When I think of Seiko, I think of all the people who couldn’t care less about watches and bought a Seiko just because of that. It tells time, and it does it cheap. Now, I know that this is not true in all cases. There are plenty of nice Seikos that I really like, but I (almost) never include them in articles. Actually, last few weeks I got a few mails (including hate-mails) from people wondering why I didn’t include Seiko watches in my buying guide articles over at Motoring Exposure (click here for the articles).

Picture by Stefan /  Molle Watch

My long time blog friend (a.k.a The Seiko Champion) Harry Bishop also wondered why I didn’t include a Seiko timepiece in my 1000 – 2000 USD buying guide article in his most recent blog post. What he actually writes, is the following:

“I would challenge those who exclude Asian (and other) high-end well known brands of watch makers from their lists. The perception of European dominance in luxury watches is actually just an example of successful marketing … it’s not true, and it’s a relatively recent perspective. Other countries including the US used to be considered the premier manufacturers of luxury watches, but that changed last century. Some of this changed for real, other parts of it just changed in belief.

I’m not talking about new Chinese firms with little heritage. I’m talking about something like a Grand Seiko, which has the heritage, quality, accuracy, and aesthetics to more than hold it’s head up high in this company. I guess this post earns me my “Seiko Champion” moniker.”

Why not turn it around? I believe this is the result of unsuccessful marketing by Seiko (and other Asian companies) that made me not include a Grand Seiko in one of my articles. I do not recall seeing a Seiko Spring Drive or (other) Grand Seiko model in a jeweller shop in The Netherlands, other than at Van Koningsbruggen in Zoetermeer (a city near The Hague). This is the only shop I actually saw one and held one in my hands. I’ve never seen them anywhere else in The Netherlands or in another European country. This, and this only, is the reason that I do not include Grand Seiko (Spring Drive) watches in my buyer’s guide articles or cover them at all here at Fratellowatches. I believe I would include them if they were widely available and when I had some hands-on experience with these watches. Because honestly, some of them just look marvellous!

Now, I have been looking around for Grand Seikos on the web, looked into dedicated Seiko forums at WatchUseek and TimeZone but one thing has become clear.. I am not the only one wondering where to get these Grand Seiko timepieces. Vintages models are the easiest to get here in The Netherlands. I have seen several on eBay listing for a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars but old-fashioned as I am, before spending over a 1000 USD on a timepiece, I would love to hold one in my hands and try one first.

One of the few nice ones I noticed is this one:

I guess I will keep following these eBay items for a while, just to get an idea about value and availability. As for the new models, where do I need to go? Tell me.

Pioneering Swiss watchmaking for 150 years. According to the official TAG Heuer website that is, because there is some discussion around the ‘pioneering’ part. Their latest in-house manufactured caliber 1887 movement seems to be based on a Seiko movement. Nothing necessarily wrong with that,  however, TAG Heuer’s press release stated that this caliber 1887 is a ‘designed 100% in-house’ movement. Even according to TAG Heuer’s CEO J. Babin, it is clearly not designed in-house, as the CEO himself is posting messages on several TAG Heuer forums to give an explanation to all TAG Heuer fans. His post on WatchUseek starts like this: “Hi, I’m J.C. Babin the CEO of TAG Heuer, and YES, the new Caliber 1887 is based on a SII (Seiko Instruments Inc.) TC78 platform developped and patented in 1997 (filing) and eversince produced in very limited quantities, apparently for Junghans and Seiko watches in Japan.”

I would have guessed he just would have send another press release, fire the marketing dude who came up with the one-liner and get a communication/PR professional to fix things with the heated forum crowd. Perhaps they’ve already done that, or would it be a coincidence that TAG Heuer’s website is not available right now? (Service Unavailable error)

TAG Heuer’s Caliber 1887 movement

Kyle Stults of Perpetuelle did a very nice job on describing the whole matter in a blog post on his website. Click here for Kyle’s article, “TAG Heuer shoots itself in the foot on Tag Heuer Caliber 1887 launch”. Also check-out TAG Heuer devote website Calibre11.com.

Sometimes, I notice that I don’t look anymore at certain < 1000 USD (or 750 Euro) watches. Not that I think they aren’t properly made or that these watches are inferior to what is in my collection already, but I just overlook them. Aside from being in the credit crisis and bonuses aren’t being spend on expensive watches, I think some of these < 1000 USD watches can be mighty interesting. For both the starting and the advanced collector.

