Seiko Spring Drives

[AntonisCy]

Does anybody know if these are available to buy? Because i have searched ebay and Yahoo Japan Auctions and i cant find them. Id like to know the price of this babe... Also the technology and movement of this model is simply amazing.

[Sam]

There's an interesting article about this watch on TimeZone. Basically says that less than 600 will be available worldwide before Christmas & it will retail for $3,500. Gorgeous watch!

www.timezone.com/library/extras/200511087527

[AntonisCy]

Thanks for the article Sam... Amazing watch but thats a small quantity for a huge demand...

[mamas]

ihave actually seen these in real life.. at one of our large shopping malls`(trafford centre) for about £2200... they do look nice but i wouldnt pay that sort of money..i think one is paying for technology.. but as the process is refined, and cost of productio decrease.. i think prices will drop.. cant see many people dropping that sort of money for one of thse

[worktolivelife]

would have to agree with you mamas, from a personal point of view!, but are there reasons other than its japanese and says seiko on the dial?
O.K who's going to take up the gauntlet!!??

steve

[AntonisCy]

im going to agree about the price part but lets not forget that SEIKO can make some good watches too.. And the fact that the Grand Seiko line is equal if not better than the most top swiss watch brands

[mamas]

dont get me wrong.. some of the grand seiko's i have seen on watch fora look really nice.. and maybe some of it is snob value.. but i think that ibn this particular line you are paying for manufacturing costs.. given that only a handful of the workers (??5-10 in timezone visit article) are entrusted with assembling movement by hand.. once manufacturing process is optmised.. prices will tumble..
I wouldnt buy one of these as to me they are not worth it.. but would consider buying a grand seiko if they cost $1000-$1500 (how much do GS cost anyways?)

[AntonisCy]

The cheapest Grand Seiko i have ever seen for sale was at a price of $2000

Alot of horology "heads" agree that the movement of the Grand Seikos is the top of all brands... I dont know that for sure but i do believe the they are in the very elite league

[Sam]

No question that Seiko can make a top notch watch. The problem lies in finding buyers willing to drop 3-4 grand on something with "Seiko" on the dial. Seiko has a better image in Asia than it does in America. People here view it as a good $200-300 watch. If 99.9% of the population went to the local jewelry store and saw a Seiko Spring Drive for $3.5K sitting next to a Rolex or Omega for a similar price they would not choose the Seiko.

[AntonisCy]

i agree Sam. Thats why Seiko keeps their best models for Japan. Talking with Seiya, he told me that in Asian countries , Grand Seiko is regarded as a way better watch than Rolex,Omega etc

[Sam]

Well, Seiko obviously doesn't care about altering their reputation in the US market. They limit themselves to selling cheap quartz junk here and save the good stuff for the Asian market. I'm willing to bet they've done the research and know that they will not be able to compete with the Swiss brands in the US. They're doing well in Asia, so why change.

[AntonisCy]

i agree Sam... But who can say no to this

[AntonisCy]

or this

[Sam]

antoniscy said:

i agree Sam... But who can say no to this

I imagine a lot of people can say no when it's the same price as an Explorer II.

[atomic]

I'm a big fan of the Grand Seikos, but I have to agree with Sam... for the money I'd take a Rolex Explorer II before I dropped cash on a GS GMT that looks identical.

It IS the original afterall.

Seiko needs to introduce an upscale 'phantom' brand, as Honda did with Acura... to build some leverage in North American to go uptown with their branding image.