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- [00:01]
JP Vicente
I like Grand Seiko because it's Japanese, it feels Japanese, it speaks with the Japanese DNA. And that's when both really Seiko and Grand Seiko are at their best. I don't like very much when you have watches that kind of resemble a Swiss watch. If I want a Swiss watch or a Swiss looking watch, and I have many of those in my collection, I'll go ahead and I'll buy a Swiss watch. You know, I like Grand Seiko because they're different, because they're not so. And this is not to bash on the Swiss brands, it's just that that identity is what makes it different.
- [00:54]
Stephen Polvern
Hey everybody, I'm your host Stephen Polvern and this is Hodinkee Radio. We've got a super fun show for you this week. It's all about Grand Seiko collecting. We've got an amazing trio of collectors here to help us understand what makes collecting Grand Seiko so special and so different. Here's where I'd normally introduce them, but I'm going to let them introduce themselves. Up first we've got JP Vicente.
- [01:16]
JP Vicente
Hi, I'm JP Vicente. I'm in finance, more specifically in the asset management industry. In terms of what watches kind of mean, to me watches are an utterly human instrument. You know, it's a human instrument that measures a human perceived concept, which is time. So not to get too philosophical, but time is relative, as Einstein has showed us. But we live in a Newtonian world here and the fact that it's a mechanical watch can also transcend our own time, our own existence and we'll live on creates sort of an enduring legacy. That's what fascinates me about these little pieces.
- [01:55]
Stephen Polvern
Next up we've got Stefan Molin.
- [01:58]
Stefan Molin
Yes. So my name is Stefan molin. I'm a 52 year old Swedish guy who visited from Sweden and my occupation is semiconductor sales. For me a watch is essentially, it's actually a table technical object for me. That looks good and also it's something that you always carry with you. So I mean you can use it of course, obviously to see the time and sometimes the day. But if you take like a diver's watch with the turnable ring, you can actually use it for timing things like when you're cooking pasta or have something on the grill. And also I think the watches can help you put, put yourself in a certain mood. When I go swimming, I always take a diver's watch even though I'm not diving. If I go to the opera, I take a nice dress watch. That makes you feel more in the mood, in the right mood for that certain thing that you want to do.
- [02:57]
Stephen Polvern
And coming to us from Australia, we've got Daniel Young.
- [03:01]
Daniel Young
My name is Daniel Yong and I don't really have any fancy jobs like the other two guys here. But I'm a schoolteacher in Sydney, Australia.
- [03:09]
JP Vicente
That's a fancy job.
- [03:11]
Stephen Polvern
Yeah. Seriously.
- [03:12]
JP Vicente
Seriously.
- [03:13]
Stephen Polvern
You can't downplay that.
- [03:14]
JP Vicente
Don't demean it, man.
- [03:16]
Daniel Young
It's fun getting terrorized by little kids, man. So to me, I'd say watches are, I would say that they're an expression of who you are. It's interesting, like going through everybody's collection. You see with your talking watches episodes, which I love, and you can see where people have collected watches from different moments of their lives reflects on what they liked at that particular time. And I think that's really cool. So in a way they're kind of physical pieces of your own history.
- [03:48]
Stephen Polvern
We're going to cover a lot of ground today. Everything from our favorite references to what makes the Grand Seiko community such a special part of the watch collecting world. But first, a message from our partners. Grand Seiko. This year the brand is celebrating its 60th anniversary. Traditionally, in Japanese culture, a person's 60th birthday represents a moment of rebirth and and Grand Seiko is celebrating accordingly. In addition to the new spring drive and high beat calibers, as well as a host of other new introductions to the catalog, Grand Seiko has released a set of four limited edition watches specifically to celebrate its 60th anniversary. All four watches feature rich dials in Grand Seiko's signature shade of blue. And each highlights a different facet of Grand Seiko's wide reaching expertise. First is the SBGH 281, an automatic watch with a high beat caliber inside. The simple three hands and date layout lets you admire the wonderful blue dial with its red accents and the quick moving red seconds hand too. This is a watch for every day and one that will look just as good in 60 years as it does right now. There's a second automatic limited edition, the STGK015, but this one's a dedicated women's watch. The smaller 27.8mm case features a ring of diamonds on the bezel as well as diamond hour markers that sparkle against the blue dial. It's still a hard wearing automatic Grand Seiko just in an elegant, refined package. Then there's a pair of high precision quartz watches to round things. The SBGP 007 in the Heritage Collection and the SBGP 015 in the Sport collection, these both use a new quartz movement that allows the hour hand to be jumped in one hour increments without stopping the seconds hand. This means you don't have to interrupt the extremely precise movement which is accurate to plus or minus just 5,5 seconds per year. The two executions ensure there's a style for any taste. To learn more about these four 60th anniversary watches and to take a look at Grand Seiko's full lineup, visit grandseiko.com alright, let's jump into the show. Hey guys, thanks so much for joining us. We've got people across what like 14 hours worth of time zones here.
- [05:59]
JP Vicente
Yeah.
- [06:00]
Stephen Polvern
Hey Steve. This is easily the most international and logistically complicated episode of Potinky radio we've done. We're at 90 something here and this is the first one where I think we've got people in three countries on the mics. But I want to make sure we also get the origin stories for each of you guys out of the way, kind of up front like how you got into watches since that's the bulk of what we're going to talk about here for the next hour. So I figure we'll start at the very beginning. Maybe we'll start with Daniel on this one. How did you get interested in watches in the first place?
- [06:35]
Daniel Young
So growing up in Sydney, Australia and in a Chinese and Cambodian community, watches tends to be something that a lot of Asians like to wear. They do tend to go for the more blingy, blingy watches unfortunately. Nothing wrong with that though. And they do tend to, I remember they do tend to choose brands that are I guess more safe. I remember seeing a lot of uncles at family events. You've always got the different types of uncles. You got the ones that are in the corner, you know, doing their own thing. Then you got the ones that are like, I guess the, the life of the party. And those are the cool uncles. The ones that are wearing like these really cool two tone datejust datejust seems to be a thing with Asian men for some reason. I don't mean to generalize but I'm just talking about from my own experience and I guess I remember thinking that man these guys are so cool and like when I grow up I want to make sure that I look like these guys. But then I guess my tastes tend to. It veered off into another direction. I remember Getting my first Seiko 5 and I remember wearing the watch and the person who gave it to me told me that hey, this doesn't use a battery. It actually, it's powered by your own movements. And I'm like, what? No battery? And so I remember turning it over and looking at the case back and thinking, whoa, this is like a whole nother dimension, man. This is like looking through the case back of this thing is like a sci fi movie.
- [08:06]
JP Vicente
And.
- [08:06]
Daniel Young
And I remember thinking, what is this thing? And I remember being hooked from that ever since.
