It looks like a watch, but it's really a laser. It keeps perfect time.

But, for how long?

Introduction

The purpose of this newsletter is to provide guidance on which vintage Grand Seiko auctions on Yahoo Japan might be of interest to collectors. I also detail those “dodgy” listings that you need to avoid.

What you will notice is that this isn’t just a simple list of auction listings - in discussing the merits (and demerits) of the listings I often branch off into a bit of background that I hope will be useful in helping you to learn some of the nuances of collecting vintage Grand Seiko.

For those paid subscribers who are reading one of these newsletters for the first time, you can access the archive of all the previous newsletters on the Substack website (or the iPhone and Android apps).

Important note for UK and EEA subscribers -

Yahoo Japan is now actively blocking connections from the UK and the European Economic Area due to the prohibitive costs of adhering to the GDPR regulations for a relatively small number of users.

To get around this for the purposes of this newsletter, links to the auctions detailed will be provided through one of the Japanese proxy companies - FromJapan. Please note that these links may not include every image included in the listing.

Whilst I have been a customer of FromJapan for many years, I do not receive any benefits from using these links.

As is the norm now, I will commence with the good guys.

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James Bond

Grand Seiko 6156-8020

The cap gold Special is significantly more difficult to acquire than its steel cased brethren, especially in as good a condition as the one we see here.

At the time of writing, this one is sitting at 121,000 Yen with around 12 hours to go, and has a buy-out price of 249,000 Yen. I would be very surprised if this closed for under 200,000 Yen, and it wouldn’t shock me if someone hits that prompt decision button before the close of the auction.

These turn up at the rate of perhaps half a dozen a year, and in this condition? Maybe once every couple of years.

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The first Grand Seiko with carved logo dial

Not the best example of a carved logo dialed first Grand Seiko that you could hope to find, but that will of course be reflected in the final price. Lots of people after these now, and one of them has been smart enough to ask the seller what the first two digits of the caseback serial number are (it’s hidden in the photos). The answer was “11”, which dates this to January 1961.

With the movement number starting 60, everything is correct here. Remember it is absolutely essential with this reference that the caseback and movement serial numbers are correct for the specific details (dial type, handset, medallion…) of the watch offered.

On the subject of carved dial “firsts”, those with good memories will probably remember this fake one that I warned against a couple of weeks ago -

Remarkably, this ended up selling for no less than 602,000 Yen. Some poor soul has a nasty shock coming when they realise what they bought.

I suspect part of the reason for that ridiculous price was because the seller claimed the watch was manufactured in February 1960. Here’s the photo of the case serial number -

I don’t believe for one moment that the seller didn’t know that serial starts with “D2”, and not “02”. D2 of course indicating the case was actually produced in December 1962.

Unfortunately the winning bidder took the seller at his word, believing he had “won” a watch made two months prior to the earliest known production examples.

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Grand Seiko 5646-7010

The 5646-7010 is one of the most popular “entry level” vintage Grand Seikos, and whilst I usually only pick out the more interesting listings - typically those with patinated dials - I thought this one was worth highlighting this week due to its wonderfully sharp case.

Those of you who have already clicked on the link to the auction will note that you won’t be able to bid on this one through From Japan as the seller says he won’t deal with proxy services. However, past experience tells me that Buyee can get around this restriction, so if you are interested in acquiring it, that’s where you’ll need to go.

As with all 5646 based references, unless the listing specifically states that the quickset day/date mechanism is functioning correctly, work on the assumption that it will need to be addressed at a service.

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Grand Seiko 6156-8000 on bracelet

If you look through the photos you may get the sense with this listing that the seller knows how important the bracelet is. Unfortunately, the photo selection - whilst showing off the fits-a-19cm-wrist bracelet very nicely - doesn’t have any detailed shots to help establish the condition of the dial and case very well.

Regarding the dial, I really don’t know if that line running from just to the right of the tail of the second hand down towards the 27 minute marker is on the crystal or the dial. I suspect the former, but can’t be certain. There does seem to be what looks like a spot on the dial halfway between the center and the 9 o’clock marker, and maybe when you take a good look at the image you might spot some more potential issues.

The case does look pretty good - particularly encouraging is how clean the caseback is, which often means the accompanying case will be in a similar state.

Bottom line, it’s a bit of a risk this one (the seller hasn’t exactly been forthcoming in answering the two questions already posed), but that bracelet may well help swing the decision. Good luck if you do go for it, and let us know how it is when it turns up!

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Did someone here pick this up last week?

Ok so in a remarkable turn of events, I can’t find a single listing for a the usual “it’s not a vintage Grand Seiko but I like it” this week.

Which gives me the space to go back to a listing I highlighted last week. I’ll reproduce the commentary in full -

Grand Seiko 5722-9000

“And here’s the second open auction of the week for an 18K solid gold cased vintage Grand Seiko. This time around it’s the earliest 18K vintage reference, the 57GS.

I’m currently working on a “primer” article for the 57GS series - which won’t be out for a few weeks as there are literally thousands of sales to catalogue - and have finished cataloguing the Yahoo sales of the 18K 57GS over the past decade.

Suffice to say, there have not been many - just eight in fact - but that may not give the true picture about how difficult it is to get hold of one of these, because there are always several on the market at any one time. It’s just that most sellers stick a high price on them and are happy to wait for years for a sale.

In my view this is definitely the right variant to go for. Despite the 5722-9000T dial code, you will note that the movement is a 430. This is correct for this reference, and I would put a few beers on the serial number indicating production in September 1964 - just in time for them to be offered for sale at the Tokyo Olympics.

The most recent sale of one of these was back in October of last year, where a similar example sold for a little over 1.1M Yen.

The dial on this one isn’t quite as good though, so it might not break 7 figures.”

I wasn’t following the auction as it was closing, because it’s not really a reference that is high on my radar, but the next day when I checked it, I was absolutely flabbergasted.

If someone here managed to nab that for just 517,741 Yen (a smidge under $4,000), then my heartiest of congratulations. We’re not even in to February yet, and that may well prove to be the bargain of the year.

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Maximillian Largo

Grand Seiko 43999 SD dial

Yet another one. So much wrong with it even without the poorly redone dial, I’m frankly amazed that people keep falling for these!

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Grand Seiko 6146-8020

Sadly I think quite a few people will be fooled by this one. From the same seller who features here week-in week-out, this one has a redone dial and a very poorly repolished case, and I’m not entirely sure what is going on with the bracelet (note the clasp is incorrect).

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Grand Seiko 4420-9000

Another regular from the usual seller.

For those who haven’t seen one of these in the newsletters before, the immediate tell is the K in Seiko. Check back through earlier newsletters for the details.

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Grand Seiko 5722-9991

Four in a row from the regular chap. Fortunately this is the last of the Grand Seikos he has listed this week, but we’ll see him again next time I’m sure!

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Redone coloured dial summary

As usual, I close with the usual 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”, and several listings typically appear every week.