It's been almost two years since I wrote that last "Grand Seiko versus Rolex" post, and it's time for an update.
I still have the SBGX115 GS Quartz Diver, and it's worn regularly. So regularly in fact, that the case is getting banged up. One day, I might have to get the case refinished - but since it's a special tin plate polishing technique (in Japan, call Zaratsu) it would have to go back to Japan to be serviced. Maybe that's not such a bad thing - it's not as though I have nothing else to wear.
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| Grand Seiko SBGX115 |
We went back to Japan in the fall of 2018. I knew I had to get some kind of a souvenir watch while there, and spent a large portion of our time looking at watch shops. In the end, it was at Narita Airport on our journey home that I finally pulled the trigger and got a Seiko Presage SARX055.
The SARX055 is known as a "Baby Grand Seiko". The dial work is amazing (blow up the photo). Finished is outstanding, and the watch is in titanium (I have a thing for titanium).
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| SARX055 |
This scratched the itch for several months, but in the summer of 2019 I got the urge for something different. The watch community has a thing for Casio G-Shock. Not your run of the mill Walmart Casio G-Shock, but Japanese only boutique watches. I dipped my toe in this with a GW-5000-IJF.
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| Photo courtest of Seiya Japan - I buy most of my Japanese watches from him. |
I had this for a short time and didn't get it. I even wrote a
forum post about not getting it and got a lot of feedback (mostly negative). At any rate, when my son came home from Montreal for Christmas I gave the watch to him. And for him, it's perfect. Solar, automatic time sync, indestructible, and nerd chic.
So with that, I'm back in the hunt. My focus has drifted solidly into High Accuracy Quartz (HAQ) watches. I cannot afford any of the high-end mechanical pieces I'd be interested in (AP Royal Oak, Patek Philip Aquanaut, Vacheron Constantin Overseas, Zenith Classic Defy, Grand Seiko Snowflake).
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| Audemar Piguet Royal Oak |
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| Grand Seiko Snowflake |
I'm intrigued by the high-end pieces that Citizen makes. These are models you'll never find in North America. After much consternation, I pulled the trigger on this Citizen Chronomaster:
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| Citizen Chronomaster CTQ57-0934 |
It's a very classic size - 35mm (versus 40-44 for almost everything else I have). On an alligator strap, it looks great. It's also accurate to five seconds a year, with a perpetual calendar, so there's that.
I have a five watch watchbox, so I keep six watches in rotation (one for my wrist). I have another watch on order that I'll write about next - time to remove one watch from the box. It's time for the Sumo to take a rest.
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| Seiko Sumo |
