Seiko Club Singapore Museum

GRAND SEIKO Smittened !!!

flamenco
GRAND SEIKO Smittened !!!
Grand Seikos for me has always held a mystery as mystical as the orient. Thru several very informative and technical posts in this forum that made up my mind on obtaining one in my humble collection.



A long search thus began……..



It was back in the late 2009 that I read with great interest that GS released 2 models, namely the BGH001 & SBGH003 watches with an astonishing 36,000BPH. The 9S85 caliber quelled all rumors that Seiko has abandoned high end mechanical watch production. With the 9S85 came a claimed accuracy of +5/-1 seconds per day, quite possibly the most accurate movement in production. As we now know, Seiko has achieved this through innovations in mainspring and escape wheel design.



Fast forward to 17 Dec 2010, on a business trip to the Fragrant Harbor (Holly Land for GS outside of Japan). Spent a day of intense hunting and I ended with my latest prized catch. Not to mention a limited edition which I feared was all sold out. Lady luck was smiling on a cold wind chilled day …….







The watch itself is presented very much in a traditional GS design; dauphine hands, oyster bracelet in traditional case.











Exquisite dial work on the 50th Anniversary, makes the normal production, well normal !!



















Casework and bracelet is nothing short of breathtaking.











The famed 9S85 with a revised mainspring and escapement wheel.











Have a smallish 6.5" wrist and fair complexion & not the best hand model . And one taken with the BB Bold 9700 for comparison sake.
lunarin79
Re: GRAND SEIKO Smittened !!!
first & foremost, welcome to SC :D



I believe you're one super lucky guy to be able to purchase this LE piece!!



My friend had been hunting this for close to a year w/o any luck :mrgreen:



Thanks for your review on this superb timepiece!
flamenco
Re: GRAND SEIKO Smittened !!!
Thanks for the welcome ! In fact I like the 50th Anniversary so much I am looking for the Blue Dial version (just to complete the collection) ;)



Would have gone for the 130th anniversary had it not been a tad small at 36mm.
devil00
GRAND SEIKO Smittened !!!
Very nice piece there.... Congrats :D
hisokaka
Re: GRAND SEIKO Smittened !!!
very nice! how much did it cost u?
dominicwor2
Re: GRAND SEIKO Smittened !!!
very nice pc there n lucky u bro!

somemore is 36kbph *drools*



Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
flamenco
Re: GRAND SEIKO Smittened !!!
Thanks guys! Have had the watch for more than a yr now, and it sits atop my fav list, despite its price tag (relatively speaking of course). Its very comfy to wear for prolonged periods (much like rollies) and the dial never gets boring. The extra touches to commenorate the 50th anniversary makes it jus tat bit more special.



Not sure if I am flouting any rules here, but I got the watch at low SGD9k when the HKD-SGD rates were much better (compare to current rates).



At 36kpbh, not many touches it, perhaps the el primeros, in terms of accuracy. Had tested it on my winder for 1 mth straight, in a vertical position (ie watch face perpendiculr to ground), and its barely gained a min !! That is quart-like (I exaggerate here) .... well almost



I have quite a few reviews/photologues that I have put up on various other forums which I like to put up here for the benefit of this forum. Just have to find some time, perhaps on the weekends, to do so.



Look forward to more "action" on this board ! Cheerios !
watchlooker
Re: GRAND SEIKO Smittened !!!
Super cool GS.... lucky guy you are! ;) There is only 300 pieces of it.....
tzetze
Re: GRAND SEIKO Smittened !!!
wah, v nice, im on the look out for this too!



the blue face 50th anni one i recently saw it sold on ebay for ard US$6k.
Evirobie
Re: GRAND SEIKO Smittened !!!
Nice watch and at a very nice price!!!



