the new mechanical watch releases from GS are manual winding, not automatic and indeed are a bit thinner. Looks like 11.7mm for a manual wind mechanical is pretty standard. Compare that to my Habring2 mechanical, which is 7mm, or 40% thinner.

I’ll clarify my statement: GS mechanical watches are fat. I didn’t bother to look for the dimensions of their thinnest automatic mechanical watch, but it’s surely pretty chubby in comparison to the competition.

 

Yeah, about 2019. My AD had one or two dress watches (black dial), not my style. But as they got more variety, I got more interested.

Most GS is too dressy and to thick and/or large for me. Some of them look beautiful, but are HUGE.

But I've found some svelt ones. SBGN GMTs (quartz), 62GS cases, Evo9 cases. Those feel like they are about 10mm thick (and they are close to that in the metal, excluding the glass)
Godzilla, Snowflake, divers - big no for me personally. I want to love em, but they don't work for me.

 

Spring Drives are my preferred choice and I too always find your posts and included information very informative.

Nice job.

 

@Munkie Magik - But @drhr gave you a reference number (A00A111J0) to what clearly is a "Jubilee" bracelet and you asked for an "Oyster" bracelet.

So, @drhr - what is the reference for the "Oyster" variant (nr. 2 from the left)?

 

Oops, spot on sir. The reference I gave is actually for the BOR bracelet. The oyster bracelet ref is D37AB. I acquired only through Seiya though I see it also available at Sakura Watches. Sorry for the mistake!

 

Amazing collection you have there! Congratulations! Lately I'm watching GS brand a lot, soon I'll have to buy one too.

 

I have always liked Seiko since my Uncle brought one back from a Vietnam tour in the 1960's. I found out about the higher end and Japanese domestic models probably back in the 1990's, and I have owned a bunch of them. Then when the Grand Seikos came out I liked some of them as well. I have two high end Seikos, a Darth Tuna and a Marinemaster 300m, and I have had two GS models. The first was a Ti GMT model that I sold and the other is this one that I still own.

 

I cherish the Japanese craftsmanship. Passion for details, nature, precision. What I most love in GS are, no surpirise, their dials. They’re simply next level.

I was too late to the hobby (late 2019) to purchase SBGH267, SBGY003 or the Kiku. I was fortunate enough to purchase my favourite SBGK005 at an AD.

Now I’m waiting for my SBGY027 to arrive. I do hope it will be my beloved substitute for SBGY003.

Last but not least - I’m a proud „limited edition” guy. Just cherish the idea of my watches living in small numbers around the world.

Here is my current GS lineup.

I need to complete it with this one. European LE SBGY027.

View attachment 17251623

 

2022 was the year i got rid of my last Grand Seiko watches. I started having an interest in GS in 2019 and bought my first and second ones in Oct and Nov 2019. I bought more of them over the course of 2020 to mid 2022. i bought 9F quartz, non Hi Beat automatics, Springdrive. I bought a few from Japan (9F83) and in the end I realized that for me that they really did not do anything for me. I was not really impressed by the Springdrive's smooth sweep because I have owned quite a few of the 1960's and 1970's Accutron 214 and 218 tuning fork watches and these have smooth sweep hands and hum. The polishing did nothing for meand in fact I found these watches easily scratched vs my other watches. The 9F quartz is a great movement and very accurate. However I don't really care if my watch is accurate to the exact second and I have quite a few radio controlled and GPS watches that are pretty accurate. In terms of my radio controlled watches, I live in an area that the radio waves are strong so they sync every night so if during the day, they deviate time wise, they get corrected that night.

However the thing that most bothers me about GS is the lack of micro-adjustments. I am one of those folks that have never managed to get a great fit with the bracelets even after playing the full and half link game. It is a shame because GS makes some of the nicest bracelets but kneecaps them with that clasp. Yes I could put a strap on them but I have never felt straps look good on GS and that the bracelet is the best thing for the watch.

 

If one does not like any movements nor watch case by GS - complaining about the bracelets...is a paradox and a bit futile.

 

Kept reading on WUS how great GS was so I kicked off with a Snowflake and it sort of grew from there.

 

I have these 3 for the trilogy of movements, 9F, New SD, New Hi Beat 80 hour:

SLGH013
SBGN019
SLGA009

My only gripe, as others have said, is the non-adjustable bracelets. Fortunately I have them sized to fit adequately. Although one of the little screws went into the Twilight Zone but I used one from another removed link. I posit it's somewhere in the carpet but I need an electron microscope and a great deal of imagination to find it. I tried but gave up.

I find the fit and finish, workmanship, designs, and creativity intriguing. I truly feel they are pretty much hand crafted as opposed to assembly line, which is what I feel about Rolex--which I also like, but for different reasons.

 

Dear @Loevhagen,

Thank you very much for opening this thread. I like your idea and especially your GS-o-Meter. I have adapted your idea to my collection. I hope you forgive me for copying your template.

Here you can see my small Grand Seiko collection which I am very proud of and which gives me a lot of pleasure every day.

But now to answer the questions given by the TO.

