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Omega vs Seiko?

Stewart A
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OmegaP99 OmegaP99
I keep coming back to the Spring cherry blossom version. Such a lovely piece but I have yet to see one in person. Yours is very nice!

Thank you OmegaP99. The Spring - is a great choice. I was torn between the two but chose the bold over the sublime. The Spring is still on my list, hopefully at some point in the future I can add to my collection. Funny about not seeing either watch in person, I have yet to see either watch in the wild. This fact made my choice more difficult as I had to rely on photos and reviews/comments regarding the two watches to make my final selection. Thanks again.
 
Philip Loftus
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OmegaP99 OmegaP99
To me Japanese design is about beauty in it's most minimal form, adding only what is necessary to get a concept or aesthetic idea across. More attention may be given to harmonic balance, both in physical heft and in terms of design. Nature is often the source of inspiration rather than abstract or geometric sensibilities that westerners may rely more on. There can also be a beautiful fragility to Japanese fine goods, not to mention the famous Wabi Sabi embracing of impermanence, physical change, and natural & expected aging.
Everything you say is right. And you have put yr finger on the nub of the problem. Japanese design lacks virility.
Edited:
 
Philip Loftus
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sdre sdre
You visited Tokyo? Their architecture is pretty amazing
Architecture is a strange one! Never really thought about it in these terms. Pls expand on this idea, you could well be right.
 
BPD
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I have owned a Sub Date, Seamaster 300, Black Bay etc but by far, the build and finishing on my Marinemaster beats all of them! IMO, it is just a very well balanced watch

07735BBF-4331-44DA-8EB0-4196E7CF6FF7.jpeg
 
Philip Loftus
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LeonDeBayonne LeonDeBayonne
Would you mind expanding? Our Japanese friends will certainly learn something.馃嵖
Learn something? What makes you say that?However hearing from any J-members would be interesting!
One qualifier: excluding Nihonto.
 
Pun
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Stewart A Stewart A
Thanks Walrus. This is a GS Heritage Autumn SBGH269, it is a limited edition of 900 pieces. The dial is incredible, especially in good light, the red shimmers between crimson to bronzey tones - similar to those seen in Japanese maples. Per Seiko, the dial texture mimics floor boards found in Japanese homes - this quality fades depending on the viewing angle and the light . I put it on a strap to enhance the color, the bracelet was a bit too polished for me. Thanks!
It's a lovely watch. I almost bought one but I found it much thicker than what I preferred in this beauty. Just my 2 cents.
 
chaw6125
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52
My brother has the SMP and it is just the hands I don't like. I would probably have the bracelet brushed too. I would prefer the SMP to have both arrow hands like the planet ocean or none. The Seiko's and GS I want to love. I appreciate the level of finishing that goes into them, but nothing so far has grabbed me and made me think "I must have one". Maybe they are too dressy for me at GS level and some of the Seiko case shapes just do not tickle my pickle. One day they might release something and change my mind - I really hope they do.
 
rainking
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If you own one of the SLA models, where do you get it serviced? If it's just the regular Seiko USA service center in NJ, that's not a positive, in my limited experience. Last year I sent in my SBDC051 after I accidentally dropped it on a hard tile floor. It came back to me running insanely fast, with the bezel misaligned. Sent it back again. Came back running normal and the bezel was alright, but someone put several little gouges in the caseback, and then had the balls to note those gouges on my invoice/repair order as "pre-existing." I know damn well they weren't there when I sent it in. At that point I just let it go, and the watch has been fine ever since, but it entirely put me off of ever buying a Seiko again. Or, at least a Seiko above the typical $200-$300 models, which I'd just treat as disposable.

My SBDC cost me $800-something (retail was $1,000 or so, I believe), and while that's not a lot compared to Omega etc etc, it's also not a dirt-cheap watch. I know that one (well, two when you combine the whole thing together) experiences shouldn't entirely taint my view of Seiko USA service, as there are plenty of bad stories about the Swatch/Omega centers, too. In the end, it all worked out for me, but mostly it's the fact they put marks in the watch and then actively--before I ever even said anything--decided to claim they had nothing to do with it. Not a good look, and not real confidence inspiring. I'd be real nervous sending something as nice/expensive as an SLA model to them for service.
Edited:
 
Gruesome
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I guess that means one has to take pictures before sending a watch in for repair. Good to know.
Apropos pictures: Since this is something that would irk me, it might not hurt to contact them again and mention that you remember the marks not being there (as opposed to not remembering the marks), and ask them whether they have pictures of the incoming watch with the marks. In a polite way, of course.

