Not all seek to control, just as not all wish to be free.
Introduction
Not a great deal to pick from to feature this week I’m afraid, but hopefully I’ve been able to dig out some listings that are nonetheless worthy of your attention, and in the middle of writing up this newsletter I actually purchased a watch on a B2B auction site that will require an update to my buckle articles, so read on to find out all about that one, and more!
Thomas Anderson
Grand Seiko 6146-8000 cross dial
As mentioned in the introduction, it’s rather slim pickings this week I’m afraid, and in a busier week I would have passed this one by, but I’ve got to find something for you!
The remarkable thing about this watch is that it comes with Grand Seiko Japan service papers dating from 2015. Unfortunately the price of the service has been hidden, but it would be fascinating to know what they were charging back then (it cost me 125,000 Yen (ouch!) to have my recently sold print logo dialed first Grand Seiko serviced back at the mothership last year, although granted, that did include shipping to and from Thailand).
The cross-hair dialed variant of the 6146-8000 is quite sought after - those 3D indices and slightly stumpy handset give it a more sporty look than the standard model, perhaps. The example here is not the best - case is a little soft, and I’m a little concerned about the paucity of dial photos to check for blemishes. Is that scratch near the 4 o’clock index on the crystal or dial, for example? - the description might be read to imply that it’s on the crystal, but it’s hard to tell.
Regardless, if you’re just after a nice daily-wearer, this might be a good pick-up (especially considering it includes the correct inner box). Just be sure to wear it daily though (or at least, keep it running), because remember with these 6146 movements there is no quick-set on the day, which can be a bit of a pain to set manually!
Seiko 614x-802 bracelet for the 614x-8020
I regularly get emails asking if I have one of these available (or spare links for it), and unfortunately the answer is always “nope”. Probably because whenever one turns up, I share it here with you fine folk rather than chasing it myself and then selling it for a profit!
The bracelet looks to be in excellent condition, and the seller states it is 16cm long, which would lead me to believe it’s probably retaining most of its removable links.
One big caveat though - this is missing the curved endlinks to fit flush to the case. Here is what the endlinks “should” look like -
Although the drawings (yes, they are drawings, not photographs) of the references in the 1970 number 2 Seiko catalogue show a straight endlink, it’s clearly significantly longer than the ones seen in this listing, so even if this did ever actually exist, I do not believe it would be strictly correct to mount this bracelet to the watch as-is.
Can I see someone chasing this just for the spare links though? Yes - absolutely.
Good luck!
Grand Seiko 1964-0010 cap gold
Regular readers will be well aware that I’m a huge fan of the ladies 19GS range - not to wear, but just to admire and enjoy as wonderful mechanical pieces of art.
In fact - at the exact time I was writing that above sentence, I bought this -
Not least because I’m going to be needing to update my articles on the vintage Grand Seiko buckles based on this discovery!
But back to the one on Yahoo. When one turns up in as good a condition as we see here, you can be sure I will be bidding on it. No harm in picking up two 19GS’s in one week, is there?
(As long as nobody here is into these as much as I am of course!)
Box for the 44GS and 62GS
Now here’s something you don’t see very often. The inner and outer boxes for the 44GS (let’s be honest - anyone chasing this will be after it to go with a 44, and not a 62!), including what is almost certainly the original protection paper to prevent the former from damaging the latter.
It feels that the prices being paid for boxes has dropped a little compared to what people were forking out a year or so back, but nonetheless, I expect this one to do very well indeed. Anything under 200,000 Yen could probably be considered a bargain.
Box for the 56GS
This is a bit of an odd one, but included just in case people think it’s something it is not.
This box does not contain the correct inner tray for a 56GS sold on a bracelet. Rather, at some point someone has bent the watch holder into a shape where a watch on a bracelet or strap could be presented.
For reference, here is a quick video showing what the inner tray of the correct box for a 56GS on a bracelet looks like, and functions.
Yeah that probably would have made more sense in landscape I guess, but you get the idea!
Grand Seiko 6156-8010
Faceted sapphire crystal? Check. Hardened stainless steel (“HSS”) case? Check. 6156 “Special” movement originally regulated to +/-3 seconds per day, and with quickset date and day? Check and check.
No wonder this is such a popular reference with collectors.
Coming from the box-shifter that only ever provides four photos, a listing such as this would always of course come with a “caveat emptor” advisory. Having said that, these “HSS” cases hold up to wear and tear exceptionally well, and this one looks in pretty good shape, retaining well defined lugs and sharp edges down the case flanks.
Only things really to highlight (from what we can see in the provided images) is that there is some staining at the dial periphery, and the caseback medallion has seen better days.
As things go, that is pretty minor though and perhaps won’t be too off-putting for many.
Grand Seiko 5646-7010 with lemon patinated dial
Another one that probably wouldn’t have made the cut in a busier week, but as many of you will know, I’m a huge fan of the way these 564x-7010 dials can patinate, and this one has gone a gorgeous lemony colour that is even across the entire dial. It’s a bit knocked about, and could certainly do with a new crystal, but it will be a bargain, and will look great on your wrist!
It’s not a vintage Grand Seiko, but I like it
Seiko Grand Quartz 9942-7000
The market for Seiko Grand Quartz has been picking up quite a bit over the last couple of years, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see this one going for over 100,000 Yen, and then appearing with a dealer somewhere at perhaps $1,500 or more. A couple of years ago, you’d have been able to pick up a similar quality Seiko Grand Quartz 994x reference for probably just 30-40,000 Yen.
As is often the case with this seller, you need to look past the rather odd selection of ephemera that he is selling with the watch (it’s the wrong manual for starters, and I’m not at all convinced that the box is correct - although to give him his due for once, it is the correct price ticket), and really just focus on the watch itself.
Which speaks for itself really. I mean - just look at it!
This is one of the rarer twin-quartz 994x series, having been featured in just a single Seiko catalogue (volume 1 of 1980), and there is just so much to love about the details on this one, and how the whole watch comes together as a package.
I will be watching closely, but not bidding!
The Analyst
Grand Seiko 4420-9000 late dial
Whilst people continue to bid on and buy this garbage, he’s going to continue to churn it out. I’ve got a busy couple of weeks coming up, but if I can find the time, I will add up just how much junk this guy managed to sell last year…
The first Grand Seiko in stainless steel case
As will be immediately obvious from the above photo, this is not your “regular” faked-up stainless steel cased first Grand Seiko from our “regular” seller. Rather, it is something else entirely - with a (severely degraded) dial and handset from a legitimate watch, but with a case of unknown provenance.
When I first saw the thumbnail for this listing my heart skipped a beat, thinking it was another one of these…
But, once that single beat had been skipped though, I of course realised that, no, the case is not correct. For those who have not seen it before, above is pictured what is categorically a real stainless steel cased first Grand Seiko. I really, really, want one of these…
But back down to Earth.
It’s not a Nielsen SS. So just skip it and ignore it!
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” (and a significant number listed this week), so be careful out there.
For those who read this far, a heads-up that next Friday I will be in the US, and so the newsletter will probably be going somewhat later than usual (I’ll be 12 hours behind Bangkok time). Or maybe I’ll do it on the Thursday evening rather than the Friday morning. We will see. Just don’t worry if it lands in your inbox 12 hours later than usual!
As always, the education is worth the price, but didn’t the shops have anything of interest
What’s a Neilson First?