New Hodinkee Article About GS Direction in the USA

[Old Expat Beast]

Quite long but interesting, with some good comments.

https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/gr...-move-upmarket

[Justinmg]

I liked it, I’ve never been able to handle a gs but they interest me and I’ve only heard good things, would be cool to see some AD around.

[ArtNouveau]

I walked into their first dealer in Houston today, a Ben Bridge in the upscale Galleria mall. I have also handled them in a high end NY watch store. So far their style doesn’t really match mine although I can see and feel the quality. I’m hoping they branch out with more options as they grow.
I just hope the mothership doesn’t veer away from the low to midrange mechanicals. Just a few years ago I had to order mechanical divers from overseas, the Turtles are now easy to find in the US. The article seems to say they will keep that range here.

[toxicavenger]

Weird not one mention of Joseph Kirk, he has been pushing for GS to come to the US market for at least the last 10 years. Now he is working up at Seiko HQ in NYC I think.

[Art 1]

I'm fortunate to have a GS AD at both places I live in N America. A buddy from London has been telling me their cases ard finishing are of PP quality, he owns quite a few PP watches. Well I agree they are wonderfully made watches. I wish GS the best of luck gaining ground in Canada and the USA

[scarlet knight]

I do wish Grand Seiko success, but I’ve never met a Seiko diver that I didn’t like.

Well once. A Kinetic Tuna shrouded GMT that weighed more than my arm.

[psv]

I do admire and respect the quality of the output and the ambition but at the end of the day, they won't make it into the top 5 for me. Part of the allure of owning/using a watch is the aspiration. As a teenage watch nerd in Sweden, my dream watch was a Rolex. I really liked other brands as well, ended up with a Citizen diver, later a Longines Admiral with a 7750 movement, etc, but never, at any point, did I aspire to own a Seiko. And that hasn't changed.

I recently got my son a Seiko automatic diver as his first real watch, and he really digs it. But that is the level they play at in my book, regardless of what the high priests/archbishops at Hodinkee say.

[GB-man]

This part makes sense to me.

"Another factor in the move upmarket is that Seiko's top brass see the Swiss as vulnerable. Seiko executives note that many luxury retailers are unhappy with how Swiss brands are treating them, noting that Swiss brands continue to close authorized dealers and open their own boutiques, and continue to over-produce luxury watches, which hurts jewelers by boosting gray-market sales. They say jewelers are becoming more receptive to alternatives to Swiss luxury brands."

[PJ S]

Originally Posted by toxicavenger

Weird not one mention of Joseph Kirk, he has been pushing for GS to come to the US market for at least the last 10 years. Now he is working up at Seiko HQ in NYC I think.

Grand Seiko was already officially imported by Seiko USA back in 2010, as they were in UK, EU, and Australia too. Joe worked for Arizona Finetime, one of the first ADs to take on Grand Seiko.
He since left and can now be found in the Miami boutique of Seiko.

One thing the article doesn’t do, at all, is mention the fact that (Grand) Seiko only produces less than 20K mechanical pieces, which includes Credor, GS, and Prospex, each year.
Compare that to the hundreds of thousands that IWC, TAG Heuer, Breitling, Omega, and Rolex (in ascending order), churn out annually, and it’s not hard to fathom why Grand Seiko will be a brand needing to be sought out as opposed to being seen in evey city and many of the larger towns.

[PJ S]

Originally Posted by scarlet knight

...

Well once. A Kinetic Tuna shrouded GMT that weighed more than my arm.

You lightweight! At least it would’ve prevented you from getting blown away in a stiff breeze.

[imperio]

Originally Posted by PJ S

Grand Seiko was already officially imported by Seiko USA back in 2010, as they were in UK, EU, and Australia too. Joe worked for Arizona Finetime, one of the first ADs to take on Grand Seiko.

He since left and can now be found in the Miami boutique of Seiko.



One thing the article doesn’t do, at all, is mention the fact that (Grand) Seiko only produces less than 20K mechanical pieces, which includes Credor, GS, and Prospex, each year.

Compare that to the hundreds of thousands that IWC, TAG Heuer, Breitling, Omega, and Rolex (in ascending order), churn out annually, and it’s not hard to fathom why Grand Seiko will be a brand needing to be sought out as opposed to being seen in evey city and many of the larger towns.

That is interesting. Where did you get the info on GS production numbers?

[toxicavenger]

Originally Posted by PJ S

Grand Seiko was already officially imported by Seiko USA back in 2010, as they were in UK, EU, and Australia too. Joe worked for Arizona Finetime, one of the first ADs to take on Grand Seiko.
He since left and can now be found in the Miami boutique of Seiko.

Yep I meet Joe back in the Fine Time days. He was instrumental in helping out people with their Japan only watches and GS's.