- [08:14]
Stephen Polvern
Very cool, J.P. how about for you?
- [08:18]
JP Vicente
Well, I guess my love for watches really started when I got a Timex version of the Cartier tank. It was a knockoff and I didn't know that at the time. I must have been six or seven years old. And I don't really quite remember who gave it to me, but how I came to own the watch. But I think it was an uncle who gave it to me because he knew I could tell time since I was a young boy. But the watch didn't work when he gave it to me. So my mom and I went to visit the neighborhood watchmaker. And at the time, watchmaking shops existed like cobblers. You had your neighborhood guy that you went to because people wore a lot of mechanical watches then and they relied on him to fix the watches. So I remember going there and the watchmaker's name, I remember to this day was Pasquale. He was an Italian guy. And I don't know how it happened, but he and I kind of started a conversation there and he took me to his workbench and he actually started showing me his tools. And it was the first time I saw watch movement, the first time I saw escapement. And I was totally hooked from that very young age. And it's been like that for basically four decades now. And I really. That's kind of how I. That's my first watch story that I truly remember.
- [09:41]
Stephen Polvern
That's awesome. Stefan, how about for you? When did the journey start for you?
- [09:46]
Stefan Molin
I know exactly when it started. So I was 8 years old in 1976. I got a 50s, I think it was a woman's watch actually, from my mother. So it was a simple three hander mechanical watch. And I remember I was so amazed that something this tiny actually had some cogs and wheels and stuff inside and it could show the time. So that really impressed me. But I think the biggest thing was in 1979 and I got my first digital watch. So one with the stopwatch so you could time things. I remember I wanted a Seiko because a friend of mine had one, but they were too expensive, so I got some knockoff version, but it looked exactly the same one thing that we used it for in Sweden those days. Maybe you remember Ingmar Steelmark, the downhill skier that was one of the best. He was the best, I think worldwide. So when he skied actually in schools, we stopped lessons and they rolled in a big tv, a fat TV in the classroom and everybody watched when he was skiing competing. And then of course you wanted to time his skiing yourself with your digital watch, even though the telly showed exactly the time you wanted to do it yourself. And the other thing you used it for, if you took it off and you held it so you could push the buttons against the table, the competition was to be the quickest on and off. So you needed to have one that showed 100th of a second because then you could actually do it in 100th of a second. So push it down the table on and then push it again really quickly off. So that's what we used it for. And throughout the 80s most of my watches were digital watches. And in 1988 I got a Casio G Shock Round 1, the DW5700 that I used throughout my military service. And it hold together until almost 20 years later. And then the resin got dried up and was actually completely broken. But I never changed battery in that watch, so. So I think it kept the same battery for 18 years, something like this. And then throughout my youth, always when we passed watch shops, I stopped looking at everything, always. And I do remember from the 80s also my father had, he was in banking, so he had these finance magazines and you always had Rolex and advertisement on the back. And of course you admire those GMTs and day dates and submariners even though you couldn't buy one, but you could admire.
- [12:47]
Stephen Polvern
Do you remember when you got your first sort of like what we would say maybe is like a nice, nice watch, I hate using that word. But your first mechanical watch, your first sort of like high end, like luxury watch maybe.
- [13:00]
Stefan Molin
Yeah, the more expensive one. But that was in 1999, it was a sin 6000 finance platzur that I bought from Germany. And yeah, I really, really liked it. And the reason why I bought it was a someone called, I forgot his name but he wrote a very nice watch review online and that made me buy the watch actually.
- [13:23]
Stephen Polvern
That's super cool. That's a really cool first kind of like entry point into mechanical watches. Jp, what was your kind of like gateway? Let's say.
- [13:34]
JP Vicente
My first great watch was actually a Lanco, you know, and that my mom had given my father as a wedding present. I think she gave it to me when I was close to 10. But sadly, I guess all. Sadly, I don't have it anymore. Yeah, we had an incident that we had. Our house was burglarized once and actually, unfortunately, that watch was stolen. And I don't remember the reference, but I know it was a small 34 millimeter watch with a gold case and a gold dial and it was just awesome. I'm really sad I don't have it anymore. But yeah, that little Lanco is great. And I still have. And then my dad had another when he bought a Movado that replaced the Lanco. And I own that one today, so I still have it. It's a tiny one. Yeah, it's a 34 millimeter watch as well, but I still have that. But my first great watch, I think, was actually that Lanco. I wore it every day. It was great.
- [14:35]
Stephen Polvern
That's super cool. Daniel, how about. How about you?
- [14:38]
Daniel Young
My first great watch was a long jeans, so that I got that after the Seiko 5. I don't have it anymore as well. And I remember loving the thing. And again, it was the case back. I know it's just an eta, but. But I remember looking at the case back and that was like a one step above the Seiko 5, the finishing. And I remember thinking, wow, this is. This is art, man. This is actually art on your wrist. Then unfortunately, after, like, I did flip that to get a Tudor Black Bay. And that was a watch that I did love for quite a few years. And I would probably say the Tudor Black Bay was probably my first nice watch. As in luxury watch.
- [15:26]
Stephen Polvern
Yeah. It's interesting how, you know, we all find our own, kind of our own paths in. Sometimes it's through family, sometimes it's through our own interests. Sometimes it's a kind of weird combination of the two. But I want to make sure we get relatively quickly into Grand Seiko. I mean, that's why we're here. The three of you participated in our collector profile series a little over a year ago now, I guess maybe two years ago almost. And yeah, so I wonder, we now know how you got into watches, how you kind of brought it to the next level, became real enthusiasts, started buying, you know, quote unquote, luxury mechanical watches. But I wonder what was your first taste of Grand Seiko? Because especially a couple of years ago, it was. It was a much more niche thing. It was. It was. You really had to kind of be in the know to know Grand Seiko. So maybe let's start with JP on this one. Jp, do you, do you remember your first encounter with Grand Seiko?
- [16:25]
JP Vicente
Oh yeah, I say that I started paying attention to Grand Seiko. It was, I don't remember exactly the year, but he was in the 90s, probably in the mid-90s and a friend of mine from Japan introduced it to me and he had a vintage 44 GS. And I simply fell in love with the watch and it was so different from anything I'd seen before, the angles and the way the case was designed. And back then you had to really know someone in Japan to be able to get a Grand Seiko. Obviously at that point they were not making the watches. Well technically, you know, the quartz Grand Seiko quartz was being made or reintroduced. But if you wanted a mechanical vintage Grand Seiko, you kind of either have had to know someone in Japan or you had to visit Japan. Then the Internet came about and things got a lot easier than when I discovered a brand. But I discovered the brand in the pre Internet days and I thought that I was the only guy in the western world that actually knew about it. And it was beyond a stretch to call it a niche brand. Nothing, no one knew the brand. But gladly that has changed quite a lot since then. And you know, we can certainly discuss the evolution of that brand, you know, outside of Japan. But that was, yeah, that was my first encounter. That's kind of how I started. And I bought and sold some vintage pieces back then and you know, I kind of settled a little bit on the current collection. But yeah, that's kind of how it started, how the, I got the bug as they say.
