Post pics of your watches Part II

893bet

I think that youtuber is extremely skilled at capturing defects on the macro. Right lighting, right lens, right angle etc. None of those defects are visable with naked eye. And I suspect we would struggle to see alot of them defects under loupe on even with normal lighting.

With Rolex you ain’t paying for high end finish. You are paying for the brand.

From a bang for buck point of view the comparisons are pointless as it depends on your motivation as a buyer. If your tipple of choice is finishing and innovation you might tip toward the GS.....if you tipple is brand recognition and strong residuals you will choose the Rolex.

Neither watch is better than the other exclusively. They both have their strengths and weakness.

Fitz II

I get Unkles point here, and I would joke that the GS owner oft puts a microscope in their pocket when going out in case they need to talk about their watch

It similar to ornate movements behind solid case backs. If you cant see it, and its purely decorative, does it really matter? But macro topography it is GS's thing, and one that any conversation of GS is quick to move to. And I think that this focus on the macro details is to the detriment of the brand, cause when you get them in hand you are suddenly presented with the things you never though.

893bets points are good, and it would seem from sales figures that when it come to parting with our own money, us collectors are quicker to praise GS than buy their watches. I applaud the OP for buying one.

893bet

Fitz II wrote: »

It similar to ornate movements behind solid case backs.

Funny enough I have been considering a 1957 railmaster (as I am still an Omega fan boi and this model has vintage inspired sizing which is more to my tastes than most of Omegas range).

It has a visually attractive movement....but......hidden behind a solid caseback (as it is a homage to a 60 year old watch).

It’s def one of the turn offs for me as I am a sucker for a display case back.

Thirdfox

893bet wrote: »

I think that youtuber is extremely skilled at capturing defects on the macro. Right lighting, right lens, right angle etc. None of those defects are visable with naked eye. And I suspect we would struggle to see alot of them defects under loupe on even with normal lighting.

With Rolex you ain’t paying for high end finish. You are paying for the brand.

From a bang for buck point of view the comparisons are pointless as it depends on your motivation as a buyer. If your tipple of choice is finishing and innovation you might tip toward the GS.....if you tipple is brand recognition and strong residuals you will choose the Rolex.

Neither watch is better than the other exclusively. They both have their strengths and weakness.

I think it ties in with “why are we paying XYZ thousands for an item?” - going for technical features whether it be finishing or hand-crafted vs machinery or say timekeeping abilities (spring drive/zenith defy lab movement) are all some of the ways we justify spending quite large amounts of money on lovely luxury products. A comparison I’d draw would be to the different types of leather finishing and how my wife would be able to explain the difference between Hermes level leather to Prada to Guess etc.

Anyway - roundabout way to contribute a little to the finishing conversation - in China they do finishing to a number of levels - A level would be eye clean and perfect at 30cm distance (pretty reasonable from a day to day usage level and this is the standard used by Longines/Mido/Tag etc.) and AAA level which is eye clean and perfect at 10cm distance which is Omega/Rolex standard (so says my supplier anyway). No loupes are expected - but something to consider is - should they be expected when say, paying over (arbitrary) 5k price point? Interesting thought experiment trying to reconcile luxury products with logicality when arguably luxury products exist outside of “normal” logic at least

Skyflake is gorgeous - well wear!

Cyclingtourist

CarProblem wrote: »

What are we paying for if not quality craftsmanship?

Linking not going too well for me!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPpdv-WlJOE&ab_channel=HafizJMehmood

That's a critique of an OP but apparently the QC issues extend to much more expensive models.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_jyY6ESZO4

My first luxury watch will more than likely be a Tudor. Rolex quality at a realistic price.

Wibbs

893bet wrote: »

With Rolex you ain’t paying for high end finish. You are paying for the brand.

From a bang for buck point of view the comparisons are pointless as it depends on your motivation as a buyer. If your tipple of choice is finishing and innovation you might tip toward the GS.....if you tipple is brand recognition and strong residuals you will choose the Rolex.

This pretty much. The landscape of the watch market has changed utterly since I'd say around 1990 and has gathered pace since the interwebs. Before that shift brand was certainly in the mix, but less so and was more about how good a timekeeper a watch was and how expensive it looked(the vast majority of men's everyday watches of the 20th century were gold or gold plated) for the price charged.

