Day & Night

Nov 02, 2017,14:32 PM
 

Hi all,

Just wanted to share some shots and notes about the last watch I received : the Credor Spring Drive Moonphase GCLL997.
I sort of needed to balance the "night" version of it : the GCLL999, in accordance with the spirit behind the "Node" collection.


But first let me to thank our sensei Ken who made it all possible. I now believe that he is the guardian angel of the Seikommunity!
As this particular model is regularly shown by Mike (Cazalea) I will not go into details about it, but will try to give some practical or useful info.

The watch is rather large on my wrist (17.5 cm), it is 41.3 mm in diameter and 13.4 mm thick, the lug-to-lug distance is 48 mm.


It has great presence, and the convex back "sinks" onto the wrist, decreasing its visual height and holding it in place.

The bracelet is beautifully finished and very comfortable; the polished parts between the links are acting as central pivots to ensure flexibility with the brushed elements, half-links are also available. When set for my wrist on this bracelet, the watch weighs 151 g.
The feeling of this bracelet is qualitative to say the least, personally I love it!!!
Also for info, originally the GCLL997 was mounted in series on alligator strap and deployant buckle.

The bezel is typical to the node collection with its 4 polished facets:


The blued hands are very well made. From comparison with online pictures, the seconds' hand and the minutes' one look exactly the same as the ones on the Eichi II.


The treatment on the dial is identical to the GCLL999, only the color differs. Naturally, the reflections are less contrasting and therefore less "spectacular" but everything is there.
Also the 997 is less demonstrative or shiny, more subtle and really makes me think of the "toolwatch" version of the 999, say the daylight one.

On the periphery, the sunray pattern is also present on the curved surface sporting the 5 minutes indices, only the inner bezel does not have it (like on the GMT Grand Seiko's).


On the surface the dial has a varnished satin texture, and under the surface in direct light it will display a glittery / powdery effect, impossible to reveal on a picture ...
The hue varies from straight white to bright gold depending on the lighting; a new hue is to be discovered every day.


This watch is very easy to wear and so appealing that I've been wearing it every day since I received it!

When studied in details, it is very interesting to see all the common points with the other productions from the Shinshu Watch Studio.


So despite the differences in style, one feels in known territory compared to other Seiko models, clearly in the same "family".

This is a great watch that really deserves to be discovered, I'll wear mine and truly enjoy it very often for sure.


Cheers!

Damien


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Thanks PJ S, I know this is so cliché but...

 
 By: Damster : November 2nd, 2017-15:57
...I have to admit they are totally different and totally complementary at the same time! Everyone who has one really needs both btw I think the 997 really likes the sunset light, when warm tones come to balance the cold purity of the dial. Cheers

Very nice..

 
 By: Echi : November 2nd, 2017-20:46
Do you have a wrist shot of the black one? Thanks for sharing. Echi

Thanks Echi, of course...

 
 By: Damster : November 3rd, 2017-15:28
...I have some wrist shots! The GCLL999 has a dark blue dial that appears black in low light conditions, all pictures below are under natural light except the one with comment. One is taken from a review I made already 3 years ago, how time flies... The p...  

Thanks Ken

 
 By: Damster : November 3rd, 2017-15:31
You know you're the one

Bravo!

 
 By: cazalea : November 2nd, 2017-22:42
I have wanted the darker watch for years, but other Credor Watches kept coming my way on their own accord (or Ken’s) - maybe some day it will happen. Cheers, Mike ...  

A very, very rare one, Mike - Nice!!

 
 By: KIH : November 2nd, 2017-23:04
Wonderful example )) Ken

Thanks Mike

 
 By: Damster : November 3rd, 2017-15:45
Don't know who told you about getting the 999 in complement to the 997 but the guy surely has strange ideas And now I need to counter your Cred-o-selfie with a zaratselfie (or selfiratsu, not so sure), aka the un-famous duckface wrist shot : Sorry I had t...  

Now that's a perfectly balanced pair!

 
 By: KMII : November 3rd, 2017-01:55
Thank you for the extensive report on your latest acquisition - a lovely piece you have there. And as a pair they are even more fascinating! Looking forward to seeing more of it here and wishing you much enjoyable wrist time!

Thanks KMII, if you also want to know more about the watch, let's start...

 
 By: Damster : November 3rd, 2017-16:04
...with an easy one: the "Node" collection was designed based on the concept of alliance of the opposites towards a balance point. More precisely, reference is made to the lunar node, which is the point where the orbit of the moon visually crosses the one... 

That is what I love about Seiko...

 
 By: KMII : November 4th, 2017-00:13
These endless levels within levels 👌🏻 Thanks for the additional information - much appreciated!

Gorgeous pair of rare Credor for a great connoisseur

 
 By: Gnkt : November 3rd, 2017-05:01
Congrats again my friend ;-) These photos of 997 are really stuning. While not as subtle as 999 IMHO, the dial seems to change depending of the light condions. How is the color in daylight ? silver ? white ? cream ?

Silver, I would say

 
 By: cazalea : November 3rd, 2017-16:43
In diffuse light! Cazalea ...  

Thanks gnkt, there are great mysteries in this universe...

 
 By: Damster : November 3rd, 2017-16:48
...and the real color of a Credor dial is one of them, and I think you already know quite a lot about it! I would say it is off-white... The amount of "off" depending on how warm the light you feed the dial with actually is. All pictures above were taken ...