Serious question / thoughts about Grand Seiko

I have these exact same questions. I want to know as well.

I gravitate towards sporty over dress, so I went with this quartz piece:

I get completely overwhelmed by the amount of releases they have. For me it’s not only overload, but makes me think “oh this is a really lovely one, but hmmm , let’s see what they come out with next. I’ve never bought one

I whole heartedly recommend them, not only as a fan, but in someone who LOVES attention to detail. Zaratsu polishing and the use of diamond tipped tools to polish the hands and indices shows in the overall dial execution. I love the innovation in the Spring Drive, and I may endeavor to have one of each movement (Spring Drive, GMT, hi beat, 9F Quartz) in my collection at some point. When you watch videos about the Japanese painstaking focus on precision and quality as a personal trademark, the finished product far outweighs the fact it says 'Seiko' on the dial. Lastly, I love the quote from John Mayer on Talking Watches (granted, talking about Rolex) when he said "Its invisible to people unless they know what it is." As for seeing them in person? Stunning.

P.S. These are my two GSs

Looks great, how large is it? I can get behind this look. Quartz is out of the running for me so hopefully they have more models like this in spring drivr (not knocking quartz, I just know for myself if I'm spending on grand seiko I want that spring drive)

Appreciate your answer. I don't mean this to sound insulting. It's a genuine question: Take out all of the behind the scenes terminology like zaratsu polishing and its attributes, etc etc. Say you never knew any of that: If you pick up your watches are you floored and immediately notice this is something special?

The way you described it, i think i know the answer that you're a enthusiast and know what is quality. But I'm just ultimately curious how much of it isn't down to hype these days of the "lore" that is now growing behind the brand.

It's like when you ask an owner of a cool car how's it drive. Are they answering with clear appreciation of the car or are they repeating the brochure?

Btw, that GMT is that a traveler's jumping hour hand?

yeah honestly I felt this way about panerai for a long time. So many models. But in a way what's cool is there will eventually be one that goes "yup okay that may work for me, I like that". At least I hope that's the case for me and GS. I will say that sweep secomds hand tech is the most buttery out of anything I've ever seen. It just appears to glide.

Totally get that, great question! To be honest, I was initially drawn to strictly the aesthetics of the dial and indices, probably like many. Thats what prompted me to do more research as to why... thats when I found out about the "brochure stuff" and the attention to craftsmanship, and I was sold. When they each arrived, I was blown away.

Yes, the hour hand jumps, but the gmt hand travels.

I think GS is one of those brands that you gotta handle them in person to really understand. I also wasn’t too sure about getting one until I learned more about the 9F movement. Pictures just don’t do it justice. Have some fun checking them out at an AD! 🥳

I own the GMT. It’s not hype. It’s a beautiful watch. The dial work and blued hands are superb. Sometimes, things that are popular are in fact great. It’s sort of nonsensical to dismiss the zaratsu as hype. It’s what helps set GS apart, among other things. What you should be asking yourself is why put energy into something that doesn’t excite you? If you’re enamored with the tech, why haven’t you visited a GS dealer to have a closer look at several models?

I say move on to another watch. GS isn’t going anywhere. If it tickles your fancy later you can buy one.

Is this the black or blue dial? I am ordering the blue one next week! 😄

For the longest time, I too wanted the experience of spring drive and zaratsu polishing. I finally dove in this past Christmas and bought two, SBGY007-manual wound and SBJE269-automatic. They are pretty things for sure. Like you, I like satin finish when it comes to stainless steel. They SBGY came with an alligator strap, so the 'blingy' was minimal an limited to the top of the case and the hands. The SBJE has a taller polished case and hands. When I first opened the box, I thought it may be to shiny and sparkly, but after the past two months I am adapting to it. If you like and want the common 2-D painted experience, then GS is not the way to go. Finish and fitment of the parts are fantastic. Accuracy is very good compare to any COSC or METAS certified movement. The newer SD are around 5-10 seconds a MONTH.

Gripes. The handset and date displays are the same on every model. Over saturation of models, too many dials. Aesthetically, overall design language is stuck in the 60's. The winding of the SD is gritty feeling. The bracelet has limited adjustment. SD automatics are thick (14+ mm), so the proportion to the 40mm diameter is a little odd. Most of the GS come with 19mm lugs, so they're not a "strap monster" like the kids say.

Anyhoo, here are my only 2-GS

You really ought to make a visit or several to a Grand Seiko AD and spend some time with them. Grand Seikos are watches that need to be appreciated in person and at leisure. They often don’t seem particularly special on a quick glance in a display case.

