Zelos is the reason why I'll probably never buy from Seiko again
Today I woke up late and decided that it was time to take care of the Zelos Horizons GMT. The routine consist mainly of wiping it clean with a lightly oiled cloth and putting a drop of silicone gasket oil between the bezel and the case. Holding the Horizons in my hands brought me to the realization that I never accepted its role in making Seiko irrelevant to me.
It goes beyond the qualities that are specific to the Horizons, and this realization brought back to my mind the first paragraph I wrote in its review where I stated that Zelos is a strange company.
I should have realized then that Zelos are not "just" another microbrand, they became an enthusiast brand because they do everything that Seiko are no longer doing. They try and experiment with different materials for their cases and dials, they are not stuck with recycling the same pedestrian movement, and they are way better at engaging us with the release of their products. This is in stark contrast with the cash grabbing unlimited limited editions from Seiko.
In short, in my mind Zelos took over the same place that used to be held by Seiko: The place to look for interesting watches with good quality at an affordable price. Seiko can't do that for me anymore, not when they still think that double branding with an ass ugly X prostate logo is the height of innovation, while not even caring about their QC problems on +1KUS$ watches.
Seiko became irrelevant to me because they are no longer able to make me enthusiastic about their products - Zelos does.
I'm a big fan of watches that are interesting because they are either unique, have interesting features, well designed or simply offer a great value for their price.
Glad to see you have found a brand you feel you can trust. 😁👍
Glad to see you have found a brand you feel you can trust. 😁👍
I trust them to at least align the bezel correctly, something that is apparently impossible to achieve on my SPB147.
I have never really been very accepting of Seiko. GS well that's different.
Unfortunately it's the same for most big companies, they forget the ethos that made them successful in the first place and forget about what their customers want and need. It's what happens when accountants are put in charge rather than working with passionate people who care about the product. That's a hell of a good looking watch, think if that was in my box I'd forget about 90% of my collection, seiko or not, it's that good!!!
I almost bought a salmon dial Comet when the launch was announced. It was only whenI remembered having a Lorier Safari on back order that I dismissed the idea of getting a second Zelos.
Unfortunately it's the same for most big companies, they forget the ethos that made them successful in the first place and forget about what their customers want and need. It's what happens when accountants are put in charge rather than working with passionate people who care about the product. That's a hell of a good looking watch, think if that was in my box I'd forget about 90% of my collection, seiko or not, it's that good!!!
You are, unfortunately, correct. I think that the last watch from Seiko that was driven to market by an enthusiastic and dedicated team was the SARB Alpinist.
That’s funny, Seiko is the reason I’ll probably never buy from Seiko again.
That’s funny, Seiko is the reason I’ll probably never buy from Seiko again.
There is that too.
I think they are a great brand but one issue is that they are so damn hard to get when they do small runs. I went for the vitesse and it somehow sold out before the actual launch
Talking about logos, between the X and the Z… I don’t know!
Lol prostate.
I think this photo confirms your statements.
And my Seiko FlightPooper that destroyed itself within a couple months.
Talking about logos, between the X and the Z… I don’t know!
You may not like the Z of Zelos because of its shape or design and that's OK. The problem with the Prostate X logo goes beyond being an insta-uglifying device because it also create a situation of double branding, and that's bad for many reasons, among them:
I am a watch squirrel I cannot help myself. Both companies make shiny nice things. I will collect both for my nut collection.... they will live together in my tree house...
Sooooo, as a major Seiko collector over many, many years you know my response is going to have a certain bias, but here are my thoughts
You really can't compare an Indy brand to a company like Seiko. The appeal of the Indy brand is the attention to the details that you aren't going to find from a mass manufacturer like Seiko.
I have a large collection of independent brand watches, and a large Seiko collection. I think that I pretty well understand both. It isn't easy to do what Seiko does at the scale and price points at which they do it. It is far easier for detail focus on smaller batches than mass manufactured watches. Many of those indy watches use Seiko parts/movements and they would not exist without Seiko now would they?
In the past, I've relied on Seiko as a diving instrument, a flying instrument, and I still would trust my Seiko watch if I needed to right now.
Sooooo, as a major Seiko collector over many, many years you know my response is going to have a certain bias, but here are my thoughts
You really can't compare an Indy brand to a company like Seiko. The appeal of the Indy brand is the attention to the details that you aren't going to find from a mass manufacturer like Seiko.
I have a large collection of independent brand watches, and a large Seiko collection. I think that I pretty well understand both. It isn't easy to do what Seiko does at the scale and price points at which they do it. It is far easier for detail focus on smaller batches than mass manufactured watches. Many of those indy watches use Seiko parts/movements and they would not exist without Seiko now would they?
In the past, I've relied on Seiko as a diving instrument, a flying instrument, and I still would trust my Seiko watch if I needed to right now.
Yes I can, I just did.
And that's the problem. Seiko is no longer doing what they used to do. What I want from them is more of this:
And less of that:
You may not like the Z of Zelos because of its shape or design and that's OK. The problem with the Prostate X logo goes beyond being an insta-uglifying device because it also create a situation of double branding, and that's bad for many reasons, among them:
About the X on Seiko watches, I just don't like the complementarity of seiko and X graphics and proportion. But nothing against the existing of different range names in the dials. For example, I really like 5s logos. But I can't stop buying a Seiko X because of this.
About the Z, I will probably think about buying a cool Zelos if they change the logo.
Lol prostate.
I think this photo confirms your statements.
And my Seiko FlightPooper that destroyed itself within a couple months.
I pretty sure that this shroud is also called "ablative armor". It just ablated too much and too fast but this is no reason to complain and call it by ugly names, such as "this shit just disintegrated before my eyes".
I hate to ride the middle lane, but I love them both. I got my first Zelos recently. The new Swordfish in the bright blue full lume dial. It’s awesome. The quality to price ratio is high.
My love of Seiko isn’t really rooted in what they’re doing now. I have the SPB143, and it’s great. It looks awesome on a shark mesh, and I wear it often. But the OG’s like the SKX and SNZG are the watches I would never sell.
Also, and this is a recent development: I consider the after market support not now, but 10, 20 years from now; when considering a watch‘s value. Seiko service centers kinda suck, but at least I know there will be spare parts lying around. I can’t say the same for some of my favorite microbrands that may no longer exist.
Totally agree with you. I love mine!
Cheers!