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Grand Seiko dominated the swiss on the chronometer trials, and the swiss cowardly canceled the trials all together. This is the only history I need to know to choose a GS over any swiss

I have a GS Peacock, which I was stunned to come across in the window of a jewellery store in Victoria BC Canada. You can imagine my surprise. A limited run of 700 watches, one that had had a decent amount of press coverage, with a world wide release, and here was one sitting on display in my relatively small city. I walked in and asked directly “Is that a Grand Seiko Peacock?” The answer was affirmative. Apparently a collector was pairing down his collector and decided that he didn’t need this one. They were closing when I walked in and they were closed Sunday which gave me a day to think, and that following Monday morning I walked in and bought it. No regrets.

Grand Seiko have been the only luxury watches I've wanted since I found out about them. Don't care much for the rest.. Plus I won't be a target on the streets cos thieves wouldn't know any better :D

A superb video, no shouting, no foul language, just facts clearly described. I am now too old to wish for one but I think they are very underrated , very beautiful and if you understand Japanese art, almost perfect.. Thank you so much. I tire of rubbish about overpriced Rolex and Omega, this is the one, the only watch I would ever have were I not an addicted collector. I have subscribed out of gratitude and respect but have little interest now in other watches. Thanks again.

Yours are by far the most professional yet entertaining videos on watches I have seen on youtube. You seem very competent and it is a true pleasure to just sit back and watch and listen. many thanks!

I’m glad you said the hands and indices look like they were handled like diamonds, because they’re faceted by hand using diamond cutting tools. Excellent piece friend!

Fantastic discussion of GS. I am so happy I found your channel. Thank you for another amazing video :)

Yet another detailed discussion! Your work is much appreciated.

Your reviews takes is to a whole new level. Thanks for all your clever insights.

As always very informative and well thought out and delivered narrative!

These GS's are exquisite and your video shows this in great detail thanks for another excellent video. I wish I had a Seiko boutique shop around my location. I'd love to see these up close and personal.

Another great video from you my friend this time summarising the dark horse of the bunch, Grand Seiko. Love your selection of watches. The Peacock also has to be one of my favourites and I love that Hi-Beat diver too, what a beast! As for 9f, that is next level quality. Grand Seiko surely has gone under the radar until more recent times. I think due to some beautiful dials, brilliant finishing and excellent movements that they are getting a lot more deserved interest from the watch buying community. ✊

011 Snowflake owner here. Love the GS line and the brand deserves every bit of kudos it gets in these types of videos 😎

Excellent video. You really captured the essence of the brand in a compelling way.

Well done once again mate. ⌚👍🇯🇵

Another excellent review.... thank you .

Commercially released spring drive in 2000 (or ‘99?), with the actual idea being conceived in the mid 70’s. Talk about persistent!One of the strengths of the company and a big reason I dig GS... that, and what you said.. :) Loved the piece, thanks-

Outstanding video content, thank you

Top video, excellently produced and delivered. Suggest including some detailed narrative on movement, a thing of beauty. Really enjoyed the video and how the narrative and visuals flowed together☘

You do a great show thank you very very much you are brilliant at it look forward to the next one

Beautiful and highly intelligent and thoughtful post. Great job

Thank You For A Thorough Discussion on Grand Seiko! I enjoyed your video!

I really like Grand Seiko. Their case finish is better than most makers movement finishing. The Snowflake is especially impressive. There's a reason most other makers don't do a mirror finish on titanium. It's darn difficult. Their GMT with the 24 hour bezel is my favorite GNT design of any maker. I have wrist that can easily handle a watch that size. For those who don't, the versions without the bezel are equally well done. The one area they fall behind in is chronographs. I have yet to see one from them that isn't a badly proportioned mess. That's not a huge deal since I'm not a big fan of that complication to begin with.

Because the quality and craftsmanship is better as Rolex and they're cheaper too.

A very good video on GS. I own what I consider one of the best ,if not the best quartz in the 9F. Had the watch for over 5 years and is accurate to 2/3 seconds per year, but not only is the movement hand assembled , the finish on the movement and the watch itself is superb. You really need to buy a loupe if you purchase a Grand Seiko because the work on the dial is so good and they really come alive on a sunny day. Dave

I've just picked up the SBGN005 myself for traveling during my travels. This watch is just amazing! Great video too

Another top shelf commentary on a great brand. Would love to hear your take on the Zodiac line.

