Horological Meandering

cazalea
[Seiko Moderator]
20958

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OK, I'll take a crack at it (donning protective clothing)

Rolex and Grand Seiko.

There are so many places to start; and so many places we could end up.

On the surface you can say both are:

- well made
- have traditional and conservative styling
- never seem to change very much
- will outlast you and whoever gets it next
- don't seem to share or communicate their thinking
- highly vertically integrated in production of their watches
- prices are high for what seems to be "just a watch"
- neither seems to chase complications
- neither really has jumped onto the BIG WATCH g


You can also say that in contrast,
- Rolex makes darn near 2,000 watches a day, while Grand Seiko makes perhaps that many in a year
- Rolex is no doubt the best known brand of Swiss watch, and Seiko is probably the best known of the Japanese brands (but Grand Seikos are relatively UN-known)
- I believe virtually all Rolexes are automatic movements (self-winding) and other than a few (25,000 OysterQuartz) none are quartz
- GS makes plenty of automatics, manual winds, and quartz models

On your wrist
- both are solid, hefty watches and more often than not, supplied on bracelets
- neither will wow the neighbors with its styling (except perhaps that Leopard-Skin Daytona)

I've only had about a half-dozen Rolexes, though I have worked on a dozen or so more of them.
I think in total I've had about 20 Grand Seikos now.

Either is an excellent choice. Rolex is a can't lose proposition. GS is more likely to require an explanation as to why you bought it.
So if you like taking your watch off and handing it around, a GS is a good choice



click here , for a GS History Lesson, courtesy of SJX.