In Japan a GS watch is more highly prized than Swiss brands like Rolex, but it is still a different culture - here in North American we’re still swayed by the Swiss marketing machine. And to be honest, as a rule we tend to like less conservative looks in higher end watches.

GS has a fairly extensive and impressive history, and vintage models still command a good price, however they are still a real discount compared to other chronometer-grade watches of that era.

The particular example you show is actually not one of my favorite GS models, I prefer the SBGM003, which although a non-Spring Drive GS is a much more dressy watch with a creamy off-white dial. In the Spring Drive line, I’d pick one of their desk divers , the SBGA031 or SBGA029 (stainless and titanium respectively.

GS tend to appeal to a small sub-segment of the luxury market over here … those who appreciate very high quality but with conservative design. You’ll never see a Grand Seiko flashed around the same way you do some people’s Rolex .

Thanks as always for the great posts.
Cheers from Canada
Harry
http://www.harrybishop.ca

You hit the nail on the head! Watches are (almost) nothing but marketing, especially Swiss watches. Of course craftsmanship, complicated designs etc. also have their price, but rarely make up the most of the watch. Like you already pointed out, a lot of expensive watches have relatively humble movements.

Let’s be honest; if you want a mechanical watch, why not buy a $100,- Seiko 5 that will serve you very well for the rest of your life? Besides, you can still pass it on to your kids, James Bond wore a Seiko too and I’m sure that there are many fighter pilot’s, professional divers and even astronauts that depend on the brand to tell time. However, after the quartz-crisis the Swiss watch evolved from a device to tell time into art. And then all the rules that previously applied, don’t count anymore, since art is emotion rather then rational thinking. A benefit for the majority of the Swiss brands, a challenge for brands like Seiko.

1) Design
As innovative as Seiko is with its movement design, so conservative they are with their case, dial and bracelet design. They are highly influenced by their Swiss counterparts and that is a pity. I can understand that they want to go for safe but at least give the watch a unique appearance, since that can be a selling point itself.

2) The name
Call me a snob but when I spend several thousands of euro’s on a watch I don’t want to call it Seiko. I know you buy a watch for yourself, but with this amount of money emotion fills in a lot of the equation, and knowing that most Seiko’s sell for (well) under 500 euro’s makes this GS GMT hard to chew for me.

All together the GS GMT reminds me a lot to the Volkswagen Phaeton; superior in almost everyway but never a hot seller, unlike its counterpart the Audi A8. I hope that the Grand Seiko-range has a different destiny, but even a very interesting movement and great finish is not enough for me to spend this kind of money.