I really like Grand Seiko, really nice watches - apart from one thing.
The font they use for the logo. It looks tacky. Particularly on a Japanese watch.
it shouldn’t matter, but it does.
(And I do like, and own, the odd Seiko)
Paris boutiques day pushed from Tuesday to Thursday. We celebrated my wife's 50th on Saturday night. My brother came up from Bergerac and, as he's previously admired and I don't wear it, I gave him my Sturmanskie Sputnik. Yes, a 'Russian' watch etc etc but that's not why he likes it.
OK, if we're doing holiday snaps. A rather vulgar Fenix en vacances in the Bourgogne...🙃
[url= https://i.postimg.cc/bdcMHY4Y/20230904-153108.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.postimg.cc/bdcMHY4Y/20230904-153108.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
Not the same without a Leffe in shot
That was just some hair of the dog for my brother. I was absolutely hanging come Sunday lunch time but by dinner (another bbq) I did manage a cheeky stubby (beer bottle!)
ow) ? oh : ow; var w = ffid === 1 ? ow : (oh > ow) ? ow : oh; var uh = window.innerHeight || document.documentElement.clientHeight || document.getElementsByTagName('body')[0].clientHeight; var uw = window.innerWidth || document.documentElement.clientWidth || document.getElementsByTagName('body')[0].clientWidth; setCookie('ezds', encodeURIComponent('ffid='+ffid+',w='+w+',h='+h), (31536e3*7)); setCookie('ezohw', encodeURIComponent('w='+uw+',h='+uh), (31536e3*7)); })();" alt="Watch" />@Kryton57 the CW Trident shot from Sorrento. Surprisingly difficult to get a decent one but this is in a beautiful restaurant we just had a very long lunch in. The waiters looked at me a bit bemused and it has the watch a bit out of focus (so on trend here I think) but really happy with how it's wearing in the heat and surroundings.
Will try again tomorrow
What the hell happened there?
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Not the same without a Leffe in shot
Agreed but a) I don't drink - not even for photography and b) I haven't got 3 arms tho that would help air the collection more effectively... 🙃
Seiko make good watches. Great tradition and watches like the Willand, 62mas, MM300, have cult status for a reason. What is frustrating with a lot of seiko currently is poor qc which leads to movements that have poor time keeping or visual niggles like misaligned bezels or chapter rings. Then there are design flaws on watches that are getting into serious money. The 6rXX movements can be good, but tend to be problematic in such quantity it's probably a design issue (possibly a design issue that highlights the poor qc) , hardlex crystals and non ceramic bezel inserts. All these things seem out of place in the bottom end prospex these days let alone on watches at over a grand, maybe more. I'm not saying they aren't great watches, just that Seiko is no longer the value proposition it was. Buy Seiko, but buy used Seiko.
Which reminds me I must list my sbdc059!
Grand seiko watches stand up well to comparison with omega, rolex and that tier. They still have flaws.... bracelets with poor fitting end links and stamped clasps with no or mediocre glidelock type adjustment. But the rest is generally very very good. My snr035 doesn't say GS in the dial, it's a zaratsu polished, spring drive seiko in titanium, it's lovely and can go against other watches in the price bracket. I had said I'd sell it to part fund the zenith but I'm struggling to part with it! I do think the ushio blue (slga023) is too much though at £10.5k. Maybe it's just I wish it were less and more attainable!
That's got "follow-up moonswatch cash grab" written all over it.
Exactly, I shall look forward to seeing the photos of the mobs of flippers queuing up
The 6rXX movements can be good, but tend to be problematic
Tell me about it. My Alpinist is back to Seiko for the second time. First the auto winding mechanism went really rattly and it came back running -28 seconds per day.
Girlfriend bought herself the Mission to Uranus on Saturday. She loves it. The glass and strap feel very cheap, but she’s happys.
Bought from the Pop Up Store in the Trafford Centre. They had 4 different options, Moon, Mars, Venus and Uranus.
Dunno if these are technically allowed but I think Garmin are really stepping up into the "actual watch" arena with these. Looks wise I really wanted the Aviator version but with me not being a pilot I couldn't really justify the extra £££s just for a metal bracelet and a GMT bezel.
Just been for a quick 7.5km run and it seems very impressive, comfortable on the wrist with no banging about or slippage, lots of stats for the nerds and looks great. The perfect tool watch if you can ignore the lack of any clockwork wonderment behind the dial.
A genuinely nice looking new range of Yema divers, and I know there's a few fans on here.
https://www.fratellowatches.com/hands-on-introduction-the-new-yema-sous-marine-collection/
I like the Tissot PRX digital! Nice and simple. I prefer it to the stainless g-shock he compares it to. Hoping nobody buys them and they end up a bit cheaper...
Oo now, a nice auto Seiko you say? Not sure on the quality vs price aspect but it's not £10k which is a good start... Not mine BTW, popped up in my feed as though it can read my mind... 🙃
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https://www.swatch.com/en-gb/bioceramic-scuba-fifty-fathoms.html
crikey.
the blue and the grey are okay, but the other three are quite challenging.
https://www.swatch.com/en-gb/bioceramic-scuba-fifty-fathoms.html < crikey. the blue and the grey are okay, but the other three are quite challenging.