- [17:59]
Stephen Polvern
Nice. And Daniel, you're the one who's, who's geographically closest to Japan. Was it any easier for you to get into it or was it just as difficult?
- [18:11]
Daniel Young
Well, I didn't get into grand seiko in the 90s. Like JP did not say anything about our age difference man, but I did within the last five years and fortunately for me the Internet and I guess Instagram was already there, it did exist. So like I was saying before I did the first watch that I fell in love with was the Seiko 5. And I remember wanting to learn more about I guess Seiko as a brand. And I remember joining up with different forums and these Facebook groups that are out there and being connected to all of these guys internationally. And so what I noticed was there were heaps of collectors that were from countries I guess around Asia, like Singapore, Hong Kong and of course Japan. And so going through all the Seiko's that they had they were posting and then I remember seeing these weird models that were really sparkly. They just sparkled, unlike the other Seikos out there. Sure, there was a presage, which was beautiful, but. But then there was this brand called Grand Seiko. And I looked at it and I was like, two things striked out for me, I guess, how shiny and polished the cases were, and of course the dials, which are, I guess, the two things that Grand Seiko is very famous for, apart from their movements. And I remember, I guess, doing further research and then coming across the first Grand Seiko from 1960, which both JP and Stefan have. And I'm very jealous of you two. And I remember just falling, falling in love with the brand then. And then I started to research on modern Grand Seiko and I fell in love with the SBGW33 that actually Gary mentioned in the previous podcast. I wanted that for myself. I couldn't afford it at the time. And then somehow I came across the SBG W031 and after doing some research, to me that was like the most accurate, I guess, reinterpretation of the first Grand Seika without replicating it. And I thought that was kind of cool because the brand is about innovation, right? And yes, I bought that watch and I've like, you know when you just have an object and the more that you look at it, I don't know, I think there's a psychological term for it. I'm not sure what it is, but the more you look at something, the more you stare at it, the more you fall in love with it. And that's pretty much what happened with me with the 0.3.1.
- [20:44]
Stephen Polvern
Nice. And Stefan, for you, what was your entry into Grand Seiko?
- [20:52]
Stefan Molin
I have to blame, similar to JP, I have to blame the Internet. So late 90s, early 2000, I was heavily into divers watches and Seiko is, as you know, very good at divers. And that made me find forums like Seiko, Citizen Watch Forum and Time Zone. And then on there I saw something called Grand Seiko and I thought that was really, really interesting because I was completely unaware that Seiko did something like this and that they started in 1960. And one of the key things I think was that they. And you learned that they actually beat all the Swiss in the chronometer competitions in the 60s. So that's really, really interesting. So. And with the Internet, you can learn a lot. I mean, you can read up on all the history. And I was just amazed about the history of Seiko. But in this case, Grand Seiko. And I think in 2004, 5, the first spring drives came about. Grand Seiko spring drives. And then I remember reading something in the late 80s or early 90s in a popular science magazine about Seiko, trying to get rid of the battery. And I remember when I read it that, wow, this is really cool. And now here, 50 years later, the first watches were basically released with this kind of movement. And that made me. And that. And the look of the SPGE E001. So the Grand Seiko GMT Spring Drive, the look of that watch was just wow. So I knew I had to have it. So that was my first Grand Seiko that I bought in 2005.
- [22:45]
Stephen Polvern
That's great. Yeah. I want to, you know, now that we know how you guys got into it, I mean, it's three sort of different, different paths, different entry points, but there's some overlap there. And I wonder how you guys would explain the appeal of Grand Seiko to somebody new. I think the four of us are all Grand Seiko fans. I'm wearing, for people who are watching this on YouTube, I'm wearing my vintage Grand Seiko today. But, yeah, I wonder if somebody who's maybe already a little bit interested in watches, they're not totally, totally new to the watch world, were to come to you and say, okay, I know Rolex, I know Omega, I know Longines, I know all the big Swiss brands, but what's the deal with Grand Seiko? How would you try to explain that to them? And I'm just going to leave that open. You guys, anyone can answer this. You can respond to each other. I'm curious how, as collectors, you would explain your passion for the brand to me.
- [23:42]
Stefan Molin
I think over the years now, what I think is one of the biggest things with Grand Seiko is actually the attention to detail. I mean, you can look at the watch with the microscope even, and nothing, you cannot find any flaws, basically. So that, of course, the attention to detail and quality, that will give you a very good watch and also very pleasant watch to look at. I mean, the visuals for me are key with all these facets and the how it, how the watches play with light and things like this. So that, that would be my, my take on this.
- [24:20]
JP Vicente
Yeah, I'll jump right there and I think I'll agree. I mean, for me, it's just one word. It's quality. Quality and quality, you know, but I like to think about it in quality or to think about quality both in relative and absolute terms, you know, so in relative terms, if you Think about it. It's virtually impossible to find the level of finish that you get with the Grand Seiko at a comparable price at other brands. At this point it just is. Just like Stefan just mentioned, if you go deep into the watch, the dial, the way the dials are actually put together, the composition of it, the hands and the way they're finished, the movement itself, even though the actual mechanical movements of the regular Grand Seikos are not going to be as finished as what the Micro Artist Studio is doing, but it's for that price point, it's just really, really good. Although I would say prices have come up since the brand became a Separate brand in 2017, it's still a quality leader in the space. But there's also the absolute term the quality of the brand is exceptional, even if you remove the price out of the equation. I mean, I think that that's not to say that price is not an object, it's just to say that the quality kind of sort of stands on its own and it's superior quite frankly to higher priced hand pieces in my opinion. Anyway. So if you're, I guess, yeah, just you know, I guess if you're looking for, if you're a newbie and you're looking for a high end watch, I mean it's hard to find something a little bit but you know, for that, for a specific price point, it's hard to find anything more appealing to me anyway.
- [26:10]
Daniel Young
Yeah, so I would say pretty much what Stefan and JP have said and also add that like, who doesn't like Japan? So Grand Seiko watches, it's pretty much a whole country on your wrist. So what their culture believes in, in terms of like never taking shortcuts and having that meticulous attention to detail in anything. Even like you've seen Marie Kondo and how she folds her clothes, it's the same thing with the watches. So that level of I guess of detail, it's clear in their watches. And also the brand's all about innovation as well. Even though Grand Seiko does tend to refer back to their historical icons like the 44 GS, they also look towards the future, which I don't know if I can confidently say that other brands are doing that, like no hate, but I guess Grand Sega is about moving forward as well. And it's about both engineering and art, which is a cool fusion, I guess.
