I have so many mixed feelings about Grand Seiko. I love the design and the outstanding finish on the dial and hands.
I used to own a Grand Seiko spring drive, but eventually sold it. A lovely watch, although case finishing was not that amazing, but that could also partly be because mine was a titanium model which might be difficult to polish as well as the steel models.
I sold it mainly for 3 reasons. No. 1 is that I am a watchmaker, and as interesting as the spring drive system is, after some time it really started to bug me that if the watch would ever develop a problem I would have to send it off to someone else (and probably for quite a bit of $$$, for an extended period of time).
No. 2 is that nearly all the Grand Seiko's are too thick for my taste. I wear shirts to work, and this watch never really worked well with my shirt cuffs. I feel for a high-end they make very little effort to reduce their thickness either in movement or case design (especially movement design).
No. 3. is movement finish. I wish it were different, but I have never been impressed with the movement finish of Grand Seiko watches (except for their unobtainable highly finished pieces). There is very limited finish done on the movement, and the machining finish is average. I honestly don't think it's much different from ETA produced movements (a company I highly rate!). For the continuously increasing prices, they have to do better!
I still own several Seiko pieces; a Marine Master 300, and an Emperor Tuna. Both great watches, keeping average time (timing is actually fine but their average rate is not adjusted well). Given their overall quality, they are quite fairly priced.
Seiko seems to be doing very well, so from a business perspective I don't think they have that much to change. However, from a consumer's point of view I find it hard to compare their overall package with for example JLC or Rolex. Of course it is something different you're buying. Swiss companies are 'boring', and Seiko offers a more exotic and niche product.
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