Sold all his High End Watches and went Vintage Grand Seiko

[Old Expat Beast]

Very interesting piece about Gerald "The Grand Seiko Guy" Donovan and his vintage Grand Seiko collection.

https://gearpatrol.com/2018/05/08/in...-seiko-expert/

[yoniman]

Can't blame him. Wonderful watches. Rich in history and heritage. At a glance seems simple and elegant. But upon closer inspection as he did with his photography you'll be blown away by the details and craftsmanship.

Just saw a GS on Hodinkee priced at US $55k!

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[ajas]

Thanks for shaing. Great Brand

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[the_natural]

I realize it's premature, and GS is still no Rolex in the hype or awareness categories, but nevertheless I'm starting to feel a little panicky about getting what I want before they're more expensive, hard to get, etc.

Grand Seiko sucks, never buy one!

[FTX I]

Very interesting Adam. Thanks for sharing.

[Old Expat Beast]

I already posted it some time back, but this video interview is worth watching if you found the article interesting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlbpp5eLdDM

[andromeda160]

I like my vintage Seikos, I have a small collection of divers, chronos, and day dates I’ve picked up at garage sales throughout the years. I’d love a vintage GS, not sure if I’d sell my collection to get one though

[Old Expat Beast]

Originally Posted by andromeda160

I like my vintage Seikos, I have a small collection of divers, chronos, and day dates I’ve picked up at garage sales throughout the years. I’d love a vintage GS, not sure if I’d sell my collection to get one though

Maybe a vintage King Seiko, Greg? Same era (early 60s to mid 70s), very similar styles, finishing and movements, pretty much the same quality, but now half the price or less, as the brand was never resurrected like GS was, so isn't as recognised.

[andromeda160]

Originally Posted by Old Expat Beast

Maybe a vintage King Seiko, Greg? Same era (early 60s to mid 70s), very similar styles, finishing and movements, pretty much the same quality, but now half the price or less, as the brand was never resurrected like GS was, so isn't as recognised.

I have this quartz and the same watch with an automatic movement with a burst dial that reminds me of like a paint job on an old strat. They’re extremely comfortable. How do the high beat movement seikos rate amongst them? I love the dial options on all of these. I wouldn’t mind getting a higher end model. We just got a vintage 1601 in the shop that I really want now as well. I haven’t been too active in the watch game lately. Finally getting a bit of time to enjoy it again.

[Old Expat Beast]

Vintage GS and KS Hi-Beats were either 36,000 or 28,000 bph. This was a time when most high end watches like Rolex were still chugging along at 19,800 or 21,600. They're really good in house movements that went through rapid development. I have a had a few serviced and they have never needed replacement parts and always put up good numbers on the timegrapher.

[andromeda160]

Originally Posted by Old Expat Beast

Vintage GS and KS Hi-Beats were either 36,000 or 28,000 bph. This was a time when most high end watches like Rolex were still chugging along at 19,800 or 21,600. They're really good in house movements that went through rapid development. I have a had a few serviced and they have never needed replacement parts and always put up good numbers on the timegrapher.

I have a hi beat model, is that apart of the KS line or is it seperate altogether?


Time to hit the bay after work and look at the KS’ haha

[Old Expat Beast]

Originally Posted by andromeda160

I have a hi beat model, is that apart of the KS line or is it seperate altogether?


Time to hit the bay after work and look at the KS’ haha

Hi-Beat is just a term, a bit like "Automatic", but proprietary to Seiko. King Seiko will say King Seiko or just KS on the dial. Hi-Beat watches can be manual or automatic.

[bdex75]

Still think GS is the best kept secret in the casual watch collecting world. Especially vintage GS.

Modern GS at msrp is still a tough pill for me to swallow because of the depreciation but from a fit and finish and reliability standpoint I think they can be put up against anyone.


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[turboevo2]

I understand that sometimes we get bored of our watch collection. But if I was him I would still keep some of his swiss watches and sell only some to fund his Seiko collection. As a watch collector it is nice to collected not only swiss but also other makes. I have my seiko's as my weekday wearer and swiss for weekends. The level of quality on each watch and makes are different and I can appreciate each watch more. Cheers!