Seiko

It has now been roughly two months since this piece graced my wrist. With the honeymoon period now over, I'm ready to share some thoughts on this JDM model.

First of all let's address the basics:

Dial: Porcelain, Dial furniture are pad printed then fired to a grainy texture

Material: Steel with integrated bracelet (pin and collar system due to thinness)

Bracelet: 7 link bracelet terminating to a GS style clasp.

Case Size: 39mm Diameter, 10.8mm Thickness (1mm of which is the crystal), 46.2mm Lug to Lug , Lug holes for strap changing (this might mean they will make a leather strap)

Movement: 7R31, a refinished 9R31 with the following new features:

- Seragi wave pattern engraved onto the main-plate

- Completely new countersink design, opting for ovular instead of circular

- Credor Logo at eight O-Clock instead of at three

- Power reserve indicator uses three overlapping lines, representing the three day power reserve, the hand moves in the opposite direction of the 9r31

Accuracy: +-15 Seconds per month, (+3 seconds per month in real life testing)

Weight: 125 grams

Water Resistance: 30bar

Price: 8500USD (This is japan prices, no tax, with a good exchange rate, expect 10k++ at the AD)

Okay with that out of the way, I'll say this right now, I have never seen a better finished watch at this price point, period. Whichever artisan polished my piece did it at the level that I've seen when I've held the Credor and Grand Seiko masterpieces. For a case (pun intended) in point, let's look at the finishing of the Case!

Peripherals:

On normal Grand Seikos, the outer bezel (the part you see) is always zaratsu finished, but the inner bezel that terminates towards the case is never done so. Here is a rather bad attempt at capturing this haha, the leaves being blurred is simply my camera failing to focus:

This photo shows a 44gs, where you can see the zaratsu surfaces reflect the hair on my skin, but the inner bezel fails to reflect essentially anything...

Next is the sheer amount of surfaces that have been black polished. If you count, it's 3 different curvatures and 2 flat surfaces which if you know anything about zaratsu polishing a curved surface, it is a nightmare and the upmost curve runs ALL the way from lug to lug, expanding in width at the crown. Picture provided!

The brushing on the lugs is also immaculate and is clearly done by hand (because it looks distinctly different from the machine brushed bracelet).The finishing on the bracelet is also nothing to slouch at, though machine made, they have payed extreme attention to detail in the form of wider beveling on the corners of the links, and also something I never expected to see (and you don't see on any grand seiko bracelet), this beveling is done on the BACK of the bracelet as well. It's safe to say this watch wears comfortable as hell. However, I HATE the clasp with all of my might, it is rattly and frequently gets it's pushers stuck, moreover, the thing has no micro adjustment so it took a while to size. I also hate the fact that the brushing doesn't match the case due to it's machining, which completely invalidates the point of an "integrated" bracelet.

Dial and Design:

Oh lord if the dial isn't just gorgeous. I am 99.999% sure they just took an Eichii dial (which they get from a supplier, they don't make it in house unless it's the ruri one) and just did some pad printing action. The markers are fired on, thus they come off as a grainy and subdued blue, which perfectly allows the hands to glow on top. Hence, I am promptly naming this piece "Baby Eichii" to which the senior manager at the Credor Boutique in Wako confirmed that they share the same designer! It seems this guy is hated by the entire finishing department though. The hands are your standard Credor style hands, terminating towards a needle point tip, black polished and then blued with a black polished cap. Interestingly, the second hand doesn't have a cresent moon on the end, perhaps to make it not too obvious that this is a copy and paste job (in the best way possible).

Movement:

Well after a month of continuous wear, it's run at +3 seconds, so I think this watch is pretty accurate per month, almost as much as a Rolex is... per day! The finishing is simply amazing, yes it's machine done, do I care? no, I didn't pay $40,000 for this watch. The countersinks for the screws, the Seragi pattern, all of it just glow and then it's contrasted by the brushed mainspring barrel, almost like a rock in a zen garden. The screws are blued at their tops, but not so in their drives, which is an interesting choice. Overall, the movement somehow isn't the most impressive part of the watch, but it certainly does add a lot.

Closing thoughts:

There is something about a Credor on your wrist that is simultaneously deeply profound and terrifying. This isn't the most expensive watch I've experienced (by far), yet it consistently gives me that "feeling" that I'm wearing a piece of horological excellence. Credor needs to price this watch at $13,500 otherwise their stock will quickly run out.