Agree that the blue looks great. Pricing seems quite high
bracelets with poor fitting end links and stamped clasps with no or mediocre glidelock type adjustment.
That’s a criticism I see levelled against watches costing more than an average Seiko; someone was moaning about Sinn steel bracelet clasps not being machined.
I saw an old Rolex I think on Antiques Roadshow, or maybe an article somewhere, and one thing that really stood out were the bracelet links were rolled like a Swiss Roll cake then squashed, which just looked really cheap! The bracelet on my SPORK has each link machined out of solid and pinned, and it has a gentle taper from the outer-edge of the lugs down to the clasp, and it’s really solid and heavy; about the same as the watch itself. I’ve never weighed it, I don’t have any scales able to measure in grams or ounces, but I wouldn’t want to drop it on my bare foot.
Honestly, I don’t care if the clasp is machined or not, so long as it’s robust and has the flip-over retainer, I’m fine, if the watch is going to be worn, it’ll get scuffed and scratched.
and non ceramic bezel inserts
Anodised alloy bezel inserts are still common on high end watches, ceramic is a relatively new thing.
<p>Hmmm. At least the Sistem51 is mechanical at that price which sweetens the deal a bit. I agree Blue and Grey are the options, but I see you have to take your chances queuing at a Premier Swatch booth again. <br /><br /><br /></p><p>Expect to see some on EBay later for extortionate prices.</p><p> </p>
I'm not sure these will have the crazy appeal of the MoonSwatch. They'll probably do OK, but I don't expect queues round the block. We'll see.
I bought the "Sun" Moonswatch last year (on a whim passing the store in Bordeaux) - legibility of white hands on gold dial is terrible, poor quality compared to a Seiko 5 around the same price, etc... but I still wear it a lot. I do love a quartz chrono, it comes in handy for something at work I'd rather not do with a $$$ mech chrono!
Of my entire collection, it's the only one a stranger has ever commented on.
Finally gave in and thought I’d see what all the fuss was about
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It’s very well made and I like it more than I thought I would. At 40mm I thought it might be a bit small but it’s a good size on my wrist. It’s probably a keeper. It’s certainly a step up in quality from the PRX I had for three days (before it broke). The fit is much better too
Not the best buying experience or customer service from Chris Ward however so probs the last watch I buy from them.
"Not the best buying experience or customer service from Chris Ward however so probs the last watch I buy from them."
Go on....
Also - to me, nothing says artic ocean quite like red and gold.
Speaking of colourschemes - microbrand Venezianico released a new flavour of their GMT which I wish I was cool enough to pull off!
That looks nice although I don't like metal straps
Finally gave in and thought I’d see what all the fuss was about
I'm not a fan of integrated bracelets in general but that looks good on the wrist. I like the dial too but I'd maybe find it a bit busy after the novelty wore off.
Robz
Free Member
Finally gave in and thought I’d see what all the fuss was aboutIt’s very well made and I like it more than I thought I would. At 40mm I thought it might be a bit small but it’s a good size on my wrist. It’s probably a keeper. It’s certainly a step up in quality from the PRX I had for three days (before it broke). The fit is much better too
Love it Robz, and really interested to hear your views. If you spend/ waste any time on sites like Fratello, Hodinkee etc they all bang on about the PRX non-stop, but the Ward doesn't get a look-in. Obviously they're utterly beholden to the big brands (95% of their coverage is Speedmaster models/ Rolex/ Tudor), but even so, they really big up the PRX.
They’re at slightly different price points though, both have merits. I bought my 80hr PRX for £420 and I’m happy with it for that, at £600 odd, I’m not so sure. I had got the Twelve preordered for well over a grand, but got cold feet an cancelled it and went for something different.
Yeah sorry didn’t mean to necessarily insult the PRX. It’s a lovely watch at the price point. It’s just that the Tissot and the 12 often get compared - perhaps unfairly.
So far still digging it. Was worried the lack of micro adjustments might be an issue but there’s a good amount of big and small links provided and the screw attachments are easy to use so got a perfect fit.
It’s very light compared to what I typically wear and it passed the wife approval test! Although she did say it looked a bit like a dad watch from the 80s!
Re the poor customer service. It just fell short of the standard I would expect of a company who sell a premium product and operate purely online - slow dispatch, lack of proactive coms and poor response to email correspondence. Not the end of the world but a bit disappointing. I’ll probably get over it.
Want
Thats ^^ a tall watch!
Thats ^^ a tall watch!
It looks it doesn't it! However, at 13.7mm the SMP300 is thicker, and the Planet Ocean thicker again at 16.5mm, yet neither seem to wear as tall as the Seiko. Someone clever is working on the strap and fit if you ask me!
That pink GMT is great!
I've had mixed customer service from CW, they used to be great but as they've grown it's been on the slide
on the CW customer service side I’ve had a mixed bag also. My orders have always been dispatched quickly but the 1000 elite had to go back after 2 months wear with a fault, got an email saying they’d received it and booked it in but then I didn’t see it back for 4 months! Never got a phone call or email etc. with a progress report, just one day it turned back up fixed, no compliments slip, no schedule of works. Very bizarre.
