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Introduction

As mentioned in last week’s newsletter, travel plans meant that this week’s newsletter is a day later than usual, but never fear, because there wasn’t really anything of interest that has been missed out due to the tardiness!

The positive news is that the fact this is coming out a day late means we have caught a couple of auctions that otherwise would have been missed.

Quite a lot to get through this week, so let’s get right to it!

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Jessie

Grand Seiko 5645-7011

This is the same caseback-stickered watch that was featured a couple of weeks ago. For some reason or another it’s back for another run, and remains highly recommended!

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Grand Seiko 5641-7005

The advantage of the time only 5641- calibered watches is of course that you never have to worry about that pesky quickset day/date mechanism breaking.

There aren’t a huge number of photos to go on with this listing, but certainly from the few that are shared, it doesn’t look like this one has had its case ruined by polishing - unlike that example of the 5646-7005 we saw recently, so it’s hardly surprising that with several hours to go, this listing has already exceeded the closing price of the 5646.

Do note however that there appears to be a stain around the index at 3 o’clock, so if you are after one of these, you might want to wait for cleaner example to turn up.

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Grand Seiko 5646-7030

There have been quite a few listings for the 5646-7030 of late, with no fewer than three featured in last week’s newsletter.

Always a popular reference due to its sand-textured dial, this example has clearly had quite a bit of wear over the years - you’ll be wanting to replace that crystal for sure - but the case looks particularly sharp and certainly it doesn’t look as though any attempt has been made to refinish it.

Don’t be put off by what might at first glance appear to be dial blemishes, as a quick check against the fourth photo in the listing provides the necessary parallax to see that they are all issues on the crystal -

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The first Grand Seiko with raised logo dial

Only four photos to go on as is usual with this seller, but for those willing to take a bit of a risk, this looks to be a nice example of the common raised logo variant of the first Grand Seiko.

The dial only has a few minor stains (probably most notably the pair beneath the printed Chronometer text), but other than that, there’s not much here to turn people off it. The later variant caseback medallion means this should be a watch with a case serial number indicating production in either 1962 or 1963, but that’s about as much as we have to go on.

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Grand Seiko 6156-8040

As is so often the case with purchasing from Yahoo, here we are pretty much completely reliant on the photos of the watch to make our judgement call on. There isn’t even a single word of description regarding the watch itself in the listing!

The main concern here is that if you look closely, the second hand is in the same position in all the photos, so we don’t even know whether or not the movement works. Which is a shame, because the dial looks great, and the case - although clearly showing plenty of signs of wear - remains very sharp, with the clearly defined brushing on the underside of the flanks.

The watch is presented on its original bracelet - something that I would consider almost essential for this reference - but no mention of the size of wrist it will fit, and it looks like several links have been removed.

So - a particularly risky one to bid on, but that will keep the price down, and if you’re prepared to take a risk, you might nab a bargain.

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The first Grand Seiko with raised logo dial

Skipping past the first image in the listing - where the dial is completely blown out - we can see that this is actually a pretty decent example of the first Grand Seiko.

The crown shows extensive wear, and is almost certainly original, but most of that extensive wear would certainly appear to have been very careful (with the exception of whatever knock led to the crystal crack!), since the case looks to be in particularly good condition.

In that second image, the dial looks great, with no visible signs of staining, just the to-be-expected light black spotting.

Were the watch to have been better photographed and presented in the listing, I rather think it would have helped the seller achieve a much higher price than he’s probably going to achieve.

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Grand Seiko 4420-9000 late dial

All too often with 44GS’s that turn up on Yahoo, we find something wrong with the dial. Such was the case with last week’s early dialed variant, but no such problems with this one.

If you are prepared to put up with the scratch on the top right lug, and the fact that the case has had some gentle polishing at some point (note the softness of the corner on the bottom right lug), then this is certainly a very attractive proposition.

Note that there is a second example of this reference that might be worth taking a look at this week, but on balance I think I’d probably go for this one.

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Grand Seiko 6146-8040

Bidding has been subdued on this listing so far, but the 6146-8040 is one of those pieces that comes up very rarely, and always has a lot of people chasing it, so I rather suspect things will heat up as we progress to the close of the auction next Wednesday.

The 6146-8040 is a fascinating reference because - like it’s hand hammered steel cased 6146-8030 brother - it doesn’t appear in any of the Japanese catalogues.

You can count the number of examples of this reference that have turned up on Yahoo auctions in the last decade on the fingers of two hands, and the last one to sell closed for over 900,000 Yen, so get your wallets ready for some action on this one!

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Grand Seiko 6145-8020

Although the condition of the case, dial and bracelet warrant this 6145-8020 listing being in the top half of the newsletter, do note that the description clearly states that the movement is not running.

The 6145’s are in plentiful supply of course, so finding either the necessary parts or a complete donor movement to get this one up and running again shouldn’t be too much of a chore for anyone prepared to take on a minor project.

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Grand Seiko 4520-7010

By far the cheapest way to get into the legendary 4520 movement - the exact same movement as used in the first batch of the Seiko Astronomical Observatory Chronometer - is the 4520-7010.

If you don’t mind the slight aging of the dial, then this is a super example of the reference, with the added bonus of a rather cool case serial number (which will put off many of a superstitious type!).

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Grand Seiko 4420-9000 late dial

There’s always something isn’t there?!

The first example of this reference featured this week had what looked to be a spotless dial, but a lightly polished (and with one significant scratch) case. Here we see an example with a much sharper case, but with minor dial issues.

Would you be willing to compromise one way or another and pick up one of these? Or are you still going to hold out for that “perfect” example to turn up?!

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Grand Seiko 4522-7000

A particularly lovely example of the reference, and it is very rare indeed for one to turn up with a dial this ‘clean’ - they usually have patinated to some extent or other.

The case looks to have picked up a few minor knocks and scratches over the years, but crucially does not seem to have been extensively re-polished at any point in time, and retains its very sharp (and numerous!) edges, and that subtle brushing of the flanks.

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The first Grand Seiko with raised logo dial

Look past the crazy stress fractures in the crystal of this third example of the reference to be featured this week (and the second from this same seller), and we have a very nice looking watch.

The only slight caveat is that those stress fractures in the crystal may well be hiding some dial issues underneath. With just the single shot of the dial, it’s very hard to tell.

As always, a bit of a risk, but I think one that may well pay off handsomely.

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Grand Seiko 6246-9001

Although I suspect the case on this 62GS has been lightly refinished, it remains a very attractive watch, with the caselines still very prominent, and what looks to be an almost flawless dial (that light spot up and to the left of the applied GS logo is on the crystal).

You could wait a long time for a nicer example of this reference to turn up, and it comes from a trusted seller, so if you’ve been after one of these for a while, now is the time to dive in!

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Mr President

Grand Seiko 5722-9990

Whilst there is nothing wrong with an 43999 AD dialed 5722-9990 cased 5722A movement, the fact this one comes from our bette noire means of course that it should be avoided - that dial has been reprinted poorly and the case polished beyond all recognition.

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Grand Seiko 5645-7005

I’m not entirely sure how bidding for this one has reached over 250,000 Yen already, because of course that is entirely the wrong dial for this watch!

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Redone coloured dial summary

I close with the usual copy/pasted reminder to steer clear of any vintage Grand Seikos with coloured dials similar to the above. This is not a comprehensive photo - there are many references that get this “treatment”, so be careful out there.

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OK that’s a wrap for this week.

Next week’s newsletter will be coming from… Japan!