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Author Topic: How do you choose a Grand Seiko  (Read 8204 times)

Offline G.MAC

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How do you choose a Grand Seiko
« on: June 16, 2014, 02:48:16 PM »
The hype of Grand Seiko has gotten to me. All the beautiful pics and gushing reviews has convinced me that Grand Seiko will be one of my next purchase over the next few months. My only question is this. How does one choose the right Grand Seiko? The choices are so diverse that when I was given the opportunity to purchase one a few weeks back, I could not make up my mind. Spring Drive or High Beat? Diver or GMT or just the regular 3 hand? Brightz Titanium or Steel? Whilst I have made up my mind to own one with the proprietary Spring Drive movement, there are still other things that are niggling. I love the Snowflake but the lack of lume on the hands is really driving me up the wall. Love the SBGA029/ 031 but cannot get over the shape of the hour hand. Love the SBGE001 but not the font used on the bezel. The question is does one overlook one small fault and look at the watch in general? I know this applies to watches in general but it is the question of scratching that itch now or just waiting and hoping that the right model comes along. Does 'THE-GRAND-SEIKO-TO-HAVE' exist at all?  Thoughts?
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Offline jason_recliner

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Re: How do you choose a Grand Seiko
« Reply #1 on: June 16, 2014, 04:05:50 PM »
For me, I wasn't interested in Spring Drive, so that narrowed it right down.  Preferred auto to manual, as I already had a manual wind King Seiko.  I'm a huge fan of Seiko and they have a long and illustrious history of high beat movements, plus I wore my 36,000 bph King Seiko at my wedding, so I wanted a Hi-Beat.  I've always loved the combination of silver or white dials with heat blued hands...

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Offline Enkidu

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Re: How do you choose a Grand Seiko
« Reply #2 on: June 16, 2014, 06:06:55 PM »
If you want a spring drive GS with lume on the hands (and you don't like the sbge001 family) you may find your choice severely limited.  One possibility is...

    :laugh: :laugh:

Alternatively, the titanium SBGA041. ... :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

IMHO, there is no THE Grand Seiko. All said, a GS is just a better made / finished Seiko.

IMHO, a GS is best enjoyed after you have dabbled with ordinary seikos including vintage ones. If you go straight to GS and if you are the sort who usually wears and owns watches normally associated or classified as haute horlogerie, you may wonder what the hype is all about and lose interest in whichever GS you've bought pretty quickly. By any standard, they are great watches for the price you pay but like all watches, there are shortcomings.

Good luck.... :thumbsup:



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Offline mike

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Re: How do you choose a Grand Seiko
« Reply #3 on: June 16, 2014, 06:17:22 PM »
SBGA095, a limited production piece.


picture source from google
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Offline dpkong

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Re: How do you choose a Grand Seiko
« Reply #4 on: June 16, 2014, 09:53:11 PM »
Quote from: Enkidu on June 16, 2014, 06:06:55 PM
If you want a spring drive GS with lume on the hands (and you don't like the sbge001 family) you may find your choice severely limited.  One possibility is...

    :laugh: :laugh:

Alternatively, the titanium SBGA041. ... :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

IMHO, there is no THE Grand Seiko. All said, a GS is just a better made / finished Seiko.

IMHO, a GS is best enjoyed after you have dabbled with ordinary seikos including vintage ones. If you go straight to GS and if you are the sort who usually wears and owns watches normally associated or classified as haute horlogerie, you may wonder what the hype is all about and lose interest in whichever GS you've bought pretty quickly. By any standard, they are great watches for the price you pay but like all watches, there are shortcomings.

Good luck.... :thumbsup:

Best advice I've heard. I was and still am interested in GS, mainly due to JOS2012 and his obsession. But there doesn't seem to be a piece that jumps at me.
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Offline G.MAC

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Re: How do you choose a Grand Seiko
« Reply #5 on: June 17, 2014, 05:11:03 AM »
Quote from: Enkidu on June 16, 2014, 06:06:55 PM
If you want a spring drive GS with lume on the hands (and you don't like the sbge001 family) you may find your choice severely limited.  One possibility is...

    :laugh: :laugh:

Alternatively, the titanium SBGA041. ... :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

IMHO, there is no THE Grand Seiko. All said, a GS is just a better made / finished Seiko.

IMHO, a GS is best enjoyed after you have dabbled with ordinary seikos including vintage ones. If you go straight to GS and if you are the sort who usually wears and owns watches normally associated or classified as haute horlogerie, you may wonder what the hype is all about and lose interest in whichever GS you've bought pretty quickly. By any standard, they are great watches for the price you pay but like all watches, there are shortcomings.

Good luck.... :thumbsup:

The pictured Grand Seiko is absolutely divine. Which model is that and is it still available? I will take your advice to heart. The reason I started this thread was that I fell out of love with the Marinemaster 300 after purchasing it. I am quite worried that I am not thinking straight when I want to delve into the realm of Grand Seiko. I do not want to purchase one only to feel that I have overspent my money. Thank you very much for your advice. It seems I better give it some more thought before I decide. But the snowflake dial is absolutely beautiful and the more I look at it, the itchier I become.  :Laughing_on_floor:
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Offline Gigi

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Re: How do you choose a Grand Seiko
« Reply #6 on: June 17, 2014, 08:33:45 AM »
I suggest the 36000 beats GS as it is one of the gs trademark. Another choice is spring drive GS which is only kind in the watch world.
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Offline Enkidu

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Re: How do you choose a Grand Seiko
« Reply #7 on: June 17, 2014, 11:12:20 AM »
Quote from: G.MAC on June 17, 2014, 05:11:03 AM
Which model is that and is it still available?

That's my SBGA075. You may want to consider the SBGA073 (grey dial). I think both are still available. These are some of the cheapest GS spring drives around, which kind of explain the absence of AR coating on the sapphire. If you are keen on the snow flake, why not consider SBGA059??  :laugh: :laugh: Good luck.. ;)
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Offline FongV

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Re: How do you choose a Grand Seiko
« Reply #8 on: June 17, 2014, 12:06:34 PM »
Simple. Ask JOS to get some of the GS owners together. You should have your answer by then. I got the SBGA 059 over the regular snowflake because of unusual gold hands and markers really pop over the snowflake dial.

Regards,
Fong

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Offline tagger

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Re: How do you choose a Grand Seiko
« Reply #9 on: June 17, 2014, 08:30:10 PM »
i saw seiko anata in japan.. but didn't buy because not sure about the brand..
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