He left the Miami boutique last summer and is now in HQ like I mentioned.

Great info.

[Cru Jones]

Buy GS while you can.... my take away from the article is that prices are going up up up.

[sensui]

Thanks for sharing. Interesting read and exciting for the future of this brand.

[scarlet knight]

Originally Posted by PJ S

You lightweight! At least it would’ve prevented you from getting blown away in a stiff breeze.

But it was still too big.

[scarlet knight]

The too big for me GMT now with my brother


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[subtona]

They deserve it. Now in my opinion, they just have to navigate the thickness of their watches, offer a couple of steady no date options and a couple of stalwart timeless models.

Ps those models should be of the high beat (mass appeal) variety.


The electronic models though wonderful are off putting in their departure from convention.

[toxicavenger]

Originally Posted by psv

I do admire and respect the quality of the output and the ambition but at the end of the day, they won't make it into the top 5 for me. Part of the allure of owning/using a watch is the aspiration. As a teenage watch nerd in Sweden, my dream watch was a Rolex. I really liked other brands as well, ended up with a Citizen diver, later a Longines Admiral with a 7750 movement, etc, but never, at any point, did I aspire to own a Seiko. And that hasn't changed.

I recently got my son a Seiko automatic diver as his first real watch, and he really digs it. But that is the level they play at in my book, regardless of what the high priests/archbishops at Hodinkee say.

Sounds like ROlex's marketing worked.

[Art 1]

Originally Posted by toxicavenger

Sounds like ROlex's marketing worked.

[Reddy_Kilowatt]

Originally Posted by Cru Jones

Buy GS while you can.... my take away from the article is that prices are going up up up.

Do you think that would result in substantially greater sales volume? I don't.

[imperio]

Originally Posted by Reddy_Kilowatt

Do you think that would result in substantially greater sales volume? I don't.

Was any sense made? I didn't catch any

[toxicavenger]

Originally Posted by scarlet knight

The too big for me GMT now with my brother


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

It was definitely too big. I also got rid of mine.

[red1108nyc]

What is the model of that Grand Seiko at the beginning of the article on strap? Looks really nice!

[locutus49]

QUICK QUESTION: Is Credor the top of the GS line or mid-range? No one seems to be able to answer that simple question.

Originally Posted by PJ S

Grand Seiko was already officially imported by Seiko USA back in 2010, as they were in UK, EU, and Australia too. Joe worked for Arizona Finetime, one of the first ADs to take on Grand Seiko.
He since left and can now be found in the Miami boutique of Seiko.

One thing the article doesn’t do, at all, is mention the fact that (Grand) Seiko only produces less than 20K mechanical pieces, which includes Credor, GS, and Prospex, each year.
Compare that to the hundreds of thousands that IWC, TAG Heuer, Breitling, Omega, and Rolex (in ascending order), churn out annually, and it’s not hard to fathom why Grand Seiko will be a brand needing to be sought out as opposed to being seen in evey city and many of the larger towns.

[toxicavenger]

Originally Posted by locutus49

QUICK QUESTION: Is Credor the top of the GS line or mid-range? No one seems to be able to answer that simple question.

To me it is like Tudor and Rolex's relationship. They don't fall in the same line of products exactly.

[SUPERDOC]

Originally Posted by locutus49

QUICK QUESTION: Is Credor the top of the GS line or mid-range? No one seems to be able to answer that simple question.

credor is a separate line altogether - tudor-rolex is a fair analogy, but it is more like Mercedes and Maybach..

Credor represents the pinnacle in Japanese watch making.. on par with ALS, and PP grand complications...

in Credor you get enamel dials, minute repeaters, tourbillons , and 6 figure prices...

[bondtoys]

Originally Posted by red1108nyc

What is the model of that Grand Seiko at the beginning of the article on strap? Looks really nice!

SBGR 305, I‘ve just sold mine

[red1108nyc]

Originally Posted by bondtoys

SBGR 305, I‘ve just sold mine

Thank you Sir!

[PJ S]

Originally Posted by toxicavenger

Yep I meet Joe back in the Fine Time days. He was instrumental in helping out people with their Japan only watches and GS's.

He left the Miami boutique last summer and is now in HQ like I mentioned.

Great info.

I stand corrected then — thought he was still there, managing it. Interesting to hear he’s back up in NJ, as he had been previously before the Miami store was set up.

[dchang81]

Originally Posted by SUPERDOC

credor is a separate line altogether - tudor-rolex is a fair analogy, but it is more like Mercedes and Maybach..

Credor represents the pinnacle in Japanese watch making.. on par with ALS, and PP grand complications...

in Credor you get enamel dials, minute repeaters, tourbillons , and 6 figure prices...

That's what I read as well but credor has some cheap stuff too.