Great video. Some comments: The 9F quartz is accurate to 5s/yr in the special edition models with the star, the normal 9F quartz is only accurate to 10s/yr. Also it would be good for you to touch on the different case forms GS is famous for, such as the 44GS case and 62GS case.

Great video dude, so informative.. I'd have not picked up on the details in some of these without you bringing them to light..

I’ll definitely pick one up.

Regarding the HI beat diver. The reason there is no helium escape valve is because they use L shaped gaskets that prevent helium ingress .

GS one of the best over engineered watches. They looks much more incredible in real life.

Grand Seiko is my favourite brand out of all. But while it might go against their design rules or something, I wish they would put lume on some of their heritage collection pieces, or use some heritage line cases in the sport collection. Closest to that would be the SBGE201 or SBGN003, but I wish they made a few more to choose from.

Excellent video. Very well said.

GS are great watches. These artisans do great work. I have managed to get myself an SBGA399, and the dialwork is insain. The pictures do not do it justice. First you look at it, and you think the dial is black, glossy and no texture. None of these are correct.... then you have more light and you notice the colour is actually bordeaux, there is a square yellow texture and it is not glossy at all. Then the light hits it just right, and the dial just explodes. The square pattern turns black, and inside it you have horizontal lines. The colour becomes more dark red, with some yellow, almost gold coloured flakes and the hole thing looks like it is on fire as a sunburst dial. I have never seen a dial do anything like that before, I just love staring at the watch, even forgetting to look at the time...

Thx, very informative.

Nice Review ID Guy. They are worth looking at for sure. My gripe and hope they fix this is the lack of micro adjustments on some of their models. I know the divers have them, but they are too big for me. My favorite movement is the spring drive. It is mesmerizing. Very accurate. The high beat watches they make are not as accurate. Their 9f Quartz does allow for thinner and smaller watches that do appeal to me like the 9f GMT. Most accurate movement by Grand Seiko.

Beautiful . I love Seiko watches .I have a sarbo35 . ( Also a Seiko 5 ). One day maybe I will get a Grand Seiko . I love everything Japanese . ( I do have 2 nice swiss watches ). Great video . Thanks .

Fantastic video and overview of Grand Seiko, but you got bit by the urban legend again: “Zaratsu” does not translate to “katana polish” or “mirror blade”. It’s a Japanese transliteration of “Sallaz”, the Swiss-German polishing machine that Grand Seiko began using in the 1950s, and has no technical or historical relation to the polishing techniques of Japanese swords. Zaratsu/Sallaz polishing is unique for employing the flat surface of a rigid lapping disc, which produces a smoother finish and crisper lines than the round edge of a more common soft muslin or felt buffing wheel. While this method is difficult and highly specialized, it is not exclusive to Seiko- a handful of other watchmakers use the same process, including fellow Japanese manufacturers Citizen and Minase.

We can also consider the cost of maintenance charges: I know younger owners of expensive Pateks who give up and sell their watches when the cost of repairs run up to several Ks.

Seiko needs a global celebrity to make the brand popular for young watch Buyers

8:58 That's me :) If I were to pick a perfect "one watch" from GS, this would be a strong contender due to the 9F mov't being able to handle anything I could throw at it. However, I very much agree with 9:20 as well. A middle ground between the two would be a perfect "one watch".

Excellent vid!

Firstly, great video! Just a correction though. The graphic with the five watch line up at 1:29 , you had the SBGA387 in place of the Snowflake SBGA211. The SBGA387 is the US only limited edition kiru zuri dial on GS44 case. Just thought I’d point that out. Great vid again!

I had a chance to buy a Peacock. I thought it was a bit too big, and was too out of my budget. But next to a Lange, I reckon it's the most beautiful watch I've ever seen.

Now this are watch videos. keep it up buddy

The only thing I hate about Grand Seiko is that it will probably become popular (and expensive) right before I will be able to afford one.

Japan is fascinating. The Japanese sense of aesthetics and the constant re-creation of that sense by organic synthesis of the old with the new. Traditional artistry keeping abreast of contemporary design by virtue of flawless past innovation and contemporary artistic and engineering pursuits, seeking out and being fed by tradition.