Regarding the $200 Seikos: the nice thing about these is that they are sturdy watches that are easy and cheap to upgrade. I think I paid the same for my SKX011 plus the Miltat adjustable extension band as I paid for the adjustable diver clasp for my co-axial Speedmaster. The Miltat extension can be adjusted on the fly (without unbuckling the watch), which you can't do with the Omega. For another 50 bucks I was able to upgrade the movement and get a nice knurled crown. Now, I will probably not be able to regulate the SKX to the 0.2s/day that the Omega runs at...
 
time flies
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Gruesome Gruesome
I guess that means one has to take pictures before sending a watch in for repair. Good to know.
Apropos pictures: Since this is something that would irk me, it might not hurt to contact them again and mention that you remember the marks not being there (as opposed to not remembering the marks), and ask them whether they have pictures of the incoming watch with the marks. In a polite way, of course.

Regarding the $200 Seikos: the nice thing about these is that they are sturdy watches that are easy and cheap to upgrade. I think I paid the same for my SKX011 plus the Miltat adjustable extension band as I paid for the adjustable diver clasp for my co-axial Speedmaster. The Miltat extension can be adjusted on the fly (without unbuckling the watch), which you can't do with the Omega. For another 50 bucks I was able to upgrade the movement and get a nice knurled crown. Now, I will probably not be able to regulate the SKX to the 0.2s/day that the Omega runs at...
It is fun to try though.

have fun
kfw
20171212_140610.jpg 20200817_205812.jpg
 
rainking
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452
Gruesome Gruesome
I guess that means one has to take pictures before sending a watch in for repair. Good to know.
Apropos pictures: Since this is something that would irk me, it might not hurt to contact them again and mention that you remember the marks not being there (as opposed to not remembering the marks), and ask them whether they have pictures of the incoming watch with the marks. In a polite way, of course.

Nah. It was months ago; I鈥檓 not going to go back to them now. Pointless, anyway. The marks are very minor and on the back of the watch, so despite me hating dings, it doesn鈥檛 matter鈥擨 never see them. I鈥檓 sure my local watchmaker could polish them out, or mostly out. Really, the whole experience with that service center just felt janky as hell to me. I鈥檝e had a couple of errors with Omega service but those guys bend over backward to correct it. These Seiko people seemed like they couldn鈥檛 give less of a shit.
 
slwoodster
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389
Iceter Iceter
My meager collection is almost exclusively made up of Seikos and Omegas and in this case, I think I prefer the Seiko.

I am confused, however, by Seiko's marketing decisions. Why are these up-market Seikos not branded as Grand Seikos? They went to the trouble to establish two brands but they keep releasing Seikos that seem to deserve the Grand moniker.

With these specific ones, these were odes to old Seiko divers. So it's nice that they kept the original name. I think they are trying to march the entire branch up market. We've seen significantly increased pricing in the Prospex, SARX, SARB, 5 lines. Their recent Grand Seiko push is also helping to increase the product price associated with the brand name. Seiko is possibly the most storied watch company at the below-$2000 range. I do think it's tough to distinguish their product lines at too-similar price ranges. But it's been so long and their fans already know the specific model numbers to look for.
 
Archer
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Gruesome Gruesome
I guess that means one has to take pictures before sending a watch in for repair. Good to know.

Always take photos before sending a watch for service, no matter who you are sending it to. It helps avoid any issues of what was there or not when the watch was sent.
 
greyfox422
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190
BPD BPD
I have owned a Sub Date, Seamaster 300, Black Bay etc but by far, the build and finishing on my Marinemaster beats all of them! IMO, it is just a very well balanced watch

07735BBF-4331-44DA-8EB0-4196E7CF6FF7.jpeg
The Marinemaster is a stunner but I can't get over the large, blocky, 4 o'clock crown is just too much for me. I have a current gen SMPc300M and realize the HEV is off-putting to some but I prefer it to the crown for the Marinemaster.
 
OmegaP99
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slwoodster slwoodster
With these specific ones, these were odes to old Seiko divers. So it's nice that they kept the original name. I think they are trying to march the entire branch up market. We've seen significantly increased pricing in the Prospex, SARX, SARB, 5 lines. Their recent Grand Seiko push is also helping to increase the product price associated with the brand name. Seiko is possibly the most storied watch company at the below-$2000 range. I do think it's tough to distinguish their product lines at too-similar price ranges. But it's been so long and their fans already know the specific model numbers to look for.
I've been thinking this also. They seem to be following the Omega trajectory and we can see similarities between Seiko and "old" Omega when you could buy them at any number of jewelers in a shopping mall.
 
Foo2rama
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slwoodster slwoodster
With these specific ones, these were odes to old Seiko divers. So it's nice that they kept the original name. I think they are trying to march the entire branch up market. We've seen significantly increased pricing in the Prospex, SARX, SARB, 5 lines. Their recent Grand Seiko push is also helping to increase the product price associated with the brand name. Seiko is possibly the most storied watch company at the below-$2000 range. I do think it's tough to distinguish their product lines at too-similar price ranges. But it's been so long and their fans already know the specific model numbers to look for.

hold them in hand or see them from 10 feet and it鈥檚 obvious.
 
PRW
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389
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569
Wow! Honestly was a little niaeve to the cost of these!
Have just paid less than this for new SMP 300 with both bracelet and rubber.
Screenshot_20200818-182258.png
 
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