When innovations came along that made better timepieces like the Bulova Accutron they sold like hotcakes. Bulova couldn't make them quickly enough. Same for when quartz came out and unlike the Accutrons quartz were considerably more expensive than mechanicals of the time, but people were willing to pay more for that regardless of the brand. Same for when the first digitals came along(US president Gerald Ford wanted a Pulsar digital but his wife vetoed that notion as the daft price could send the wrong message to the electorate). If an innovation like Springdrive had come along in 1980 it would have flown out the door. Quartz accuracy and a sweeping mechanical movement that never needs a battery? Sign me up. IMHO anyway the Seiko Springdrive is the only true innovation in personal timekeeping since quartz.

Today, at least at the "luxury" end the market is very different. Brand, cache, almost entirely Swiss, "authenticity" is what counts the most. The better finishing and quality and superior movement of Grand Seiko doesn't quite fit and that's a pity. Not in Western markets anyway. They do sell well in the East.

Cyclingtourist

Wibbs wrote: »

Quartz accuracy and a sweeping mechanical movement that never needs a battery? Sign me up. IMHO anyway the Seiko Springdrive is the only true innovation in personal timekeeping since quartz.

Wibbs

True enough, but it's still a quartz at heart. Lever escapements, tuning forks, electronic, quartz, springdrive, even atomic clocks are all innovations that changed the "escapement" and how we measured out and controlled the release of energy into ever more precise timekeeping.

banie01

The springdrive Grand Seiko GMT is a watch that keeps catching my eye.
Both for its finish, and its overall mix of tech and innovation.
That said, it does look awfully like an Explorer 2 homage and despite spaffing quite a few quid on watches over the last 2 years, I haven't pulled the trigger on one and can't actually say why.

Wibbs

In that model there's more than a touch of Omega to the case design too. For me it's the "Lexus factor" in that too many of their designs ape the Swiss, so why not buy Swiss? kinda thing. On the car comparison, something like the Civic Type R though having a very narrow appeal market is unmistakably Japanese. Same for something like 90's Nissan Skylines. Blew the doors off European competitors at the time and were popular for it and going crazy in values since. If Seiko said feck it and were confident in going full Japanese they'd be the better for it IMHO>

The Snowflake would be the exception for me. It's its own watch as it were.

redlead

I think they are beautiful but I see what you mean about the explorer 2, especially the font on the bezel. My favourite GS is the spring version from their four seasons collection. Kind of like a pink version of the snow flake. The sky flake is a close runner for me. I don't know if I'd ever have the balls to buy one though which kind of proves Fitz's point above. Pretty sure they were only released in the US too so hard come across here.

Wibbs - I think to be fair they do go Japanese a lot. Nobody anywhere near that price point in Switzerland does dials like them. Like I look at this and I just think Cherry Blossoms in Tokyo.

banie01

Wibbs wrote: »

The Snowflake would be the exception for me. It's its own watch as it were.

Mmm, a Grand Seiko snowflake GMT!

Time to cash out some more crypto :pac:

CarProblem

In terms of liking GS but not buying - can I ask why? Is it that people on here flip a lot and the market is smaller?

Unless my circumstances change and I can afford a 40mm ALS Saxonia I'll be keeping this one

893bet

CarProblem wrote: »

In terms of liking GS but not buying - can I ask why? Is it that people on here flip a lot and the market is smaller?

Unless my circumstances change and I can afford a 40mm ALS Saxonia I'll be keeping this one

That ALS do be available for 11-12 k ish (well the 37mm version). A two hander though, I have watched them for a while before deciding 2 hands is one hand too little for me at least.

Wibbs

CarProblem wrote: »

In terms of liking GS but not buying - can I ask why? Is it that people on here flip a lot and the market is smaller?

In that kinda price range Omega and Rolex are "safe". Known entities and known among civilians too. People in general prefer safe especially when a few grand is in play. Better residuals help too, especially if buying new. It's not so long ago where TAG Heuer were also in this known entities and known among civilians safe bracket. IWC were certainly in that mix too, but have dropped since. Brands can come and go over time. Going way back when I was a kid in the 80's buying "old watches" in general auctions and the like by far the most common maker I saw (in Dublin anyway)? Rotary of all brands.

njburke

Unkle, like most watch guys I love detail, as an engineer I like technical detail.With the GS I've read there is more to be seen with an optic than the naked eye, to me that's more tangeble value than just having the value in the brand. It took effort to put that in the product, i'ld like to at least see it.Trust but verify.

