Introduction
Rather than repeat myself, for the background to this reference I would refer you to the previous “For sale” newsletter, where I had the brown dial variant of the day-date 6146-8050 available -
The only thing really to add to that background is that (as will be obvious from the video when you compare it to the catalogue shots) this reference’s dial - in common with many other Seiko blue dials of the period - has lost almost all its blue saturation over time. Oddly, this only appears to happen to the blue dialed watches, and as we will see in a week or so, the green dialed ones retain their colour.
Condition and price
As always, I would encourage you to examine the provided video closely in order to make your own assessment as to the condition of the watch.
As I have said in previous “for sale” listings, I strongly believe that the videos I present of the watches I offer for sale provide more clarity on the condition of a watch than anything else out there. Short of having the watch in hand, and examining it through a 10x loupe, there is no better way to get a truer understanding as to the quality of what you are purchasing.
Please note that below I do not cover the movement in the description below, because that will have a full strip-down, clean, rebuild, lubricate and regulation immediately prior to shipment. The movement (subject to the usual abuse/water damage constraints) will be guaranteed for one year.
Case
Unlike the brown dialed 6146-8050 that sold a couple of weeks ago, the case of this watch is very sharp indeed and shows little evidence of any deliberate refinishing to cover up scratches and dings.
It would be foolish to claim that the watch is unpolished, since certainly overtime owners would have cleaned the watch with a soft cloth, and this has a mild polishing effect, but a direct comparison to the brown dialed watch is useful to get an understanding on how these cases can vary. Pay particular attention to the lugs in the video below (apologies for the different positions of the watches in the horizontal spin section of the video!) -
Whilst I would never say that the case on the brown dialed watch was particularly poor, it’s clear that the case on this blue dialed 6145-8050 is significantly better.
Naturally for a watch that is over 50 years old, there are some minor dings and hairline scratches on the case - all of which can be clearly seen in the video - with the most significant being on the bezel between the 3 and 4 hour markers. Do remember that any blemishes visible are greatly magnified in the video.
Crystal
The faceted crystal retains its original sharp edges, though there are some minor surface scratches, and some almost imperceptible chips in places at the crystal edge (they are really hard to see with the naked eye, but you can feel them if you run your fingernail around the edge).
Dial
As mentioned in the introduction, the original blue colour of the dial has almost completely faded away, leaving the dial with a charcoal hue. There are some very subtle blemishes on the dial visible in the video that I have marked in the screen-grab below, but it has to be said that I am unable to see these marks with the naked eye in normal lighting.
Caseback
The condition of the caseback is commensurate with that of the main case, although someone does appear to have taken a little sample of 14K gold from the medallion!
Price
The watch is priced at US$1,700. This price includes a full service immediately prior to despatch, and fully insured worldwide courier delivery via FedEx. (The watch will be sent off for service on receipt of cleared funds, and the turnaround for the service is approximately 2 weeks.)
As is the norm these days, this newsletter will first be distributed to paid subscribers, who can take 10% off the above listed price (bringing the price to $1,530). Should the watch not sell in the next seven days, the newsletter will then be forwarded to all subscribers, and no discount will be offered.
If you have any questions regarding the watch, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
SOLD - Grand Seiko 6145-8050 blue dial