Like one of my watch friends recently said, it is very easy to be critical (or negative) towards the quality of cheaper watches, but look at it this way: it is quite charming to get a watch that you know of that it could be done better, but not for this kind of money or not by the people behind it. They did the best thing they could do (in their powers) to create a watch, and for this kind of money.

1. DMH

First of this top 5 is a watch that was introduced to me by HorlogeNieuws.nl, a Dutch website for watch adepts. DMH stands for Dingemans Mechanische Horloges, which is Dutch for Dingemans Mechanical Watches. This one-man show is the work of Fred Dingemans, he works from his home in a small village in The Netherlands. He uses all kind of tools, but makes sure he does as much by himself as possible. Only 12 pieces per year and approximately 800 euro. A bit above budget perhaps, but it also depends how the USD>EUR conversion is today Not a lot of money for a hand crafted watch like this, using a mechnical Swiss movement, original design and produced in very limited numbers.

2. Sinn 656

This 720 Euro Sinn 656 is a serious option for both serious collectors as the starting collector. Or the guy that just wants one decent watch for a very fair price. It has an ETA 2824-2 movement, a very legible dial, a date feature and a nice soft leather strap. I have written a lot about Sinn in the past and at one point, I even owned one (the ST142St.S). Sinn is a relative small watch manufacturer from Frankfurt am Main in Germany, creating highly functional watches. Function over form, so to speak. The 656 is highly anti-magnetic (80.000 m/A), has a sand blasted case, sapphire crystal and comes with either a leather strap or stainless steel bracelet. The picture is from Horloge Platform Nederland btw.

3. Junghans Max Bill Automatic

Another watch from our German watch friends, who are especially known for two of their models. The Mega1 radio controlled wrist watch and the Max Bill watch. Max Bill was a designer (Bauhaus) and designed a bauhaus style watch for Junghans (since 1861) in 1962. Lately, Junghans has been re-releasing this watch up to current standards. The 38mm automatic version is 695 Euro and comes on a mesh bracelet. This is a typical watch that works for almost anyone who is in the need of a classic time piece.

4. Stowa Airman

Loyal readers might recognize this picture, as I have been blogging about it before (click here for the coverage on this watch). Stowa is owned by Jorg Schauer, known for the time pieces made under his own name. For 590 Euro (approximately 780 USD), you can have this original flieger uhr (pilot’s watch). No branding on the dial, as legible as it can come, automatic ETA 2824-2 movement (same as the Sinn 656), blued hands and a 40mm watch case. This size is considered to be the maximum again by some watch fans. This watch can be ordered directly from the Stowa website. A watch like this is probably not for everyone (including me), but I know for sure that a lot of you will like the ‘raw’ flieger thing.

5. Seiko Monster SKX781

I am not joking. For less than 200 USD, you are the owner of this Seiko Monster watch. It is a respected watch amongst divers and collectors, water resistant to 200 meters, has an inhouse automatic movement (caliber 7S26, for what it is worth), 42mm in diameter and for a few bucks extra, you can attach a rubber strap to it as well. I’ll be the first one to admit that this is a bit of a strange choice, but it is here to show you that even for as little money as 200 USD you can have a nice (and original) automatic time piece of great quality. Although I think the bracelet might be a bit sharp edged, with a rubber strap it should be comfortable. The production of this watch started in 2000, and its name ‘Monster’ is of course not official. Officially, Seiko just uses the SKX781 reference. The stainless steel bracelet has a diver’s extension, which is there to use with a diving suit. The mechanical movement is automatic, and the strange thing is, it doesn’t handwind. You really have to ‘use’ the rotor to wind it.

To sum it up, these are 5 more or less ‘unique’ (each in its own way) time pieces that can be had for less than 1000 USD. Of course, there are a lot more, and my top 5 will probably change along the way. But for now, I definately would choose from these 5, probably number 1 (DMH) or 2 (Sinn 656).

What would be your top 5 of < 1000 USD watches? Leave your ideas in the comments!

Just two days ago, I received an e-mail from Dell over at www.jamesbondwatches.com telling me that he is in the progress of creating the most comprehensive list of timepieces used in EON Productions (by Albert R. Broccoli) a.k.a. the 007 movies. His website is all about timepieces in Bond movies, so you’ll find the known big brands like Rolex, Omega, Seiko, Pulsar and Breitling, but there are also a lot of ‘unknown’ watches used in these movies. If you are able to identify the unknown watches or can be more specific about some of the used timepieces, please participate!

Picture of this Omega Seamaster Professional 2531.80 by Antiquorum.com

You can find the complete list at: http://www.jamesbondwatches.com/the-list-eon-movies.htm

Enjoy!