- [27:16]
JP Vicente
Yeah, I agree. I like that a lot about wearing the one country on your on your wrist. I think that the cool thing about Grand Seiko to me anyway is what differentiates it from the Swiss brands? And this is not to say that the Swiss brands are better or worse or vice versa. I mean, I own my collection. It's not only Grand Seiko's. I mean I own a whole bunch of Swiss watches and I love them. But I think that the reason why it's interesting to think about Grand Seiko is because of it's, you know, because it's Japanese, it has a very unique concept of design and I think that the culture of the country is really translated in the way that the watches, the watches come to be. So I agree with Daniel on that. I think it's actually a really good way to put it.
- [28:14]
Stephen Polvern
Yeah, I think that's really fascinating thinking about the things specifically the last two comments from JP and Daniel. There's two sides of something that I think are actually the same coin. One is the unique relationship between past and future. The way that Grand Seiko balances looking back at icons like the 44 GS while also creating a totally new type of high beat movement kind of all at the same time is sort of unique. And it's not, I think the approach that many or if any Swiss watchmakers have taken. And I think the other side of that is the sort of like inherent Japanese ness of these watches. And I think those two things, one is maybe a manifestation of the other and vice versa. And I wonder if, if you guys have any thoughts about that, about the relationship between innovation and history and how that may or may not be tied to the sort of like Japanese quality of Grand Seiko watches.
- [29:20]
JP Vicente
I think that, you know, just to level set, I mean like let's, let's think about a little bit of the history here and talk about Taro Tanaka and the grammar of design school, right? That is kind of where it started. And he had his hand, you know, in the, and the 57 GS. But I think that the real, like the first one that really came out with that kind of Japaneseness that we were talking about was the 44Gs. And they came out and they specified key tenets, if you will, that that particular brand was going to have. So they talked about legibility, they talked about precision, they talked about finish, they talk about comfort on the wrist. And the watches did not have any mechanical complications at that time. And all vintage Grand Seiko's are dress watches, you know, so that's what happened in that period of time, right from 1960 through 1974. Somebody argued, you know, they were still making them 1975, but call it that period that 15, 14, 15 year period in which they were producing those, which is now the vintage Grand Seikos, were mostly dress watches. And they had tremendous amount of variations and dials, et cetera, but that's kind of what it was. And then they had to relaunch the brand and they came out, I think it was in 1988, right, that they came out with the quartz. And then we had to wait until 1998 for them to reintroduce the mechanical movements again with the 9s series and reintroduce the mechanical Grand Seikos. But. And it presented a different challenge because they started making dress watches, right? A lot of them were inspired by vintage watches, but then they started making Divers and they started making Chronos. But those tenets that I was just talking about in terms of legibility, precision, finish, et cetera, and the grammar of design spirit, I think they were all translated into the modern pieces. And I think that's what is so interesting. They were able to, let's say, quote, unquote, pick it up where they had left it. And I think they did really well in terms of translating that history. And we can go into the details and examples. Like if you look at a vintage 44 and you look at the SVGJ005 or any of the SVGJs, that series, which is a reinterpretation interpretation of that case, you know, I can see the influence, you know, and that's not easy to do. And I think that is in large part the work of, you know, and there are several, I guess, heroes in the Japanese history of watchmaking. Even though Japan as a country and as a culture, they don't. They don't talk about specific individuals. But Nobuhiro Kazuji is amazing, you know, and he was the one that was basically able to translate all that kind of call it knowledge or creativity that Taro Tanaka brought to the table, you know, and translated into modern pieces. So I actually had the pleasure of meeting him in Japan and I asked him what he was, his favorite vintage design, and he said, yeah, by far, the 44, you know, that was it. And I was like, okay, you know, it's awesome that, you know, I agree with him, let's put it this way. And. And when I asked him his favorite model design, he actually pointed to the SVGM221, which is technically influenced by the case of the 3180, which is the first Grand Seiko. So it's interesting because you see that kind of like, even the SVGM221, which is the same case as the SVGR061 or 261. It's the one with the cream dialogue. One is GMT, the other one's not. And you can see it there, you can see the polished surfaces and it's really cool. So that's how I think about it. There's the technology part too. I know it's a long winded answer, but as far as technology is concerned, I think it's worth pointing out that SUA has always been the mainstay and always stayed at the forefront of technological innovation. And by SUA I mean which is now the Shojiri plant. And there was always that competition between sue and Dainie, which is in Morioca. But they always say that and that's true today as well. And they're the ones in SUA making the quartz and the spring drive movements. And Dainey has always been the rabble in my view. And they continue to be true to their horological rabble roots by sticking to the mechanical movements and the new movement. The 9 SA 5 is a good example of that. So. So it's really interesting to see how that history is translating into the future, so to speak.
- [34:12]
Daniel Young
I don't know how I'm going to top JP's.
- [34:17]
Stephen Polvern
That's how I feel. Every time I have a conversation with jp, I'm just like, what am I contributing here?
- [34:23]
Daniel Young
And write some notes down. So my answer is not as detailed and I guess elaborate as that, but what I will say, I was thinking about like how I've got like say in Australia we're very. And I'm sure the US is the same. I'm not sure about Sweden, Stefan. Sorry, man. But anyway, so in Australia we are very multicultural country and so what that means is the kids that we, the students that we have in our classroom come from a lot of different backgrounds. So before we can learn about each other's backgrounds, it's important that I guess as educators that we get the kids to understand who they are first before you can go off and learn about other people. So if I was to relate that back to your question, Stephen, I think Grand Seiko needs to understand their historical roots. Where did they come from? What is our philosophy? And Tanaka's grammar of design. As JP mentioned, that is the root of it all. So that's the root of our case designs. They need to play with the light and shadow. And I think from there, once they understand that, then that's when they can start to innovate and marry the Two, I guess philosophies and concepts. In one of my Instagram posts, like I mentioned a word called kaizen, sorry, Japanese people out there, if I pronounce that wrong. But it's the concept of always developing and always improving, never remaining the same. And I think Grand Seiko also embodies that. Even in 1960, it was always about innovating. Let's be better, let's be better, we can always improve. And I think that's what Grand Seiko is.
- [36:05]
JP Vicente
I don't know.
- [36:06]
Daniel Young
That's what I think.
- [36:08]
Stefan Molin
I think very good answers from both KP and Daniel. And I fully agree, especially this on improvement. To me, Seiko and Grand Seiko has always wanted to do things better. And one thing, when they stopped with grand seiko in the mid-70s, I actually am one of the people that do not believe they really stopped because the grand crutches that they had, I think those took the place of mechanical Grand Seikos basically until the mid-80s. And if you look at grand Quartz watches, you see the same type of design language as you see in vintage Grand Seiko pieces. You see a lot of different variants of dials. Some of the dial patterns you can actually find in modern Grand Seikos, like the Blizzard for instance, and things like this. And Quartz was the brand new, the best thing you could have at that time. And then ultimately when they came with the Springdale, so they never stopped. And Springdale in itself I think is really interesting since I think he started, forgot his name now, but he started in 1977 and I think they released the first commercially available spring dive watch in 1999. So 22 years later and to me that shows Seiko wants to do better and they never give up. If it takes time, it takes time, but they will ultimately they will come to the goal that they set out.