I think it partially has to do with being a status symbol. Other watch brands have built their brands to represent a certain status within society. Seiko makes both high end and low end watches and that I believe is a detriment to it's image among some of the high end clientele. You can find this type of scenerio play out in all sort of high end products. Not just watches. Personally, I'm more of a practical man. I see quality for what it is and not just what it's perceived to be. For that, Grand Seiko is what I enjoy.

Better than any modern Rolex.

Wonderful video. I think I would prefer a GS over a Rolex. However, I don't have either and I'm sure I would love them both. Thanks for producing such great content.

Love Grand Seiko. I think their spring drive chronograph is one of the best watches and chronograph movements ever made. I plan to add a snowflake and the chrono at some point in the future.

The Seiko is a marvellous watch and very attractive, The problem is price and image ....the price is too high for the image or the image is not good enough for the price. Regardless of all the protestations, the retail price takes you into a field where there are so many many more watches with much stronger image. "Oh what's your watch ?......... It's a Seiko ....... Oh.

I like grand seiko alot, i am buying one for sure

I love the diver esp the cathedral Esq handset. I want to get a set from yobokies for my Shogun

Captivating video. Wouldn’t it be amazing if they could eventually regulate the spring drive to within 5 or 10s a year! A few more 39mm GSs would be nice too, I found the snowflake just too big for a dress watch when I tried it on.

Their designs are beautiful. I' m very fuzzy on date windows and they are some of the best executed ones on the market for my particular preference. The only thing keeping me from one is the service headaches. That's just the price for being on the cutting edge of tech.

I have the newer GS snowflake and i love it so much over my other more expensive swiss made watches. may it be a boring looking white dial watch at a quick glance, which is exactly what I love most because all you need is pay a wee bit more attention or take a 2nd look, one will notice immediately that it's not a simple boring white dial watch at all, instead there are so much to see about it, with so many layers, angles, sharpness, polishing, how it plays with the light... this visual contrast from boring to utter excitement blows my mind, the impact even exceed other more colourful intricate dial versions of their own. it just simply the best and most iconic GS imho.

Perfect execution! Will done IDGuy!

Very interesting and well-presented. I'd love to hear your design thoughts on how the Sinn 556 series uses space on their various dials, as well as other aspects you might find worthy of comment. In any case, thank you. Your insights are very interesting.

Since have known about it which is only 16 month i have purchased 8 GS and going to see another one this weekend. Cant stop buying them

Unique take on Grand Seiko. Well presented. I would argue that the only derivative design in the SBGN 001, 003, and 005 is the bezel. All else feels very unique to Seiko design.

Well done

Grand Seiko. The best watches ever made! Love my GS Snowflake!

There's one more great thing about the Snowflake which you didn't mention. It's made out of titanium which makes the watch really light and comfortable to wear. It's also a little more scratch resistant than 316L & 904L steel

Great summary of the Grand Seiko line. In the future, could you review the new Grand Seiko “Blue” Snowflake on a blue leather strap? I have not seen it in person yet, but it was in the Ben Bridge catalog.

Hardly ever bother to comment but now I must. Thank you for the excellent videos, love the emphasis on design. Instant subscription! Btw. how do you see SBGX261, with it’s empty space in the lower part? Somehow I feel the bracelet, dial etc all work very nicely together as a balanced end result.

What do you think about the SBGH269? I was offered to purchase this watch and I am on the fence whether I should pull the trigger. I am worried about value retention down the road if I decide to sell one day I would hate for it to be worth half of retail purchase price.

Well said.

I have been paying attention to GS. Their movement finishing is superb; the spring drive tech is fascinating; date windows are done right; the dials on some of the models are gorgeous; case finishing is excellent; they even have their own distinct design language (sort of). Those are attributes that I as a watch hobbyist values, and some of them are present in the watches in my collection. I have every reason to love Grand Seiko, but somehow, I just can't bring myself to do that. I think the reason is they have consciously worked all quirks out of their designs, so their watches are all-accommodating and all-perfect. But to me, they are too perfect, too accommodating. With Swiss and German brands, they would intentionally or unintentionally leave some quirks in their designs, with the unspoken message of "this is how we do things at [insert brand name], deal with it". Some examples of these quirks: the slab sided-ness of Tudor Black Bays, or the whole unapologetic Germanness of Lange and GO, or the JLC Reverso which is an entire quirk unto itself haha. I want to *learn* to appreciate (or tolerate) the quirks and idiosyncrasies of my luxury watches. I think that tension between a watch and its wearer is needed when it comes to something as personal and soulful as a mechanical watch. It doesn't mean the watch should fight me every time I put it on (because that'd be an abusive relationship lol), but like a person in a relationship with you, he/she should not be all-accommodating for it to last. Just my opinion.

