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tomvox1
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At 36mm, this early 1970s Grand Seiko is eminently wearable and is also a textbook example of the great Taro Tanaka’s “Grammar of Design” philosophy, which he utilized to elevate Seiko into more serious competition with the Swiss. It’s an absolute pleasure to wear, very ergonomic, and that lovely vibrant blue dial never fails to draw the eye. Representing some serious bang for your buck, this Grand Seiko would make a great first vintage watch for the budding collector or a nicely priced entree into the world of vintage Seiko for the seasoned enthusiast.
My asking price for this super cool and uncommon vintage Grand Seiko Chronometer is $675 USD, which includes fully insured domestic US shipping. International to be discussed and will be at cost, which is not too cheap these days! 😉 Bank Wire or other direct transfer always preferred but PayPal is OK on this watch at +2% to the buyer (no F&F). Payment must be made in US DOLLARS. Watch will ship upon full clearance of the funds, as well as any necessary bank vetting. Feel free to contact me via DM or at [email protected] or [email protected]
CASE & CASEBACK: Highly attractive and iconic “Grammar of Design” Seiko case, with classic round face & bezel but more avant-garde angled and heavily beveled downward sloping wide lugs and “two dimensional” faceted bezel. All-stainless steel, this KS measures a very versatile and wearable 36mm wide (not including crown) x 42mm long x a slim 10mm to the top of the crystal. The case does not appear to have been polished and the original sharp edges to the top, sides and inner lugs are still present, albeit with quite a few nicks and marks from the years - Very Good unpolished vintage condition overall. The slightly domed, classically faceted bezel also has a few marks/dings. Note that this bezel is of the pressure-fit variety and not formed as part of the mid-case for a more secure crystal fit. The outer caseback has very minor scuffs and light scratches and the famous encircled golden King Seiko Chronometer logo is super crisp. All the contemporary nomenclature of the time - reference & serial number, opening instructions, etc. - are present and very crisp. Excellent unpolished condition for the external caseback. As this is a mono-block case with a front-loading movement, opening it for interior case and movement shots is above my pay grade.
DIAL & HANDS: This Grand Seiko Chronometer features a beautiful non-luminous electric blue dial with sunburst finish, with highly legible black-filled silver bar markers, silver-printed dial text & finely graduated minute ticks. The sliver-framed day & date window spotlights the correct double English-Japanese day and date discs, as well as special blue and red days for Saturday and Sunday respectively. Overall, the dial is in Very Good original condition, with some spotting and mild discoloration visible at certain angles, particularly an area above the center post. Blue dials of this period are notorious for galvanic reactions/discolorations over time and it’s possible that’s the cause here. That said, this dial represents very well on the wrist and has a lovely sunburst effect that plays well in all sorts of different light. This Grand Seiko retains its correct “mismatched” non-luminous silver handset, with a black-filled hour hand and plain slim minute hand, as well as a silver needle-style sweep seconds. The hands show only minor age/oxidation and are more like Excellent. All in all, a very handsome and appealing blue dial layout and a pleasure to admire on the wrist.
CROWN: Correct signed “GS” knurled steel winding crown is Excellent. The crown sits snugly against the case, winds smoothly, pulls out to first the quickset date and quickset day position (in opposite directions) then the hacking time-set position, as it should. (Note: only quickset the day and/or date at around 6:30 AM to prevent any issues with the notoriously finicky plastic setting wheel.)
CRYSTAL: Original proprietary Seiko “Hardlex” tempered mineral glass crystal is in Very Good to Excellent condition, with just a few minor scratches from the years.
MOVEMENT: Under the hood is Seiko’s excellent 25-Jewel caliber 5626 Chronometer-grade full-rotor auto movement beating at 28,800 per hour. It’s a very slim and efficiently designed “Hi-Beat” movement and features a true quickset date and day complication in the first detent position. This movement was fully serviced a few years back, with the replacement of some rather difficult to source parts at the time, and it is still running very well, with strong power reserve, accurate timekeeping and proper function of both quickset date mechanisms. Just be sure to only quickset the day and/or date at like 6:30 AM to prevent any issues with the notoriously finicky plastic setting wheel and it should give you many more years of faithful service.
BRACELET: This cool Grand Seiko comes on a period correct Hong Kong-made Maruman Stainless Steel Oyster-style bracelet. There are superficial scratches to the bracelet, as well as the unsigned deployant clasp and it shows typical light to moderate stretch for its age - Very Good vintage condition. This bracelet is long enough to fit a maximum of about a 7.25 inch wrist, with plenty of micro-adjustment holes on the clasp for sizing down from there. This Seiko has a lug width of 18mm.
As a matter of policy I make NO guarantees for the water resistance of this watch in any way, shape or form.
This cool vintage Grand Seiko Chronometer is offered with a 3-day inspection period from the date of receipt and may be returned for a full refund less any shipping costs incurred by the buyer. This refund is unconditional and once I get the watch back in exactly the same condition as it was sent to you, your money will be refunded. Of course, once the 3 days are over the sale will be considered FINAL.
Thanks for looking,
T.
[email protected] or [email protected][/SIZE]
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