An Introduction to Credor: I am astonished!

Credor is a brand managed by Seiko, using movements and cases created in the usual workshops, using GS techniques but more hand work, more decoration, jewels, cloisonne, enamel, ceramic, maki, and other fine art techiques to "kick it up a few notches" over other brands.

I have had a few Credors over the years, and currently own 5. From left to right we have a mechanical automatic movement, automatic Spring Drive, manual Spring Drive, manual chronometer, and a manual skeleton.

I thought there might be a dozen watches in the Credor line-up. Boy, was I wrong!

I always thought Credors were a bit nicer; more dressy; clean but a bit more stylish than Grand Seiko; but on about the same level technically. And above all the other Seiko brands (maybe Galante is up there too).

HISTORY

I didn't know the brand was launched 44 years ago. The name implies Crest of Gold, or pinnacle of gold. It was originally a collection of all Seikos cased in precious metals. The logo represents mountains reaching up to the stars in the sky.

PHILOSOPHY

Credor is intended to represent:

"Originality that is world-class"

"Aesthetic sense unique to Japan"

"A universality beyond culture and time"

"Harmonious proportions"

"Accurate detail with careful attention to detail"

I should have known better than to give myself ONLY a month to research a Seiko subsidiary brand (sub-brand or in this case, super-brand)!

In an effort to get this introductory article finished while I am still in the month of July, I restricted my research to watches over 1 million yen (about $9000 US).

Thinking that would give me only a handful, I was wrong. Here's what I found:

SUMMARY OF CURRENT CREDOR MEN'S WATCHES (Priced above 1 Million Yen)

	Credor Men's Watches available in Japan 2018
Model Number	Collection	Size	Case	Movement	Dial	Band	Units	Price

GBAQ961	Masterpiece	37	white gold	6870 thin manual	Ando Cloisonne "Basteille" shows dial pattern through translucent enamel	Crocodile	no limit	1,900,000
GBAQ963	Masterpiece	37	white gold	6870 thin manual	Ando Cloisonne "Basteille" shows dial pattern through translucent enamel	Crocodile	40	1,800,000
GBAQ970	Mens	37	pink gold	6870 thin manual	white dial, pink gold markers	Crocodile	no limit	1,300,000
GBAQ971	Mens	37	white gold	6870 thin manual	white dial, white gold markers	Crocodile	no limit	1,400,000
GBAQ976	Mens	34	yellow gold	6870 thin manual	UTD=Ultra Thin Dress	Crocodile	no limit	1,200,000
GBAQ977	Mens	34	white gold	6870 thin manual	UTD=Ultra Thin Dress	Crocodile	no limit	1,250,000
GBAQ984	Masterpiece	36x26	yellow gold	6870 thin manual	UTD=Ultra Thin Dress	Crocodile	no limit	1,200,000
GBAQ985	Masterpiece	36x26	platinum	6870 thin manual	UTD=Ultra Thin Dress	Crocodile	no limit	1,200,000

GBAR021	Mens	36	white gold	8J81 Quartz	octagon	white gold	no limit	2,300,000
GBAR022	Mens	36	yellow gold	8J81 Quartz	octagon	yellow gold	no limit	2,200,000

GBAT039	Mens	37	white gold	8J80 Quartz	octagon diamond bezel	white gold	no limit	2,800,000
GBAT040	Mens	37	yellow gold	8J80 Quartz	octagon diamond bezel	yellow gold	no limit	2,700,000
GBAT943	Mens	32x32	platinum	8J80 Quartz	TV shape, texture; 43 diamonds	platinum	no limit	4,100,000
GBAT945	Mens	32x32	platinum	8J80 Quartz	TV shape mother of pearl; 87 diamonds	platinum	no limit	4,500,000
GBAT949	Mens	33	platinum	8J80 Quartz	round textured dial	platinum	no limit	3,200,000

