Grand Seiko GS9 Club Annual Event-Los Angeles California Nov 4th

Nah, Despite spending $11k on a new GS9 from a GS authorized dealer this year, they won’t let me in their fancy club. 😜 …some excuse about separation of GS North America vs GS everywhere else.

Ya it’s only open to owners who purchased a watch from an AD in the USA. I’m sorry you aren’t eligible. They should have a portal to allow people to transfer the “rights to join” if they sell the watch to another geographic location or you move to a new county or region.

How much markup do we think GS9 has to fund this stuff? Like could their watches be 2k cheaper if there was no club?

I don’t think there would be anywhere near 2k worth of value spent on each member. I honestly wish I saw more value out of the membership. I’ve registered 4 watches with them and I hear about people receiving gifts from GS9 but I’ve never once been mailed anything. (However, my AD has given me stuff after I’ve inquired about gifts/trinkets like GS branded loupes) It makes me want to attend one of these events to enjoy the brand experience and meet more GS nerds in person. But I’ve also been told that my local AD is wanting to plan a GS event for local collectors, so I’m wondering what extra value this event provides if I am able to attend that local event.

I'm definitely gonna be there! I'm registering my wife into the GS9 Club, so that she can go with me. And I know @CliveC is going too. I'm also trying to convince @Edge168n to go.

This is good to hear!!! I’m trying to get some of my local RedBar crew to consider joining but I’m not sure if I’ll get anyone to commit. My best friend that I normally travel to watch events with is busy in Dallas on the event date so I’m trying get another buddy to join me. I hope to see you there!!

I think it’s a fair question, and ballpark accurate if asked in another way. I bought my watch (SLGA015) from an AD in Japan in total for $3k cheaper than I would have walked out of an AD in the US. A second GS9 watch that I almost pulled the trigger on many times is exactly $2.6k cheaper buying it from an AD in Japan. The only difference is, I don’t get to go to join the GS9 club and go to the party that they are throwing 1700 miles away in LA. The reality is, I’m an introvert and don’t get excited by such parties anyway. My nearest US dealer is a 3 hours drive away, so in all cases, I’m ordering on-line, and so it doesn’t matter a lot if it is FedEx’d from the US or Japan.

Have you ever asked a US Grand Seiko AD for a discount? I had mine match the lowest price on Chrono24 from Japan and they matched it. Around 2k savings. Only thing that I’ve never gotten a clear answer with the sellers in Japan I’ve engaged with on Chrono24 is in regards to the warranty they provide. As you see below ⬇️ highlighted is GS policy:

GS states that if you are in Japan & buy a watch and plan on taking it out of Japan that you need to make sure you get the international warranty at time of purchase. I’m always worried about a miscommunication with the seller and the possibility that they get a Japanese warranty card versus an international one.

I’m always looking for the best price so I don’t blame you for buying from Japan. But I wanted to explain my trepidation in the past. Luckily, I have an AD that’s always been willing to work with me on price and that’s something I appreciate. Just wanted to chime in with my thoughts. I definitely believe that nobody should pay full retail price for a GS- there is always room for negotiation and if an AD is unwilling, you leave and go somewhere else. Have a good weekend. Cheers. 🥂

I bought my Grand Seiko at the Beverly Hills boutique, they registered me to GS9. It's really cool, I have gotten a hat, pins, a loupe, and some other random swag show up in the mail.

The Beverly Hills boutique is awesome and the guys over there are great guys, nothing like the other boutiques on Rodeo, they treat you like a old buddy there, no snobbery. Highly recommend getting a watch there, and they get a lot of exclusives that you never hear about that are boutique only, the ADs done get them.

They had a event at the boutique with master watch makers from Japan a while back, they assembled movements and had whiskey and sushi... Seiko is such a huge company that they can really afford to blow money on that stuff.

I did register for this event, and I'll definitely be there, might not be able to make the after party though

Same here, I prefer JDM models and prefer to buy from Japan, my sbgx265 I bought in ginza from The flagship boutique, and my sbgx343 I had to source online as it was a jdm exclusive.

I intend to eat $2,000 worth of sushi at the event. EOM

I’m registered to go. Trying to bring a buddy but will see. I’m excited since it’s not crazy far to travel.

I plan on being my buddy's plus one. I'll be wearing a Seiko turtle. Hopefully that won't be too low brow.