Seiko Value, & High End.

[padi56]

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 mediocre ones, just like many other companies. If you want to buy one, you should, by all means do it. Because their bang-for-the-pound-factor is bloody amazing, at both ends of the spectrum.



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.






And selected Grand Seiko quartz model.

Note 1: Seiko re-issued a limited edition of the "Astron" in 2000-1 that used a special version of the 9F movement that was rated to ± 5 seconds per year,but with tuning easily down to
less than + - 2 seconds per year.
Note 2: The 9F movement is reportedly designed to run fifty years before it needs servicing.
Note 3: Other Grand Seiko quartz models use the 8J movement. Even less is know about this movement.

Rolex Oysterquartz.

Rolex have never made any official accuracy claims for the 5035/5055 movement used in the Oysterquartz. However, sales training materials given to authorized Rolex dealers state: "A variation of no more than one minute per year can be expected."The typical accuracy for an O/Q is +/-2 to 5 seconds per month. If you start getting significantly more drift than this, the battery is probably about to go.
Oysterquartz.net

[mailman]

Great post Padi. Thanks

[JJ Irani]

Excellent post, Padi. You certainly are a wealth of info on watches, old and new!

[C.J.]

Excellent, Padi Thanks for the info

[padi56]

your very welcome