GBBD961	Mens	38	white gold	6899 thin manual	engraved skeleton & mother of pearl	Crocodile	no limit	4,400,000
GBBD963	Mens	38	white gold	6899 thin manual	Hokusai wave on skeleton engraved	Crocodile	30	4,800,000
GBBD981	Mens	41x34	platinum	6899 thin manual	skeleton engraved	Crocodile	no limit	3,400,000
GBBD985	Mens	35	platinum	6899 thin manual	skeleton engraved	Crocodile	30	2,500,000
GBBD986	Mens	35	yellow gold	6899 thin manual	skeleton engraved	Crocodile	30	2,050,000

GBBF902	Mens	35x26	yellow gold	4J80 quartz	yellow gold	yellow gold	no limit	1,900,000
GBBF903	Mens	35x26	white gold	4J80 quartz	white gold	white gold	no limit	1,800,000

GBBY989	Masterpiece	40	platinum	6890 thin manual	engraved mother of pearl 16 diamonds on markers	Crocodile	8	9,500,000

GBCC996	Masterpiece	40	pink gold	6830 tourbillon, engraved	pink gold w/black shell inlay	Crocodile	no limit	11,000,000
GBCC997	Masterpiece	40	white gold	6830 tourbillon engraved	white gold w/blue shell inlay	Crocodile	no limit	12,000,000
GBCC999	Masterpiece	40	platinum, white/yellow gold + 48 sapphires	6830 tourbillon decorated and engraved	Kiyoshi Terai engraving. Kazuyoshi Tamura lacquer. Satoshi Hiraga masterpiece, Kosuhiro Kosugi (Nobuhiro Rinshi) is dealer		8	50,000,000

GBLP996	Mens	38	pink gold	7R87 spring drive manual wind	white with moon texture	Crocodile	no limit	2,000,000
GBLP997	Mens	38	white gold	7R87 spring drive manual wind	gold with moon texture	Crocodile	no limit	2,100,000

GBLQ998	Masterpiece	43	pink gold	7R06 sonnerie spring drive manual wind	No dial. bell striking every hour or every three hours; silent	Crocodile	no limit	16,000,000
GBLS998	Masterpiece	43	pink gold	7R11 repeater spring drive manual wind	No dial; decimal repeater ie to sound 1 hour 59 minutes it strikes hours × 1; 10 minutes×5; minutes x 9	Crocodile	no limit	35,000,000

GBLT998	Masterpiece	39	pink gold	7R14 spring drive manual wind	white porcelain	Crocodile	no limit	4,300,000
GBLT999	Masterpiece	39	platinum	7R14 spring drive manual wind	white porcelain	Crocodile	no limit	5,700,000

GCAR974	Mens	38	pink gold & stainless	8J81 quartz	EAU DE VIE whiskey brown dial with baguette diamond markers	Crocodile	80	1,000,000

GCLP989	Mens	38	stainless steel	7R87 spring drive manual wind	Maki and mother of pearl		120	1,000,000

NOTE: when I say "no limit" it means that they will make a watch to order but doesn't necessarily mean you will find them anywhere you look. When I did a search on eBay, I found over

100 Galante watches for sale, from $2500 to $9000
400 Credor watches for sale, from $85 to $8500
1000 Grand Seiko watches for sale $70 to $20,000

My intention was to illustrate the whole list presented in this table, but in the interest of space and desire not to bring our imaging solution to its knees, I will include a few select large images.

LADIES WATCHES

You may not have noticed, but my table includes only the men's watches (hence the blue divider rows). The pink rows go on even farther than the men's so I will save them for another post. Here's a teaser anyway.

Now back to an assortment of men's watches...

MENS RECTANGULAR ULTRA THIN DRESS WATCHES

MENS ROUND THIN SKELETON DRESS WATCHES

MENS DIAMOND SET WATCHES

MENS TOURBILLON WATCHES

DECORATED DIALS

THE CHIMING WATCHES

MOVEMENTS

Please let me know if you want to see more!

