Introduction
Well, another month has rolled on by, and so this newsletter will be going out to all, with a paywall after the first recommended listing on Yahoo Japan Auctions for those with free subscriptions.
If you are tempted by what you see, please do consider signing up as a paid subscriber - it’s only $5 a month, and if you don’t feel like you are getting value for your money, you can of course cancel your subscription at any time!
In fact, given it’s my birthday month, how about a present for everyone!
Some great listings to cover this week, including a reference that I know there are many looking out for, so let’s take a look at what Yahoo has to offer this week.
Marty Mcfly
Grand Seiko 4522-8000
This week we kick off with a rather lovely looking example of the 4522-8000 in cap gold. Now, it’s fair to say that the stainless steel variants of the 452x-8000’s are significantly more sought after than the cap golds, but when one of the latter turns up looking as crisp as this one, I rather think it might tempt a few people to stray off their intended collecting paths.
There is a mechanical issue here, as the seller states in the description that the watch has a “defective crown”, so you would be taking on a bit of a project, but what fascinates me about this watch is revealed when we take a look at the caseback -
Now that certainly looks to be the remnants of the original caseback protection film, but it is clear that this watch has an engraved inscription on the back, and it very much looks like that inscription is actually underneath the film.
Unfortunately I’m not having much luck with Google Translate to understand what is engraved on the caseback, so if anyone can shed any light on it, it would be much appreciated.
Clearly the dedication is dated to 1972, which of course makes sense given the watch’s production in the previous year, and Google can make out the text at the top of the inscription as “Gift”, but has no luck with the rest.
This would have got a recommendation without the inscription (regardless of its clear “project” status), but with it, and with the inscription seemingly underneath the original caseback protection sticker, it becomes a very interesting watch indeed.
I guess it is possible that the engraving was done by a third party who managed to carefully peel back the protection film, do his handiwork, and then replace it. Or, maybe, the engraving was actually done in-house. We’ll probably never know, but it’s fun to ponder on!