My first impression of a Zaratsu polished case was ‘what’s the big deal, it’s just polished steel; doesn’t seem any more special than the Carrera Glassbox in the case over there.’ But then I caught a glimpse of myself reflected in the steel and went ‘ooohh.’ Comparing most other watches in the price point, the finishing just doesn’t compare.

Same with the dials. Many of them seem kind of blah on first glance, but after sitting with them, the depth and detail starts to shine through. Other dials really stand out and are eye catching, of course, like the katana-inspired pieces (I can’t keep the model names straight in my head, sorry).

Ultimately, though, if there isn’t any Grand Seiko watch that doesn’t appeal to you when it’s on your wrist, that’s a perfectly fine outcome too!

They take a lot of their inspiration from nature. Snow, grass, metal being forged, Cherry blossoms, Shoji screens ect. So with that in mind they might be simplistic but also there is a lot of beauty in that.

Serious answer.

Like @neloms I also have the superb SBGN003 and a Snowflake to accompany it. And yes, as with all watches, try them on in person if you can.

The SBGN003 is, to this day, the best fitting watch for my 6,5“ wrist and I’ll never let it go.

Find the ones with lume. If Spring Drive is a must look at the new titanium GMTs, all matte brushed with black numbers in the bezel, certainly not dressy.

Yes, you do need to touch and handle, though I’ll agree some of the dials with the polishing lean dressier, but it’s overcome with gorgeousness.

Another option is to look in the sport range or at the 9F pieces, I was able to find lume and some mixed brush surfaces with a flatter dial and couldn’t be happier. I had a Spring Drive for a bit too and I only sold it as I wanted something a hair thinner in that type of piece.

I was on your boat several years ago. I liked the idea of GS, but was overwhelmed with choice and confused with naming conventions (eg 44GS case vs evolution 9, heritage collection vs elegance collection, SLGA### vs SBGY### vs SLGH###) WHA!?

The first thing I did was to think about the movement because I knew I wanted a spring drive for the reasons you listed and nothing else.

Then, what helped me is to think bottom up, instead of going top down bc the categorization made zero sense to me.

So, I shortlisted the references I liked, saved pics, took down the measurements bc there are major differences across product lines. Then, made sure to stop by every dealer or GS store I came across over time and narrowed down what I liked about certain cases or dial designs.

I realized snowflake for me is way too subtle. The Sakura one is nice, but also too subtle for me. So, I knew I needed to go volder colors and dial textures. It got easier from there.

Another thing is that GS stock photos are not great. You have to see them in person and handle them. Some feel super chunky, some are refined.

I landed on the SLGA007 because of the bright enough blue, the wave texture is obvious, the good accents are beautiful, and the bold/assertive evolution 9 design cues (thicker indices, chunky hour hand, amongst other things) made it a sportier watch.

GS is beautiful irl. Got this and Explorer and the case design of GS blow the rolex out of the water. And dial is just 🤌

You have to see them in the flesh as the finishing is stunning. The bracelets are nothing special but the Spring Drive movements are superb

Depends which model you go for but generally they are polished dressy affairs with nicely finished accurate movements. For me they look better in photos than in real life. After wearing for a while they would get scratched up and lose their appeal quickly. For me. But I still can’t stop looking and dreaming of having one! Useless comment sorry

Definitely try them on!!

If I were getting a GS (and I might) I’d get a 9F quartz. Same level of finishing, supremely accurate and no maintenance costs apart from a new battery. IMO many (obviously not all) of the GS 3 handers look very similar so why spend more.

Absolutely incredible watches are done by GS :)

In my opinion, the photos for GS do not do them justice. They just fail to capture what the watches are actually like. The watches seem to be both simpler and more complex in person somehow. With the zaratsu polishing, the watches play with the light in really interesting ways which just donâÂÂt come across in a photograph as well, particularly the ones that are on the site. To be honest though, I think the often harsh overhead lights of an AD donâÂÂt do them justice either, they look better in more normal lighting conditions. I personally donâÂÂt find the model you put up in the photo dressy at all, but if itâÂÂs just not your cup of tea, then thatâÂÂs fine too. I went to look at GS a while ago and they didnâÂÂt do anything for me. A year later, I went back and bought one - by that time, GS was exactly what I was looking for.

What is spring drive?

It's a new kind of quartz/mechanical hybrid movement created by Seiko Corp, quartz accuracy regular but powered by manual winding movement or automatic rotor, no battery

Thanks for explaining, commented that quite literally right before going to Google and getting an answer lol