Why I STILL Don't Own a Grand Seiko.

here are the 3 REASONS WHY I STILL DON'T OWN A GRAND SEIKO. Grand Seiko is one of those beloved watch brands that I have a soft spot for. I've had several in for review, and I genuinely really like them! But still... Why haven't I shelled out the money to join the Grand Seiko life?

There are 3 big reasons why I haven'y joined the GS life: 1. Wearability 2. Design Language 3. GS Cult.

Please don't get me wrong in this video. I know I am really critical of GS, but I really do love the brand! As a brand, what they stand for, their history & heritage, the innovations of the brand like the spring drive movement. There is so much to love about GS! but it's when I put the watches on... They just don't sing to me. I want them to sing to me! they just don;t!

anyways, these are my sad reasons of why I still don't own a GS!

HOW TO GET IN TOUCH WITH ME:

[kevinmccalister]

Cmon Gringa, that OP that you love so much isn't clearly a dress or a sports watch either.

[rmelo]

I once read an interview with a former editor of a defunct watch magazine many years ago. He was asked what he considered to be a good watch. His answer was simple: A good watch is one you enjoy wearing, be it a Rolex Yacht Master or a G-Shock. That simple response helped me understand and really enjoy watches. Sometimes I buy a watch because I love the way it looks, but if I don't find myself reaching for it very often, then I sell it and move on to one that I really enjoy wearing.

[aaronli]

I have the snowflake and its my very first GS, i threw on a blue leather strap to match the blue seconds hand and wear it everywhere (formal/informal). Like what everyone has said, if you love the watch, dont let anyone else tell you otherwise.

I just love how it looks and how you will spot different details in different lighting/angles. People will often take a 2nd glance at it cause it looks so subtle at first. Oh and with its accuracy, i never have to worry about it being off at all!

[gaijinflyer]

Grand Seiko really fits with the Japanese business culture. Look at them not as 'dress watches gone sporty'. But, look at them as the perfect business watch.

[TheStormcrow]

You make several excellent points. Even though I own a GS personally, and love the model I picked, I find other models completely hideous. It feels like the difference between appreciating the excellent execution, vs what you actually want to wear on your wrist. My impression is that while each individual aspect can be crafted to near perfection, the combination of those different components may not always mesh together well. It's easy to pick out just one detail that becomes a dealbreaker. Don't rush, and wait for that perfect piece ^^

[aliox]

I made a comment a couple of days ago here, just want to clarify a couple of things- I really like Britts videos.. She is smart and funny and the videos are typically delightful with someone who obviously has a love for watches.. I just felt to say on this GS video that Britt give the brand a little closer look..
In regards to what I said about not being willing to own a Rolex, that is for a few reasons. Rolex is very adept at keeping their values up not through innovation (they are quite behind in that area these days), but through heavy, sometimes even abusive management of their AD's. Where I live, there were 2 AD's close to me. One was a long time high end Jewelry and gift store and Rolex told them that they wanted them to open a new Rolex Boutique for them in a new mall. Rolex did not lease the space in this mall, the AD had to. And when they agreed to do this, the other AD in the other end of the valley had their dealership pulled by Rolex. No explanation, no thank you for being a reputable AD for the past 15 years, just pulled their dealership! Then after 3 or 4 years, with Rolex cutting inventories to a trickle, decided to shut down the Boutique they required the first AD to set up and lease and the dealer was required to continue the lease!!! Pretty shameful all the way around. That AD still has Rolex and has about 5 watches in their store due to Rolex shutting down AD's and limiting inventory to keep values artificially high. They can be very Hitlerian with many of their AD's and will pull the rug out from under them with little to no notice or why, dealers who have been loyal to them for years. I just can't support this kind of manipulation. They are leaning only on their ability to control inventory, they are certainly not innovating their watch technology. I think even Tudor is doing a much better job at innovating than Rolex.. And the innovation between Rolex and Grand Seiko, there is absolutely not even a question that Grand Seiko is by far the better innovator at this point..