Cazalea

💰48 Marketplace Listings for Grand Seiko›

Wow, I've never seen those neither...

By: patrick_y : July 31st, 2018-20:09

A brand that gets on by without any marketing because it already has enough clients to absorb its production... Oh, and you're one of those culprits who absorb production. You have FIVE Credors! You probably need a garage for your watches now!

A great post, our SEIKO Guru!

By: KIH : July 31st, 2018-20:10

Credor may sometimes seen as “lower” level brand than GS. But those two were created by completely different concept: Grand Seiko - The world’s best practical watch. Credor - The world’s best dress watch. So, naturally, less mechanical watch (more Spring ...

I thought Credor strives for High Horology aesthetics.

By: jomni1 : July 31st, 2018-20:30

GS is more for high end tool watches.

That's a good description

By: cazalea : July 31st, 2018-20:53

We can ponder this a bit more. They are not to everyone's taste, but the multitude of models means someone both Japanese and wealthy must be buying them. Cazalea

Great Article!!

By: Spencer Karrington : July 31st, 2018-21:21

I have always felt that Credor is a VERY underappreciated brand that should have more recognition for all of the beautiful watches it creates. I would love to know more about the brand as it is difficult to get information because it is all in Japanese!! ...

Thanks a lot for this interesting introduction, I was only vaguely aware of Credit before your article and now you've made me quite curious about the brand!😁 [nt]

By: FabR : July 31st, 2018-23:28

...and my spellchecker was apparently not aware of Credor at all, sorry!😂 [nt]

By: FabR : July 31st, 2018-23:30

Never seen a report like this. Not mine, I think it is more for the asiatic market, but very interesting what they do. Thanks! [nt]

By: Walter2 : August 1st, 2018-00:09

You're missing one Credor: GCBK981

By: Signo : August 1st, 2018-08:59

...

Yes - what a great cavalcade of photos you provided

By: cazalea : August 1st, 2018-09:42

I think perhaps there are several dozen more models I need to review, but I couldn't get everything into one post, so I will keep working away at Credor. Here's one I used to own, And my Seiko Flightmaster that uses the same 6S37A movement as your Credor....

Love it.

By: AuHavrePro : August 1st, 2018-11:19

My pick would perhaps be one of the elegant, decorated dials with time-only function. I have to think more of it . Thanks Mike, much appreciated, Filip

Please tell and show us more about Credor

By: Watchlover78 : August 1st, 2018-15:06

Best, Baxter

Thank you for this great post.

By: Gnkt : August 2nd, 2018-17:03

You have a nice collection. Please keep posting about Credor.

Oh most certainly!

By: KMII : August 3rd, 2018-01:02

This is a morning fantasy post The UTD rectangular is something I have never seen before, for instance and so many others. The more the better

Very nice post especially for those who want to know more about Credor

By: Teacher Yang : August 4th, 2018-09:59

I like the rectangular ones. Take care Cazalea

Thank you

By: cazalea : August 4th, 2018-14:55

Likewise.

Great job!

By: Whineboy : December 7th, 2018-13:50

Thank you for the hard work and thorough research. As a new Credor owner (GCLP993), I found this fascinating. ...

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By: Meadia : May 5th, 2024-10:01

Beautiful! I'm still sadly looking for one of these..

Appreciate your effort in introducing Credor line to us

By: Watchlover78 : December 7th, 2018-15:49

Watchlover78

Thanks for such an exposition!

By: halkcb : December 7th, 2018-17:41

For me ,Credor signifies elegance---that's what brought me my first and only Credor Love it's simplicity And the movement finish ain't too bad Once again,thanks for your comprehensive Credor post. best henry ...

Thank you from a fellow seikoholic!

By: T J : May 8th, 2024-04:03

Credor is my brand of choice when it comes to pure elegance and case finishing. You should really present their latest collections, the Kuon and Goldfeathers as those represent the future of the brand essentially. I was absolutely blown away to smithereen...

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