Grand Seiko noob. High beat opinions?

[Norm]

So first of all. Please correct me if i am wrong. Im sure i will be since im not a big GS guy and his may be my first one. And considering all the positive reviews on them im pretty excited.

So first of all im wondering are the GS movements seperated into three or so sections? With mini differences branching out from each? These are the modern and current offerings from the company of course. The three being, Quartz, Spring Drive and high beat?

The high eat is just a 36000 beat spring drive right?

And are the highbeat ones really worth the premium? Theyre around 7k msrp and 4k used. Thats quite a bit of cheddar.. And a decent amount more than their normal spring drive companions. Is that worth it? Especially considering the high beat rate causes the power reserve to me much lower?

Also the market is pretty confusing. Is it just me or does it seem like everyone loves GSes but arent willing to fork up the cash for them... Or is it just the rarity of them outside japan.

Any input is helpful! Thanks in advance!


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[Seriously]

I presume you've seen their official website? http://www.grand-seiko.com/manufactu...anical_03.html

I don't think there is rarity outside Japan as they appear to have AD's for them everywhere http://www.grand-seiko.com/store/index.html


Only you can decide if it's worth the premium, you could be pretty sure you won't see one on your neighbour though. Not many people can afford to splash 7k on a watch so you have the rarity there though.

[Nokie]

Have two plus a Spring Drive and love them for their overall fit and finish, the fact you don't see them on everyone's wrist, and outstanding accuracy.

I think time.gov checks itself against my Spring Drive for the true time.......

[Samanator]

Just to add a few things. First in many cases the Hi-Beat or Spring Drive are the high end with the standard and Quartz being a bit lower. In some cases the SD variants are priced even higher. Up until a few years ago there were no channels for the higher end Seiko and GS outside of Japan. About four years ago that began to change with AD being recruited outside of Japan. There still are a few JDM only models, but their numbers are getting smaller. For years after the initial quartz revolution Seiko were common high volume department store brand. This is the stigma that Seiko and GS must overcome now outside their domestic markets. Where the general public know what a Rolex or Omega is other than the Astron the general public has no idea there are Seiko and GS priced near the same levels as Rolex and Omega. Tell your friend you paid $8K for a GS and they tell you have you heard of Amazon where you can get a Seiko for a few hundred. All they hear is Seiko, and there lies the problem.

Currently the GS Hi-beat movement is a 36K movement. Where it is superior to it's most common Swiss competitor Zenith, is it's ability to hack. Hi-beat movements are kind of overkill in a non-chronograph watch and really serve little more than bragging rights. In a chronograph they allow timing to much smaller increments. Zenith has capitalized better on this ability in their actual watches like the Striking 10th chronographs. Higher frequency (Hi-beat) watches also tend to wear a little more with all the extra cycles over a period of time.

[Seriously]

I think time.gov checks itself against my Spring Drive for the true time.......

[Domo]

Don't choose your Grand Seiko based on the movement - choose a style you like. Each of their movements are superb. The regular 28,800bph auto has the advantage over the hi-beat of a 3 day PR and apparently longer service intervals. And the hi-beat is not even closely related to the spring drive. Completely different movements....The spring drive is a quartz regulated hybrid movement that uses the familiar winding mechanism, mainspring and gear train of a mechanical but replaces the escapement with a very complex electro-magnetic regulator.

And just as a side note, the amount of people buying them in the Seiko/Citizen forum on WUS is astounding. Grand Seiko used to be an extremely rare topic for discussion there but every second person is now asking about them. Lots of people are making them their first foray into a luxury watch which I find rather surprising as well.

[Whimsical Oracle]

The hi-beat 9s85 power reserve is rated at 55 hours. That's still pretty good - and compares well to most.

[-JP]

+1 above. Choose a GS you like on looks and you really can't go wrong with the movements. The high beat movement was sort of the cherry on top of my sundae. I'm sure I would of loved a Spring Drive or lower beat auto just as much.

[Whimsical Oracle]

I'll add mine to the thread too...
I agree with the above. I didn't actually buy for the hi beat movement, it was because the size and style was closest to what i was looking for. I would have still got it if it had a lower bph movement.

[Norm]

Took you guys's advice and took the plunge. Loving it so far. Cant wait to get the bracelet adjusted tomorrow


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