[charlesiswatching]

The big problem with Grand Seiko in my opinion is that their range is hard to understand: a lot of models with zip code names while all the watches look the same.

[BrettinLux]

I sold my Rolex’s just before the peak.I purchased a GS GMT and diver to replace them.To be honest the GS dealer experience was way beyond anything I’ve experienced from the Rolex AD.

[canadianwatchmonkey]

Great review Britt! For me my love runs deep for Oris. The price point, design language and heritage of Oris speaks to me specially in the Aquis line up with its go your own way attitude. The limited edition Aquis Carysfort, Source of life, Whale shark and the Hangang are the best looking dials on any diver

[thenutcracker]

Well said Britt. This is the type of subject I’d write several paragraphs on but you rounded all 3 bases and touched home.

[KevinVanderVeen-nhyd]

What you said is interesting, "They looked like a dress watch that got confused, took a wrong turn, and accidentally ended up in a sporty case...". To me, this is the perfect description of a Rolex Oyster Perpetual and to argue otherwise seems like brand snobbery.

[fugazitoga]

I 100% agree on your note about the bracelet. They’re really good, but not great. I recently picked up an SBGA375 and after putting a nice leather strap on it, it hasn’t left my wrist 👌. My biggest selling point was the fascination with the spring drive. There just this little feeling of joy I get from seeing the second hand sweep so smoothly that I don’t get with any other watch - i guess you could say it’s the watch I enjoy telling the time on the most 😂.

[gorkemkyak]

if you don't love dressy sport or sporty dress watches you can always buy a true grand seiko dress watch from the elegance collection or a true sports watch from their sports collection. all watches you showed are from the heritage collection and designed to be versatile a mixed sports and a dress watch leaning on the dressier side.

[SequoiaNagamatsu]

I love the inspirations behind so many GS dials . . . "This was inspired by the weeping willows of this particular park in this particular Japanese prefecture" . . . but like much of the Seiko Presage line (fell in love with their Urushi laquer dials), GS is often too big imo, and I think you hit the nail on the head with the design/identity confusion. Some of their dials like their popular peacock Hi-Beat 36000 GMT SBGJ227 almost did it for me if I was only considering visuals. But I'm not buying a 10k+ watch that I can't wear :/

[RobinH]

I'm EXACTLY the same with Grand Seiko. Love the dials but always find them too thick and the bracelets aren't great (but I never wear bracelets) ... and you are right about the price creeping up. However, price aside you REALLY need to try the SBGY007G Omiwatari .... dressy rather than sporty but super thin, lovely curve to the case, beautiful movement and dial. Now if they could just do a darker blue

[nolanreed]

I've had a few different GS models. My favorite is my Spring Drive GMT. It's a little too big, a little too thick, has a bracelet that doesn't taper enough and a clasp that doesn't seem nice enough. The dial is too cluttered. It's too expensive. And, still, every time I put it on, I say to myself, "oh, wow. This watch is perfect." For what it's worth, when I first bought this watch, I thought I had made a mistake. It was sort of a consolation purchase since I knew I'd never get a Rolex GMT. A year in, there's not a chance in hell I would trade my GS for a Rolex. I still love the Rolex GMT, but I've grown to love this spring drive even more.

[UltraDoug]

I’ve never heard a better reason to not buy a watch. Someone once said: “you don’t have to own every watch you love, but you should love every watch you own”. Britt, I think you should investigate the smaller, dressy-ish Grand Seiko SBGW277 Genbi Valley Limited Edition with the green dial. To me that watch just screams….BRITT!😂 - great vid, love the new graphics. 😎👍🏼

[OdysseyZZGaming]

At the start, I wasn't sure what could keep you from really liking GS from the positives you shared, but as you went through your points- they all made complete sense. Great video!

[hoangngo]

GS is that nice, hard working, cautious classmate that would sometimes make you think about him/her, but never actually fall in love with

[amenhotep]

What i really adore, is that i came across another woman on youtube sharing LOVE for watches just as much as i do, GOD BLESS.