- [37:45]
Stephen Polvern
Yeah, I think it's interesting that you've all mentioned both Spring Drive and Quartz and I think that's an interesting thing that we should definitely talk about. Here is looking at the traditional high, high end Swiss manufacturers. There's an almost singular focus on mechanical watchmaking and today it's almost all automatic watchmaking. I mean, some folks are obviously doing high end hand wound calibers, but it's really, for the most part people want like workhorse automatic watches. Grand Seiko clearly doesn't think that's the only option. They think there can be great Quartz watches and they've really invested heavily in Spring Drive. I wonder, you all know the watch community every bit as well as I do. And to say that there's a bit of snobbery around the idea of traditional mechanical watchmaking might be an understatement. But I wonder how when you're talking to other watch enthusiasts, maybe you help explain the appeal of spring Drive or the place for a high end quartz watch, when maybe some other collectors kind of turn their noses up at the idea of a non traditional mechanical watch.
- [39:03]
JP Vicente
Okay, I'll take the spring drive. I'll let Stefan and Daniel talk about the quartz. I love the quartz, but I don't know as much about the 9F as Stefan does, so I'll defer it to him. But in terms of the spring drive technology, I think it's really cool. It's a, it's an extremely cool technology. And just to perhaps give it a little bit of background on what that is. Right. And then spring drive movements are very, very similar to mechanical movements, except that the key difference is that the quote unquote, you know, it's escapement mechanism, right? So in a mechanical movement, the kinetic energy that you get from the mainspring powers through the, you know, the gear train. And as well, well, its escapement or dissipation, if you will, is regulated by the balance wheel to keep time. I mean, we know that. All of us watch geeks kind of know that. But in the spring drive calibers, that rotational motion of the mainspring powers the movement. Right. But then there's a system that uses a stator and a coil and rotor functions, and it works as an electromagnetic call it brake. And as that brake is applied, energy or electric rather than kinetic power is generated. It's just like a hybrid car, for example. And so it is this kind of electric energy that is subsequently used to power the integrated circuit, rather, and the quartz oscillator, and then the quartz generates a frequency which is then communicated to the glide wheel, which is the escapement of the SD or the spring drive. And that glide wheel is what allows the time, you know, the watch to keep time. And the frequency there translates into, just to get technical, since we're all geeks, you know, eight revolutions of the glide wheel per second. So, and the power to activate that, you know, is 0.025 microwatt. That's less than one tenth of the power consumption of a regular quart. It's really amazing. And in my view, clearly this is where Seiko and Grand Seiko are batting the future, because there's no doubt in my mind about that, because nobody at Seiko actually told me this, but I believe that there's a reason the Micro Artist studios in Chojiri, the Old Sua where the Spring Drive movements are made, not in Morioka, where the old dainty and the mechanical watches are produced. Because the most attractive, the most complicated, most well finished watches produced by Seiko and Grand Seiko today I made in the Micro Artist studio. I actually had the pleasure to visit it and it was terrific. You have nine or ten folks working there, men and women making things that are simply among the most beautiful objects produced by mankind today. Things like the H2, the eight day power reserve, the grandsonnery, the minute repeater. And all of those watches, all of them run on Spring Drive. So to me it's very clear. I'd love to hear the thoughts of others. But to me it's very clear that that's where Grand Seiko is betting the future.
- [42:10]
Stefan Molin
I agree with you jp. For me, Spring Drive is also. That is the future when it comes to quartz. I mean, if precision is key for you, then I think there is nothing better than courts. Unless you go to atomic controlled or GPS controlled watches. But that's a little bit cheating. So quartz, you get something like plus minus 10 seconds a year or even plus minus 5 from Grand Seiko. And you don't need more precision than that, I think. And a good thing now with the new 9F85 movement is that finally again Grand Seiko has a movement where you haven't freely adjustable hour hand. Which means that when you're traveling, you do not have to stop this high precision watch. You just pull it out the crown, out to the first step and then you set the hour hand to the time zone you will be in. Similar to summer and winter time adjustments as well. You do not have to stop the watch. I think that's. That's really good. I hope they will come with a perpetual calendar as well as they had in the past in some other watches. Not Grand Seiko, but Seiko. Also, the quartz is really low maintenance. Yes, you have to change battery every three years maybe. But the movement itself, the 9F movement, it's basically completely sealed. Some say you don't need to service it within 50 years. I don't think that is the case. But nevertheless it's really well covered from the surroundings, I would say. And again, a quartz watch is always correct. So you can use it to set your mechanical ones as well.
- [43:58]
Daniel Young
A good friend of ours, so Joe Kirk from Grand Seiko usa, he said a quote that I think sums up why quartz Grand Seiko should be considered By I guess, even traditional enthusiasts. Traditional mechanical watch enthusiast. And that is that Grand Seiko 9F movements are quotes for the mechanical watch guy. And I think what he means by that is that they're pretty much engineered to a level that I guess even in house, mechanical watches are as well. So you're looking at. So unlike cheap quartz movements that are like, when the battery, I guess, dies out, some people might even throw the entire watch away. Whereas Grand Seiko 9 of quartz. They're designed to be a lifelong companion. They're designed to, I guess, stick with you forever. As Stephane said, they're even serviceable. They're completely made of metal, which is crazy, with really cool gold tones. And they're even finished in the same way that a lot of the 9s movements are finished in the sense that they have those Tokyo stripes. The annoying thing about. I know that a lot of Grand Seiko fans that do collect the quartz as well do get annoyed that a lot of them are solid case backs. But there are some, like the. There's the SBGV 238. I know, Stefan, you bought one for your daughter.
- [45:24]
Stefan Molin
I did.
- [45:25]
Daniel Young
I don't know if you guys can see it there, but it's. You can see that it's got the stripes there. That is nuts, man. That's a quartz watch that's decorated. So, you know, they don't cut corners even with their quartz. Like. And I know that traditional watch enthusiasts are really into, I guess, in house. That's. That's supposed to be respectable, right? Well, even their quartz. Their quartz is like in house. Everything about is. It's in house.
- [45:52]
Stefan Molin
Even. Even the battery. You have a Seiko battery in your.
- [45:56]
JP Vicente
And they.