I like the Grand Seiko Peacock and the Grand Seiko Diver. The hybrid movement of the spring drive is the way of the future like the hybrid car. The snowflake dial is overrated, I think mother of pearl is more beautiful then snowflake.

Well, they are a bit out of my price range so I'll stick with the prospex divers.. I have an srp639 and a 08NE497.. I love them.

Have you any thoughts on the Vostok Amphibia range of watches?

I would like to see how round date window looks on the diver watch.

Very lucky to being getting a snowflake when I graduate in May. GS over Rolex any day.

Its just the best watch out there, that's why!

Yeah the more I'm aware of Seiko or Grand Seiko the broker I get. I started out with a Skx007 and a sarb033. Now, its SBGH205, SBGR099, sla021, sla027, SPB069 Sarb065.

I have one, which I will sell and I have another on the way. The one I am selling is the high-beat GMT with Mt Iwate dial, which is lovely, but has two major flaws: it is too thick at 14mm and the bracelet has no micro adjustment. If it had a Rolex style EasyLink, I would forgive the thickness. I could use on a strap, for which it is too thick, and so it jangles on my wrist, waiting for the times when I am active and hot and to fit perfectly, whilst my Explorer bracelet is in its box and the watch on a strap, where it looks great due to its lack of bulk. The GS will be replaced by a dressier GS model with strap and the Explorer will be reunited with its bracelet. IMHO they also do not make enough watches without date windows, which is generally not just a fault of Grand Seiko. Why all manufacturers cannot offer dateless options is a frustrating mystery to me.

I like the second watch is from on the left

Can you please tell me ref pf the Grand Seiko at 1:21? Thank you!

Thank you so much for this video. My only complaint is that you must be careful when you show both the pre and post versions of the Snowflake. The post 2017 has a more understated dial, and may be a disappointment to those who are only familiar with the pre 2017 version, which looks like papyrus in comparison. I personally like the post 2017 version without the Seiko logo. It looks much cleaner.

@IDGuy What's the model @ 0.47?

Based on some research and yes, KZfaq videos, I checked out Grand Seiko at a local dealer. Beautiful, balanced, amazing attention to detail, and (when compared to the Swiss) fairly priced. My only issue with them was the execution of the bracelet. I found the bracelets a bit crude, pinched the skin, and no match for the excellence of the watch itself. For me it was a bit of a disappointment. I know it's something you can replace, but at these prices I was not prepared to do that. (BTW I noticed the presenter never mentions the bands or bracelets)

GS Will be the Luxury brand of this Decade.

Thanks. Now I can't decide no more...take the Tudor BB Chrono or a GS SBGC201

Yes they do

Why is there a SBGM021 and a SBGM221? “Seiko” and “Grand Seiko” on top of dial...but its same watch right?

What is the model at 14:07 😍

I have the SBGA001G and the SBGX117. Quality brand, not so great service from the service centers

Loved this video! Trying to guess your accent. South African?

Love your vids IDGuy but that is not the Snowflake, that is the SBGA387 Frosty. at 1:30 of the video.

Things like snowflake dials should be on the automatic/mechanical models, not only for the Spring-Drive electronic models. I'd have called it a frosty dial to go along with it's cold electronic, heartless indifference.

I think it's time for me to subscribe to this channel, I've watched quite a few videos by now... great content

Zaratsu doesn't mean "mirror blade" it's the phonetic transcription in japanese of the german name of the machine they use to polish the watch.

Question about the Snowflake Model: one watch has the Seiko Logo at 12 and the other has the GS Grand Seiko Logo at 12. Is there any difference between those models? I'm very interestet.... And I'm Swiss 😎

👍🏾

Fantastic watches !!, Unfortunately the one fatal flaw is that it says Sieko on the dial , will be forever associated with cheap pressed metal bracelet quartz watches

I'm so conflicted over Seiko... I think they represent the greatest possible value in the watch market but I really don't like their design. Especially how most (if not all) of their mid-level and up pieces have dauphine hands. Makes it hard to dress these watches down.

@1:28 At the start, the Snowflake looks like the SBGA407, not 211.