I didn't really become aware of Grand Seiko enough to seriously look into the brand until 2020. I have been collecting watches for over 20 years and have gone the usual route. Today, I still have a couple of watches from different brands like Rolex, Omega, Panerai, Breitling, Oris and Longines, but I've been wearing my Grand Seiko exclusively for quite some time.

When I first got serious about Grand Seiko, it wasn't the Snowflake, but neither was a model with a classic 44GS or 62GS case that caught my attention. It was a new GMT from the Sports Collection, the SBGE255. I was also fascinated by the Spring Drive movement from the beginning, so it became my first Grand Seiko. And from then on the fascination Grand Seiko fully hit me and I read everything about the history of the brand, traditions, craftsmanship, technology and of course all available, but also vintage models. Fortunately, I have an excellent AD in my city with whom I have built a long-standing and trusting relationship. And except for my boutique-only models, I have bought all my Grand Seiko from him.

I appreciate and admire Japanese culture and history. And Grand Seiko embodies for me many values that are important to me and that mean more and more to me, especially in our times. I find the brand delightfully unpretentious, not so fussed about and one flies wonderfully under the radar as it is largely known only to WiS. And especially I admire the craftsmanship and effort they put into creating the watches.

I have the feeling that one or the other Grand Seiko may come to me in the coming years. Actually, I'm pretty sure about that.

 

Me gustan los relojes desde 2015. Me enamoré de GS en 2016 y finalmente obtuve mi primer GS el mes pasado. Me encanta mi Shubun (SBGH273).

Aprecio la artesanía japonesa. Pasión por los detalles, la naturaleza, la precisión. Lo que más me gusta de GS son, sin duda, sus diales. Son simplemente el siguiente nivel.

Llegué demasiado tarde al hobby (finales de 2019) para comprar SBGH267, SBGY003 o Kiku. Tuve la suerte de comprar mi SBGK005 favorito en un AD.

Ahora estoy esperando a que llegue mi SBGY027. Espero que sea mi querido sustituto de SBGY003.

Por último, pero no menos importante, soy un tipo orgulloso de "edición limitada". Simplemente aprecie la idea de que mis relojes vivan en pequeñas cantidades en todo el mundo.

Aquí está mi alineación actual de GS.

[/COTIZAR]
Please, could you tell me what's the reference?

 

I prefer GS to my Rolex because of the accuracy and finishing. I think Rolex just carries the reputation, but if I had to choose one I'll take my GS any day.

 

My favorite watch brand has always been Rolex. I have owned one since 1984 when my parents bought me one for my HS graduation. I wore that watch (DJ36) for 24 years as my "one and only." My current collection of Rolexes is this:

There is no better mechanical watch in my opinion than Rolex. The things I look for are beauty, ruggedness, and dependability. While most think of Rolex as a "status watch," I see them as dependable watches that are spectacular in every way (from comfort of bracelet to design to heritage to image).

To be honest, I never liked Seiko or Grand Seiko ... until December 2022. I was at a watch group meet in my city and several of the other members brought their GSs. I was really intrigued as I handled them. In particular, a member of the group had a limited edition SBGP017 "Sea of Clouds." I was blown away by the dial and the display back quartz movement ... yes, blown away by the quartz movement. It is one of only 6 GS models to have their enhanced 9F quartz movement that is accurate to +-5 seconds/year. And, it was just a stunning piece.

That model was released in June of 2022 and supposedly sold out by August 2022. However, I contacted my AD and they located one for me in one of their stores and sold it to me the week before Christmas. I actually received the watch on Christmas Eve and I am smitten. As others above have said, I have grown more fond of GS the more I wear my GS.

While Rolex will always be my number 1, GS has definitely got a place in my heart and on my wrist moving forward.

Here's my Sea of Clouds:

I even created a short video about this watch that I hope you will enjoy

 

I own the SBGA375. I originally owned the SBGH269, and although it was an incredible watch, I really wanted something that showed off the case design and finishing of Grand Seiko. The SBGA375 has a deceptively simple dial which allows the case to truely shine.

I made a video about this and wanted to showcase the finishing. Check it out here:

 

Alan, I watched many of your videos on this watch before deciding to get one also. Thank you for sharing!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Lived in Japan from 2001 to 2013, recieved my Masters and PhD degrees in Engineering from Japan; the missus is from Japan, so; GS is a no-brainer for me. GS symbolises the work philosophy and craftsmanship of Japanese people and society more than any other brand.

On a side note, very happy to see so many GS converts and lovers. I am a bit old on this road; into GS from 2001 and got my first in 2010. Here is a bit of a timeline.

 

Lived in Japan from 2001 to 2013, recieved my Masters and PhD degrees in Engineering from Japan; the missus is from Japan, so; GS is a no-brainer for me. GS symbolises the work philosophy and craftsmanship of Japanese people and society more than any other brand.

On a side note, very happy to see so many GS converts and lovers. I am a bit old on this road; into GS from 2001 and got my first in 2010. Here is a bit of a timeline.
View attachment 17162368

With your biography, collection and connections to Japan, we can call you Mr. Grand Seiko.☺

 

2019 SBGE015 XX% off
2022 SBGX337 XX% off
11/2022 SBGA211 $,$$$ off US list

Seiko price for GS
that's only reason I bought these GS
otherwise no way to dump money on them
can not refuse such discount price.. 🤣