- [45:57]
Daniel Young
Crystals, man. Like, they grow their own in house. I think it was 90 days. And it's like. It's like you're harvesting vegetables in a veggie patch. Like they're looking at. They're looking for the best crystal to pick so that they can pair it with the. Is it the circuit? Sorry, I'm not really technical, but I know that's what they do, and that's just mind blowing. So I guess to sum it up, if that doesn't convince you to try out a quartz, then I don't think anyone can convince you. But for those of you who are curious, give it a go. And they're the most affordable range in the Grand Seiko lineup. Give it a go.
- [46:36]
Stephen Polvern
All right, so I want to make sure we have time to get into your actual collections here too, so we'll do that. And then I've got some quick fire questions for you guys at the end. But I want to make sure we get a chance to talk about your collections, which is what we really highlighted in the packages we put together in the past. So I wonder, maybe we'll start with Stefan. And I just want to know if each of you can sum up in two or three sentences, kind of your approach to Grand Seiko collecting.
- [47:10]
Stefan Molin
Yes. So I like both vintage and modern pieces. And also I am a bit of a collector. So the risk for me when I found Grand Seiko was that would be good to have everyone from the first one in 1960 to the latest. But that's really difficult. It's expensive, time consuming, and to be fair, I don't like everyone. I mean, just because it says Grand Sec on the dial, sometimes you don't like. It might be too small, it might mean not looking nice. So I took it down a little bit, sold off most of the vintage pieces because I think they're a little bit fragile and often too small. And then for modern ones, I only buy the ones I like, which is maybe obvious, but if you're a collector, it might not be obvious. So I picked two pieces from my collection. One is the SPGW033, which was the piece that they released in 2011 when Seiko was 130 years. So it's a piece looking a lot like the first 3180, but in stainless steel. So this one has size, is very true to the original piece. Later on they have released several other versions that are slightly bigger. What I like about this one is that the dial is so very nice, creamy kind of dial. And I have a heated blue second sound and the size is just perfect. And then with this one I get the modern piece and the vintage piece in the same package, so to speak. So that's an obvious choice. The other One is my SPGE 001 from 2005. So the Spring Drive GMT with the Sapphire bezel and you have lume numbers under the bezel. It's just if you look at this one on an on a flight to Asia or wherever, it just like a torch. You can lit up the whole cabin with that torch. So that's that one I like a lot. So those will be my two, two picks out of the collection.
- [49:28]
Stephen Polvern
Great. Jp, how would you describe your approach and what are maybe one or two pieces that, that you would say represent your collection?
- [49:35]
JP Vicente
Sure. I think that the logic about my collection of Grand Seiko stems from my Love for the vintage line. So I think that there are four seminal pieces that if you're a collector of Grand Seiko, you should own. That's my opinion. You know, the 3180, which is the first, first GS, the 57 GS, which is the second, the 44 GS, which is the third watch, and then the 62 GS. I think that those are the backbone of my collection. And from my perspective, the most seminal vintage pieces and everything else for me kind of stems from there. So my collection kind of reflects in that sense, you know, all the gases that I own, you know, kind of, they sort of arch back to history, if you will. So I don't own any sports gases like Divers or Chronos, not because I don't like them, but they haven't really found their way into the collection, if you will. But then the second component I think is the Japanese factor that we talked about. I like Grand Seiko because it's Japanese, it feels Japanese, it speaks with the Japanese DNA. And that's when both really Seiko and Grand Seiko are at their best. I don't like very much when you have watches that kind of resemble a Swiss watch. If you. If I want a Swiss watch or a Swiss looking watch, and I have many of those in my collection, I'll go ahead and I'll buy a Swiss watch. I like Grand Seiko because they're different, because they're not Swiss. And this is not to bash on the Swiss brands, it's just that that identity is what makes it different. So pieces in my collection, I would say the vintage 44 GS and I had actually quite frankly several 44 GS vintages. But I've settled on the reissue which is the SVG W047. And that to me is the quintessential watch and I like it a lot. And then the Vintage 62, I own the reissue as well, the SVGR097, which I think are really great, sort of. There were great reissues and it's like really owning an OS like watch. So I'll just point out that those two I think are key and there are many, but it's hard to pick those. But I think that the 44 and the 62 are amazing pieces.
- [51:58]
Stephen Polvern
Great. And Daniel, let's get your take on this.
- [52:02]
Daniel Young
So my two favorite Grand Seikos are obviously my first Grand Seiko, the SBGW0311. Even though I don't own the first Grand Seiko like Stephane NJP, to me that one represents, I guess, my own history of being acquainted with the brand. And like I said previously, it's my take on. I shouldn't say my take, I didn't make it. Grand Seiko's take on the reinterpretation of the first Grand Seiko. And I'm a time only watch guy. Going through your own feed, Steven. We have very similar taste. And a watch that I previously bought in January was the new SBGK007 with that cool curvy case. The one that there was. It was kind of divided. The Grand Seiko collecting community. I happened to love it because it was so different. And mainly, I'll be honest, I loved it because people didn't like it. And I kind of think, you know, Grand Seiko is a badass company. And what I like about it is that watches tend to have a certain look. A lot of brands, doesn't matter if they're from Japan or Swiss or Germany even. But this particular design, it's so different. It's curvy, but it's also, it features that Zaratsu polishing that the 44 GS case does, but curved. And I feel like based on what I've heard, that's really difficult to do. I don't know how they did it. I wish there was a video. And I really like how it's got the, I guess that quirky, the small seconds on the nine o' clock position. I think that's really cool. And so for me, I like Grand Se because they're different. Like what JP and Stefano said, they're different. The 031 is more of the safe watch and the 007 is the watch that says, okay, I want to be different from the rest of you guys, so I'm just going to do my thing. And I think Grand Seiko is that kind of brand, a brand that does its own thing.
- [54:04]
Stephen Polvern
Yeah, I like that each of you has your own kind of approach, but that again, there are some similarities that kind of like make their way through the three collections and your three approaches. And I wonder if as you guys looked at each other's collections, did any of you see a piece in somebody else's collection and go, ooh, I wish that was in my collection.
- [54:27]
Daniel Young
All of them.
- [54:31]
JP Vicente
Definitely. Definitely. Well, especially when I look at Stefan's collection, you know, it's like, I'll take his eight day power reserve, you know, the SBG001 any day of the week. You know, I love the SVG H013 and that's the one with the Arabic but not wacko. Arabic or Breguet numerals. And that's such a beautiful watch. And then I'm really upset. I mean, I like the SBGA 031, which is a diver and I don't own it. And at some point I guess I will. And I know Stefan owns that one, but I'm really. I just gotta say this. I'm really obsessed, really, with the SVGA 071. And that's kind of the 31, but with that. It was a limited edition with a blue purplish dial. That is just ridiculously cool. It's just amazing. And our friend Eric Strickland. Shout out to Eric owns one and I have dibs on it. And I told him, like, if you ever sell it, just give me a call. But it's a rare watch. It was a limited edition. It's not that easy to find in the conditions and that one really wants and whatnot. But that is, I think from Stephane's collection, that's the one that approved approaches, you know, that one. And I'll take that one too. On Daniel's collection, I really like, you know, the SBGW005, you know, because it's like the 31, but with the beads of rice bracelet, which I think it's super cool. And then I like the quartz powered GMT. He has the SBGN 003. That orange GMT hand is off the charts. It's super cool. It's just great. It looks fantastic, man.
