Seiko Grand Seiko Gathering World of Watches II

traineract · 2016-11-13T01:43:14Z

Discover an informal Seiko and Grand Seiko gathering at World of Watches II in Singapore, featuring community insights and new collections.

traineract

WPS member · Horological Meandering forum

9 replies3006 views35 photos

Traineract's post documents an informal gathering of watch enthusiasts at World of Watches II in Singapore, offering a behind-the-scenes look at a community event focused on Seiko and Grand Seiko. This report provides valuable insight into local watch collecting culture and the role of retailers in fostering community engagement.

9 collectors discussing this on the WatchProSite forumJoin the Conversation →

Apologies for the earlier technical difficulities. Used the direct uploader and seems to be working fine now.

Enjoy!

Was very happy to be invited by the good people from World of Watches II for a small gathering with a bunch of my watch collecting friends, who I am very happy to have known these few years. We are just a small group of enthusiasts from a few local forums in Singapore. We are constantly poisoned by various brands but Seiko was always one of the mainstays and hence we had our own unofficial "Seiko night".

Background
A little background before sharing the pictures taken from the GTG. World of Watches II (WOW II) is a local watch retail shop located at Wisma Astria along Orchard Road, one of the famous shopping streets in Singapore. They had another Grand Seiko event recently and with the new collection of Grand Seikos and Seikos in, they kindly invited us to have an informal GTG there to do some sharing. Of course, other than Grand Seikos and Seikos, they also had other offerings. Without further ado, shall let the pictures do the talking.

Event

While waiting for the guests to arrive, we took a few pictures of those who are already there, and also of the leather care and strap-maker who had graced the event that night. (More on them later).

Light snacks to keep it casual.

Mr Zentrix Chiu, General Manager of WOW II, giving some opening remarks before we started the night.

One of the event line-up for the guests was a leather care and custom strap making presentation by Remy and Lawrence. They showed us some of their products, how to make custom straps, how to take care of your leather, and also offered free leather polishing to those who wore their leather straps to the event. They were a great hit.

Remy is from Dicon doing leather care products and Lawrence from Kultskins Handcrafted is a custom strap-maker.

Remy giving free leather polishing services to the crowd!

Trying out the metal polish on a few SS braccelets

Watches Free For All

What is a watch event without watches. When the presentations on leather care was done, all hell broke loose and it was watches free for all after that. WOW II staff enthusiastically showed the guests some of their offerings. Action was everywhere so I tried to capture as much as I could.

Trying on a Junghans Chronograph

Seiko Presage SARD009. Looks like a cute puppy. So much complications on a watch at this price point. Also runs on a nice leather strap with deployant buckle

Seiko SSA303J1. My favourite piece of the night just because of how much value it packs. I generally dislike 4R movements because I really prefer the non-winding 7S family but this particular 4R57 with power reserve gave the crown winding some purpose. It is a made in Japan piece and I love how well made it is for less than 800 SGD. It is very well made and finished for its price. It also looks great, other than being a tad too thick.

Padi Seiko Prospex and Friends

Black Ceramic GS Chronograph SBGC017

Tree motifs on the dial of the SBGC017

Vintage inspired Junghans Chronoscope

Seiko Presage Urushi Dial Chronograph. A man came in and paid the money and went off with the white enamel dial version while we were having the event! Hence, Urushi is left all alone but not for long as it is also reserved and should be in the owner's hands soon.

Another piece that I quite like is the Armand Nicolet. Not sure the model reference but it reminds me a little bit of Piaget Polo and maybe the Piaget poison hit me a little too strongly. I can't afford a Piaget, but I might consider this Armand Nicolet.

A lovely Speake Marin Resilience. Simple and classic timepiece with a distinct Speake Marin look. The crown looks very inviting for someone to wind it.

Some of the other brands on display

Azimuth's booth is more unique and has an interesting industrial look to it

Watches on the other guests

Did some quick and dirty shots of some of the guests who went for the event as well.

Sinn Eurofiegler

Pam ZERO!

Grand Seiko Limited Edition SBGE029

Seiko supporter!

Heuer 01

Hope you all enjoyed the post!

Key Points from the Discussion

The author expressed regret at missing the opportunity to meet Hiraga-san, a renowned Grand Seiko master watchmaker known for assembling watches without a magnifier.
A community member noted that World of Watches II was a new and interesting watch shop in Singapore, highlighting its unique mix of brands and its status as one of the few retailers for Grand Seiko outside the main distributor.
The PSM Enamel model was singled out as a favorite among the watches displayed, indicating its strong appeal within the community.
The author mentioned plans to potentially provide a more in-depth review of the PSM collection, including chronograph and serpent dater hand models, and the upcoming London chronograph.

The Discussion

amanico

Nov 13, 2016

The PSM Enamel for me, among all those you posted, please. [nt]

traineract

Nov 13, 2016

It is also my favourite piece in the psm collection

They also have the chronograph and the serpent dater hand as well as the one hander. Heard that the London chronograph is also coming in soon. Might do a more in depth cover of psm again if possible

amanico

Nov 13, 2016

Yes, please do so! [nt]

KIH

Nov 13, 2016

Wow, did you meet Hiraga-san?

He is a great guy. He still doesn't need magnifier when assembling the Grand Seiko ) Ken

traineract

Nov 13, 2016

Sadly I didnt get to see him. :(

Yes I heard he was really skilled. Unfortunately, he was only in Singapore for the main event, one Friday before we went for our gathering. Really wanted to see him in action but that day was already full with other guests. Ours was more of an informal sharing session, rather than a full fledged event. I heard there was another event at a Grand Seiko boutique that week with the master watchmaker but I could not make it for that session. *sighs

piccolochimico (aka dsgalaxy1)

Nov 13, 2016

Love event like this

Thank you for sharing, the chance to meet friends and watchmakers is always a plus.