The great sell-off continues... Zenith & Grand Seiko!
I've been actively rethinking my collection and where I find joy in this hobby, and it's moved me to put two of my former "grail" watches up for sale. If you're interested in either one, they're up on eBay now!
My Zenith El Primero A384 Revival on bracelet is in near-perfect condition, but I don't have the original box. It's a truly gorgeous thing and, at 37mm wide and 12.5mm thick, wears better than any automatic chrono out there IMHO. Plus you get some cool bragging rights: It's powered by a truly in-house (no "in-group" or "___-based" nonsense here), hi-beat movement that may-or-may-not-be the first automatic chronograph movement ever made...though it's certainly the only one of the three contenders that proved reliable enough to remain in production, including that time when Rolex was putting them in their Daytonas.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/134753746228
My Grand Seiko SBGX093 is the closest GS ever got to a true tool watch and has a lot of other things rare to the brand: an angular 38.5mm case, anti-magnetic movement, a light-absorbing matte-black dial, and and red GS logo and dial text. This also gets cred-points for being a JDM model with the OG double-branding so you can wear it and tell your friends you were into Grand Seiko before they became cool. Comes with 100% of the original packaging and papers, including the all-in-japanese warranty book, certificate, and cartoon care pamphlet. The watch is in excellent shape, with only some very slight "get this under a macro and you might see something" hairline marks on the bezel. The brushed bracelet (sportier than most GS) and zaratsu-polished case bits are clean as can be. The 10-second-per-year accurate 9f Quartz movement just had a new battery put in by an AD.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/134752526810
Bid away! Or don't! But as these are both enthusiast pieces, I figured this would be my best shot at stirring up some interest...
Design obsessive who loves watches but loathes the watch industry and the snobbery and flex-culture that feeds it. What’s a boy to do?
Selling a grail?? .aybe grail doesn't mean what it used to.
Selling a grail?? .aybe grail doesn't mean what it used to.
Weirdly, the experience of finally getting my "grail" made me rethink the whole idea of a grail watch at all. The Zenith is still everything it was when I first tried it on and became obsessed with it, but I couldn't ignore the simple fact that I always grabbed something else to wear instead. And at that point, I had to ask myself the honest question of why I spent so much money on this watch when I clearly already had other watches that, despite some being far less expensive, I was more inclined to put on. I have a beautiful chrono my wife bought me last year for Christmas and a vintage chrono from the late 60s I bought and had restored over 6 months . . . and the El Primero just couldn't compete with the emotional attachments I have to those two, let alone others I've owned and bonded with for many years. It's made me realize that chasing a grail keeps me in this "prison of want" where I'm not appreciating the things I'm so lucky to already have. And the fewer things I have the more joy I get out of them. So I guess I'm accepting that I'm not a grail guy. If the Zenith is someone else's grail, I totally get it--it's well deserved and I'll admire it on anyone else's wrist I see. I hope whoever buys mine wears the hell out of it.
Hope you don’t regret letting the Zenith go later
Hope you don’t regret letting the Zenith go later
Thanks. I hope I don’t, but considering I barely wear it now I’m pretty comfortable letting it go to someone who will use it the way it deserves to be used.
Weirdly, the experience of finally getting my "grail" made me rethink the whole idea of a grail watch at all. The Zenith is still everything it was when I first tried it on and became obsessed with it, but I couldn't ignore the simple fact that I always grabbed something else to wear instead. And at that point, I had to ask myself the honest question of why I spent so much money on this watch when I clearly already had other watches that, despite some being far less expensive, I was more inclined to put on. I have a beautiful chrono my wife bought me last year for Christmas and a vintage chrono from the late 60s I bought and had restored over 6 months . . . and the El Primero just couldn't compete with the emotional attachments I have to those two, let alone others I've owned and bonded with for many years. It's made me realize that chasing a grail keeps me in this "prison of want" where I'm not appreciating the things I'm so lucky to already have. And the fewer things I have the more joy I get out of them. So I guess I'm accepting that I'm not a grail guy. If the Zenith is someone else's grail, I totally get it--it's well deserved and I'll admire it on anyone else's wrist I see. I hope whoever buys mine wears the hell out of it.
I got it all wrong. I was under the impression the idea of selling them would be an excuse to restart the cycle of looking for a grail watch 🙂
In all seriousness, I understand. I started selling some myself because I always grab the same two watches to wear all the time.
I got it all wrong. I was under the impression the idea of selling them would be an excuse to restart the cycle of looking for a grail watch 🙂
In all seriousness, I understand. I started selling some myself because I always grab the same two watches to wear all the time.
Less is always more ;)
Knowledge!