If ones come along my way... I would definitely grab it even using my reserve funds. :lol:
fireal
Re: GRAND SEIKO Smittened !!!
beautiful.... :mrgreen:
TheChef
Re: GRAND SEIKO Smittened !!!
This is the holy grail for me.
Cosmograph
Re: GRAND SEIKO Smittened !!!
Beautiful! The dial especially, not to mention the movement. Definitely a keeper! Which area or shops did you check out (if you can share) did you hunt out of curiosity?
BnL
Re: GRAND SEIKO Smittened !!!
Super nice unique dial.
edmundgoh
Re: GRAND SEIKO Smittened !!!
All the Seiko 50th Anniversary Commemorative Edition, are made to exceed any Grand Seiko watch ever built.



SBGH015 is not the regular "Hi-beat" +5/-3 sec/day found in SBGH001.

It is a specially tuned “HI-BEAT 36000” caliber for 50th Anniversary Edition, delivering even higher accuracy: a mean daily rate between +4/-2 sec.

The “SPECIAL” logo is printed in gold on the dial to symbolize this -2/+4 sec precision.



It feature a unusually high Magnetic resistance: 10,000 A/m (125 gauss) compared to 4800 A/m (60 gauss) of SBGH001.



Limited edition of 300 pieces



Recommended retail price in Japan:

JPY682,500 if you can ever find 1.
steve mcqueen
Re: GRAND SEIKO Smittened !!!
dun let me drool too much. grand seiko with anniversary limited edition. I'm poisoned
Becky
Re: GRAND SEIKO Smittened !!!
Welcome to scs Steve!



All the bros here all already drooling..get ready to get poison more deeply!



:lol:
ae121
Re: GRAND SEIKO Smittened !!!
omg.... very nice pics... makes me wanna try to source for one.... pity my pockets....
004
Re: GRAND SEIKO Smittened !!!
"WOW" Simply a very beautifull watch , work of art . :)
Helloroo
Re: GRAND SEIKO Smittened !!!
Beautiful watch. Do you find it to be very heavy on your wrist?
KKFA
Re: GRAND SEIKO Smittened !!!
Wow very nice watch. Love the dial. Was told "hi-beat" watches will requires more servicing and p[arts repalcement as they wear out faster (??). Do you find this to be true? Wear your GS in good health!
Watchman
Re: GRAND SEIKO Smittened !!!
Indeed a beautifully piece of watch from Grand Seiko especially the dial, it growing at me!
snip3r
Re: GRAND SEIKO Smittened !!!
Wah nice...same price as rolex and other swiss watches..
ivan
Re: GRAND SEIKO Smittened !!!

"snip3r"

Wah nice...same price as rolex and other swiss watches..


Ha ha ha .....

Your remark quite chim.

Need to decipher. ....



Sent from my GT-N7105 using Tapatalk 2
walfisch
Re: GRAND SEIKO Smittened !!!

"snip3r"

Wah nice...same price as rolex and other swiss watches..


lol what is your point?
KKFA
Re: GRAND SEIKO Smittened !!!
Hi maybe going to HK soon. Can anyone share where is a good area/shop to go hunting for GSes. Do u guys buy using cash or credit? Sorry for such a noob question. I hope to be as lucky, I wish. Still drooling over the hi beat. Thanks in advance.
004
Re: GRAND SEIKO Smittened !!!

"snip3r"

Wah nice...same price as rolex and other swiss watches..




Just like a Rolex , Grand Seiko are high quality precision time piece's "hence" the same price ;)
Seamonster
Re: GRAND SEIKO Smittened !!!
Beautiful piece! Love the textured dial and gs lion on the dial
xxccxx
Re: GRAND SEIKO Smittened !!!
Hi everyone! I'm new here, but have been a GS fan ever since I first came across GS. I just went Tokyo and HK with family, and was casually asking in Tokyo used watch shops, but was told the SBGH015 cannot be found in the market anymore.



Then, when I was in HK, I went to SINO Centre at Mongkok to buy cheap Disneyland tickets from travel agency, and the first floor has many watch dealers. I casually walked into the first used watch shop to ask, and I found the SBGH015! The rest of it is history... :mrgreen:



Not cheap, though... slightly more ex than brand new with 15% discount from Thongsia.
KKFA
Re: GRAND SEIKO Smittened !!!
Lucky you. was there end Oct but saw nothing. You mean you got it brand new but was more ex than even TS in Singapore?