- [56:11]
Daniel Young
This is gonna be a bit awkward, but I kind of sold off both of them to get the 007. But let's pretend that I do have them still.
- [56:21]
Stephen Polvern
Stuff's gotta come and go.
- [56:22]
JP Vicente
Well, I don't know, man. You know, your collection changes quickly. I don't know.
- [56:28]
Daniel Young
I caught quite a bit of hate from a couple of my followers. They're like, why are you selling everything? Life happens, you know?
- [56:37]
Stephen Polvern
Yeah.
- [56:37]
Daniel Young
From Stefan's collection, man. And your collection as well, jp. I wouldn't know which one to pick, but from Stefan's collection, I think you had the. Is it the SBGW 252? You've got that one, right?
- [56:52]
Stephen Polvern
The.
- [56:52]
Daniel Young
The first Grand Seiko ratio, but in yellow gold.
- [56:56]
JP Vicente
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [56:59]
Stefan Molin
Yes, yes, yes.
- [57:00]
JP Vicente
I know you.
- [57:02]
Stefan Molin
I still love it.
- [57:03]
Daniel Young
Yeah. I love that watch. Like, I love yellow, golden, gray.
- [57:08]
Stefan Molin
That one is great.
- [57:10]
Daniel Young
Yeah. I would say that would be the one from your collection that I'll take. And from JP's collection, man, like I was gonna say, you've got the. Which one is it? You just recently Bought it?
- [57:21]
Stephen Polvern
Yeah.
- [57:21]
Daniel Young
The Ichi 2. Even though, man, way out of my budget. But man, I could just look at yours. And so I would say that one. And I also love your Waco. Your Waco model. The one with the cool Arabic.
- [57:35]
JP Vicente
Oh, That's. Yeah, the SVG H031. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That one's really cool as well. I love that watch too. Yeah, thanks.
- [57:45]
Stefan Molin
I agree with Daniel from. From jp. I would for sure. Even though it's not the Grand Seiko, I would take that H2, no doubt. But since we are on Grand Seiko, I picked one that they actually have. And I think if there is something that shouts Grand Seiko, at least modern Grand Seiko. It's the dial of the Snowflake. You still have it, jp? I guess.
- [58:12]
JP Vicente
Yeah, yeah, I do. Yeah.
- [58:14]
Stefan Molin
When I saw this one the first time. Wow. I don't think there's anything watch related ever that blew my mind as much as this dialogue. It's really something else. So I got it very early on. Then I sold it maybe, I don't know, 10 years ago or something like this. And then I tried to buy it back from my friend and he didn't sell it until, I think it was early last year. I bought the very same piece back again. So finally I have it. So the Snowflake SPGA 011, that is one grand Seiko to have in any collection. I would say.
- [58:51]
Stephen Polvern
I love that JP wears his snowflake on a strap instead of a bracelet as well, which is kind of a controversial move with some folks. But personally, I'm a fan, I'll tell you that.
- [59:02]
JP Vicente
Jp, thanks, man. I appreciate it. I love it. And it's. The cool thing about the Snowflake is that you can wear it with pretty much any strap. I mean, I'm currently wearing it with a blue strap and it looks really great, you know, and I've worn it with like so many different colors and I think. I think it looks great. I mean, I have an Hermes, you know, strap, like totally bright, you know, orange Hermes orange strap that I think looks really cool. That watch, you know, it's. It's very cool. It's very versatile from that perspective, you know.
- [59:34]
Stefan Molin
True. Yeah, true.
- [59:35]
Stephen Polvern
Yeah.
- [59:36]
Stefan Molin
And From Daniel, that SPG case 007, I need to get me one of those. I do have the 009, so the gray dial with the bracelet, but that pale one. Oh, it looks so good. It looks also, you get that vintage feeling and you get that quirkiness from the power reserve. And some people hate It. I love it. Normally I don't like open case backs, but on the manual wind watch, it's perfect. You see that? Very, very nicely. 9s63 movement. So that would be my pick from your collection.
- [60:13]
Stephen Polvern
You guys all made good choices. I think I would take any of those watches and be a very happy man. All right, I want to make sure we get to this lightning round. So what I'm going to do is I'm going to ask a question and then I'd love Stefan, then jp, then Daniel to answer. And that order is because that is the order of your windows in my zoom window. So. So I'm making it easy on myself here. I promise there's no motive to this order other than convenience for me. So I'll just ask a question and if each of you can give me an answer, that would be great. All right, let's start this thing off. If you had to choose vintage or.
- [60:55]
Stefan Molin
Modern, I would pick modern, but with a vintage twist.
- [60:59]
Stephen Polvern
Good answer.
- [61:00]
JP Vicente
I am going to cup out. So both. Sorry.
- [61:05]
Stephen Polvern
All right, that's fair. I'll let you have that one.
- [61:09]
Daniel Young
I'm going to go modded.
- [61:11]
Stephen Polvern
Okay, so we've got a nice mix here. I like that. If we got to go bracelet or strap, and you can only pick one, which do you pick?
- [61:22]
Stefan Molin
Oh, this is tough, but okay. Bracelet.
- [61:26]
JP Vicente
Oh, strap.
- [61:30]
Stephen Polvern
All right, we already got our answer from Stefan to this, but I'll have you say it again. Solid case back or display case back?
- [61:38]
Stefan Molin
I actually picked solid. Except for when you have a hand wound movement. I want that lie on. On the back.
- [61:45]
JP Vicente
Oh, to me is a display case back. I mean, if you, if you look at an H2 HD2 and, and that's all you need is mesmerized. I mean, it'd be a shame, shame of crime to hide that.
- [61:56]
Stefan Molin
But that's not the Grand Seiko, so that's. Okay.
- [62:00]
JP Vicente
Fair enough. Fair enough. But. But I think that as you know, the, the eight day power reserve, you know, it is a Grand Seiko and I would say the same thing about.
- [62:08]
Stefan Molin
That watch, but it's also hand one, so it fits with my pick.
- [62:13]
JP Vicente
Oh, that's. Sure.
- [62:18]
Stephen Polvern
Daniel, how about you?
- [62:20]
Daniel Young
I'm going to say the same thing as well, well, if it's a manual wine dress watch, it'll be great to have it with a display case back. With any of the two watches, it's okay to hide it. Put a solid case.
- [62:32]
Stephen Polvern
All right, time only or complications.
