Grand Seiko Basel News/Rumours

[Steppy]

Not seen anyone post anything here about new Seiko & GS Releases, other than the 62MAS so here goes.


1) The Seiko Sarb 065 (cocktail) has been discontinued. No mentions of replacements yet

2) The Seiko SARX013 and SARX015 have also been discontinued, as has the SARG range. There will be new model SARX's released

3) The 62MAS Re-issue, a limited edition of 2000, using the 8l35 movement and a 39.7mm case will be announced. There will be non LE 43mm 62MAS also using 6R15 movement

4) The big news - Grand Seiko will undergo a new branding/logo. Grand Seiko pieces will no longer have SEIKO, GS and Grand Seiko all written on the dial. They are removing the SEIKO completely.

5) Prices are going up, up, up. All of the Grand Seiko pieces announced at Basel will have an RRP of around 1,000,000 Yen (£7,000).

6) There will be a few Hi-beat releases using the 44GS case, and a rumoured Hi-Beat hand wind model.

7) New Grand Seiko Diver - no improvements on size unfortunately - 46mm, Hi Beat movement, 17mm thick with 1000m water resistance, Limited Edition.

8) New case shape to be announced, 40.5mm for the automatics, with a new movement variation - 9S68, which is rumoured to be thinner case at 12.5mm


It looks like Grand Seiko are moving (or trying to) into the next tier of watch pricing, moving away from Omega, Rolex etc and upwards towards the Breguets and Blancpains. I felt they were better placed by being better value.



62MAS - wow !!

[meijlinder]

some of the info is in the "main" Baselworld-thread, but not all of it.

[Samanator]

Moving to a high beat on the Diver makes no sense. Why put a higher maintenance less accurate movement in the watch? The bracelet is the main area that needs work. Thinner design would be nice.


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[mlcor]

This IMO is a risky move for Seiko, trying to move upwards. I think value is a big attraction for the Grand Seiko line; not sure how well they'll do if the value proposition changes.


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[Steppy]

Moving to a high beat on the Diver makes no sense. Why put a higher maintenance less accurate movement in the watch? The bracelet is the main area that needs work. Thinner design would be nice.


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Similar to the SBEX001 from a few years ago. Limited edition again, and overly large

[CFR]

I never followed the brand closely, but I have to admit that, at some point, I just gave up trying to understand their strategy.

[synequano]

What about this presage as a replacement models for cocktail time? I heard they're already available even in Jakarta,Indonesia...there's a model with bracelet as well

[tribe125]

[COLOR=#333333][FONT=Verdana]It looks like Grand Seiko are moving (or trying to) into the next tier of watch pricing, moving away from Omega, Rolex etc and upwards towards the Breguets and Blancpains. I felt they were better placed by being better value.

Agreed, unless they have a distinct and desirable level below.

[Raza]

Shame about the SARB065. That's a really nice watch.

I imagine going upmarket will drastically hurt the sales. I already found the value proposition of Grand Seikos to be a bit iffy (Hey, it's like a SARB ruined with a PR and thousands of dollars more!), so if they want to play up in the clouds, they need to do better than their current designs. Removing the triple branding is a step in the right direction, but it's not enough. With Grand Seiko, I always got the impression that you give up things like brand recognition and "prestige" (whatever that means) for the high quality and great value. Take away the value, and the Seiko name begins to hurt it quite a bit.

And if I recall correctly, the 62MAS reissue is going to not have a bracelet, look terribly generic (not its fault, but many dive watches have a similar aesthetic), and cost around $3,000. Swing and a miss for me; 50% more than an MM300? More than twice what you can get an Oris 65 for? Near the cost of a Black Bay? At that price, it better be something special, because right now it seems like a joke.

[Seriously]

, I just gave up trying to understand their strategy.