No worries, main thing is you enjoy the watch.

Cheers
xxccxx
Re: GRAND SEIKO Smittened !!!
Nope, I got it in a used watch shop, so it is pre-owned. But condition is 9/10, with slight user marks on the bracelet.



That's why I said it is considered expensive, since it is more ex than brand new from Thongsia with 15% off. But what the heck, I really like the watch and brand new ones would be impossible to find, I believe...



I'd like to think that the watch found me :lol: ... I wasn't even purposely looking for it. I was there for Disneyland tickets, but saw a used watch shop, so I thought why not just walk in to ask.
xxccxx
Re: GRAND SEIKO Smittened !!!
Nope, I didn't get it brand new, but pre-owned from a used watch shop. That's why I said it is expensive, because it cost even more than brand new from Thongsia with 15% off! But then, I like the watch so much, and it is so rare that someone who has it would let it go, so I bought it anyway!



I would even say that the watch found me... :lol: You see, I wasn't even hunting for the watch, cuz I was there to buy Disneyland tickets, saw a used watch shop, and just walked in and asked the shopkeeper. In fact, the shopkeeper said the previous owner is silly, cuz no one would sell this watch.



Then, the thing that made me most proud was when I went to a huge double-storey Rolex store in HK, wearing this Hi-beat. The supervisor who served me immediately recognized that as a rare GS, and praised me for having an eye for GS. Then he called a few of his colleagues (one is supposedly a GS fan too) using walkie-talkie (its a double-storey Rolex store) to come and see the GS, and suddenly, I became the centre of attraction in the Rolex store because of my GS!!! :lol:
Evirobie
Re: GRAND SEIKO Smittened !!!

"xxccxx"

Nope, I didn't get it brand new, but pre-owned from a used watch shop. That's why I said it is expensive, because it cost even more than brand new from Thongsia with 15% off! But then, I like the watch so much, and it is so rare that someone who has it would let it go, so I bought it anyway!



I would even say that the watch found me... :lol: You see, I wasn't even hunting for the watch, cuz I was there to buy Disneyland tickets, saw a used watch shop, and just walked in and asked the shopkeeper. In fact, the shopkeeper said the previous owner is silly, cuz no one would sell this watch.



Then, the thing that made me most proud was when I went to a huge double-storey Rolex store in HK, wearing this Hi-beat. The supervisor who served me immediately recognized that as a rare GS, and praised me for having an eye for GS. Then he called a few of his colleagues (one is supposedly a GS fan too) using walkie-talkie (its a double-storey Rolex store) to come and see the GS, and suddenly, I became the centre of attraction in the Rolex store because of my GS!!! :lol:


Wow, you one lucky guy to get that model. I know a few guys including me in this forum is looking for that too. If you want to let that go, you know who to look for. But it is indeed one of the finest piece in term of dial design and the rotor.



Sent by the yellow minions.
KKFA
Re: GRAND SEIKO Smittened !!!
Double wow. I queue behind Evirobie if you ever wanna let go.. hahaha :D
IzIz
Re: GRAND SEIKO Smittened !!!

"xxccxx"

Nope, I didn't get it brand new, but pre-owned from a used watch shop. That's why I said it is expensive, because it cost even more than brand new from Thongsia with 15% off! But then, I like the watch so much, and it is so rare that someone who has it would let it go, so I bought it anyway!



I would even say that the watch found me... :lol: You see, I wasn't even hunting for the watch, cuz I was there to buy Disneyland tickets, saw a used watch shop, and just walked in and asked the shopkeeper. In fact, the shopkeeper said the previous owner is silly, cuz no one would sell this watch.



Then, the thing that made me most proud was when I went to a huge double-storey Rolex store in HK, wearing this Hi-beat. The supervisor who served me immediately recognized that as a rare GS, and praised me for having an eye for GS. Then he called a few of his colleagues (one is supposedly a GS fan too) using walkie-talkie (its a double-storey Rolex store) to come and see the GS, and suddenly, I became the centre of attraction in the Rolex store because of my GS!!! :lol:


Good to know they know their stuff and not snobbish.