I had a longer personal story about a trip to fuji in japan I made in the 90s. We designed and built world class Inspection robots for component placement machines. Fuji made the placement machines and wanted our tools to monitor theirs during manufacture. They required our tool to perform at more than twice it's stated accuracy. I arrived with our man in japan, a kerryman who loved the culture. Why is nobody talking to us, well one guy had that burden,why do we have to eat in a room on our own? They're shaming us over the accuracy of the machine came the answer. Anyway, it was a long two days, I slept on the floor one night whilst running repeatability studies, woke up under a blanket which wasn't mine. Then I found 7.5 microns additional repeatability buried in the motion control, and more importantly a method to demonstrate it. Bingo, accuracy improved by a factor of 3. They were exceptional customers to us after that, we left with a shoeman sho, a purchase order for 6 tools and an obligation to deliver a waterford stanley cooker. The Kerryman understood the cooker hint, it was wasted on me.They had a special room for gifts from suppliers.

What I've bought is the bargain basement GS, an sbgv225,9F quartz,newish and from a private collector in japan.
I'll try to answer the question of what do GS include in the least of their current offerings.

unkel

When I ordered the big one from China that came in the post today, I had no idea, not even any hope, that soon I would own the little one too

Cyclingtourist

Nice candle, perfect focus.

Wibbs

unkel wrote: »

When I ordered the big one from China that came in the post today, I had no idea, not even any hope, that soon I would own the little one too

The big one's bezel doesn't line up and seems to be missing the cyclops. You wuz robbed. The little one looks good though. The big one is cool it has to be said.

unkel

Is that better? Time set and all

unkel

Wibbs wrote: »

seems to be missing the cyclops.

There is no cyclops on the Sea-Dweller Deepsea

Bonus question for the experts though: how from the dial can you tell the wall clock is based on the older version, the 116660 and my watch is the 126660?

Fitz II

unkel wrote: »

There is no cyclops on the Sea-Dweller Deepsea

Bonus question for the experts though: how from the dial can you tell the wall clock is based on the older version, the 116660 and my watch is the 126660?

No crown between the swiss and the made, although it missing a stick in there on the wallclock. Now I dont mean to piss on your chips, but I think the big one is fake.

unkel

Fitz II wrote: »

Now I dont mean to piss on your chips, but I think the big one is fake.

But I got the original box and papers as well and a blank warranty card

I knew it was too good to be real, it was only 3 grand. That should have set alarm bells ringing. It does have the sweeping seconds hand though and it only works if I shake it a while first, so must be automatic.

CarProblem

Where did the clock come from? Ali Express?

It looks massive!!!

unkel

Some site I found while googling for Rolex wall clocks. Presumably in China. You can buy them on Amazon (surprisingly as these are obviously "replicas" - the chicer word for fakes) and eBay too.

Thirdfox

I can see Unkel attaching a gold chain to the clock and wearing it around the neck...maybe while driving a classic car and sporting the shagreen (stingray) strap on the mini-Rolex...

unkel

Watch this space. Picture coming in a few weeks. Where do I get a (fake) gold chain?

banie01

unkel wrote: »

Watch this space. Picture coming in a few weeks. Where do I get a (fake) gold chain?

CHY-NAH!!!!

Deep Thought

unkel wrote: »

When I ordered the big one from China that came in the post today, I had no idea, not even any hope, that soon I would own the little one too

Would you have a link to the big one?

blue5000

njburke wrote: »

Unkle, like most watch guys I love detail, as an engineer I like technical detail.With the GS I've read there is more to be seen with an optic than the naked eye, to me that's more tangeble value than just having the value in the brand. It took effort to put that in the product, i'ld like to at least see it.Trust but verify.

I had a longer personal story about a trip to fuji in japan I made in the 90s. We designed and built world class Inspection robots for component placement machines. Fuji made the placement machines and wanted our tools to monitor theirs during manufacture. They required our tool to perform at more than twice it's stated accuracy. I arrived with our man in japan, a kerryman who loved the culture. Why is nobody talking to us, well one guy had that burden,why do we have to eat in a room on our own? They're shaming us over the accuracy of the machine came the answer. Anyway, it was a long two days, I slept on the floor one night whilst running repeatability studies, woke up under a blanket which wasn't mine. Then I found 7.5 microns additional repeatability buried in the motion control, and more importantly a method to demonstrate it. Bingo, accuracy improved by a factor of 3. They were exceptional customers to us after that, we left with a shoeman sho, a purchase order for 6 tools and an obligation to deliver a waterford stanley cooker. The Kerryman understood the cooker hint, it was wasted on me.They had a special room for gifts from suppliers.



What I've bought is the bargain basement GS, an sbgv225,9F quartz,newish and from a private collector in japan.
I'll try to answer the question of what do GS include in the least of their current offerings.

Njb, wtf is a shoeman sho? Great story though. Would like to hear a few more sometime.