- [62:37]
Stefan Molin
Time only with power reserve on the back.
- [62:39]
Stephen Polvern
Good answer.
- [62:41]
JP Vicente
I'll go with Time only as well. Yeah.
- [62:45]
Daniel Young
I too.
- [62:46]
JP Vicente
Power reserve on the back. I agree with that. Sorry.
- [62:51]
Daniel Young
I too will go for time only.
- [62:53]
Stephen Polvern
I think this is the unofficial time only podcast we've got going on right here. My complicated watches have date windows. It's very adventurous. All right, what's your favorite modern Grand Seiko reference? And by modern I mean something that's currently available today. Something you could go to a retailer and buy.
- [63:14]
JP Vicente
Right.
- [63:14]
Stefan Molin
Right now I'll pick a SPG W007 which is a white gold hand wound model with a like a seven piece link bracelet.
- [63:28]
Stephen Polvern
Amazing.
- [63:29]
Stefan Molin
I want it.
- [63:35]
JP Vicente
From the current collection. I would pick the svgj. Pick your color. I mean I think it's the high beat GMT with the 9s86. I mean tremendous bang and I think that's the only, as far as I know, it's the only high beat GMT like true GMT movement that is currently being produced or mass produced I should say. So any watches from that particular series? I'm a huge fan.
- [64:05]
Stephen Polvern
Yeah. The blue sort of textured dial version is just absolutely lights out. That watch is so good.
- [64:12]
JP Vicente
Oh my God. And the Mount Iwati dials that were introduced in that series as well, it's been like for the modern pieces, I mean it's just my favorite one and you know, it's great.
- [64:25]
Daniel Young
Yeah. So I should be saying the SBG W231 because that's the updated version of the 031. I will have to say if I were to like, let's say all my watches went missing. Let's hope that doesn't happen. So nothing would. I would probably go for the SVG V205 which is a quartz because I need that as a teacher, like who's got time to whine? No offense. And it's got the 44 GS interpretation case with that cool heated blue seconds and that champagne dial. Amazing. I'll probably go for that one.
- [65:00]
Stefan Molin
And you should.
- [65:01]
Stephen Polvern
Very nice.
- [65:02]
Stefan Molin
Then you should wait for the new one with the 9F 85.
- [65:05]
Daniel Young
Ah, don't tell me that I'm already break.
- [65:07]
Stefan Molin
I'll send you a link.
- [65:11]
Daniel Young
Go away.
- [65:14]
Stephen Polvern
I'm gonna throw my own, my own answer in the ring here, which is. I'm completely obsessed with the SBGA 413 lately, which is the Cherry Blossom Dial Spring Drive. If you had told me that like my, my one of my favorite watches of the last year would be a pink dial Spring drive with a 62 GS inspired case, which is maybe my least favorite of all of the vintage Grand Seiko cases. I get it. I like it. It's just not, it's not one that like, you know, blows my mind usually. This watch is just absolutely incredible. Every time I see one, I kind of reach for my wallet and have to think twice. But I think that one may end up in my collection at some point.
- [65:59]
Stefan Molin
That's a good choice, Stephen. Very good choice.
- [66:02]
JP Vicente
Yeah, I agree with you, but I'm biased. You actually own it.
- [66:07]
Stephen Polvern
You guys are fanning the flames here. It's only 9am in New York City and I'm already thinking about buying a watch that's dangerous. What's your favorite vintage Grand Seiko reference? Let's do that one as well.
- [66:23]
JP Vicente
Sure.
- [66:23]
Stefan Molin
Yeah. I would pick some 45Gs actually. I like the hands on those models. It's manual one, so it's much smaller and the cases look brilliant. So 45 GS.
- [66:38]
JP Vicente
I would go with the first Grand Seiko, the GS first with the 3180 movement. Just because that's where it all started. That's. That's where it all started. So it's referenced, you know, reference to that.
- [66:54]
Daniel Young
For design reasons. I would probably go with the 45 GS as well. I think it's just. Yeah. Seeing it in person. Oh my God. Like you can get one date and no date. I prefer the no date. But in terms of history and I guess literature, if you want to call it that, I would probably go with the first Grand Seiko because I just love that. Yeah, yeah.
- [67:19]
Stephen Polvern
I've got a kind of goofy question here. So Grand Seiko doesn't really do brand ambassadors, you know, not, not in the way that some of the big Swiss companies do it. There's no like, you know, Oscar winning movie star on a Grand Seiko billboard, you know, looking pensively at the camera. That doesn't, that doesn't really happen. But if, if you could pick anyone in the world to, to be a Grand Seiko ambassador, who would you pick and what watch would you put on their wrist?
- [67:48]
Stefan Molin
So I would pick George Clooney and I would put an SPG K007 on his wrist. I think it would suit him perfectly.
- [67:58]
Stephen Polvern
I dig that. That's a good choice.
- [68:01]
JP Vicente
I would pick Jay Z and I think that totally awesome with the SVGW 263 and that's one of the watches that they launched this year to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the brand. So that watch is the one that has an 18 karat white gold dial. It's hand engraved by one of their, like I Think it's their best, you know, master engraver. His name is Kyoushi Tarui, and Kyoshi Terui san is an incredible individual. I had a pleasure to meet him. His work is fantastic. It's phenomenal. So this is a 39 millimeter platinum case. 2820 pieces. Only.9s, 64 caliber. So Jay Z rocking that piece in a tux at the Grammys. That would be pretty cool.
- [68:55]
Stephen Polvern
That'd be pretty awesome.
- [68:59]
Daniel Young
So mine would be. There's this Taiwanese Japanese actor. His name is Takeshi Kaneshiro. I don't know if you guys have heard of him. He's in. He starts in that movie Redcliffe. I don't know if you've heard of it. Anyway, it's. So I'll probably pick him now. I don't know if I can say this, because he was a. He was ambassador for Citizen, which is like Japan, Grand Seiko's rival. So. But if I, If I couldn't pick him, Gotta go with Gary Steingart, man. And I would.033 on his wrist.
- [69:28]
Stefan Molin
So.
- [69:28]
Daniel Young
Come on, Gary, let's make it happen, man.
- [69:30]
Stephen Polvern
Gary's already an unofficial Grand Seiko ambassador. I don't think they're paying him anything, but he's certainly spreading the word.
- [69:38]
Daniel Young
Sorry, Gary.
- [69:40]
JP Vicente
That's funny.
- [69:41]
Stephen Polvern
All right, and the last kind of quick fire question, then we'll start to wrap things up, is what's your grail Grand Seiko watch? The one watch, it can be vintage, it can be modern, but the watch that, if you were able to get your hands on one and add it to the collection, that would be. That would be it. That would be the crown jewel of your collection.
- [70:00]
Stefan Molin
Yeah, I would actually pick a full set. 45, 80, 70, 10, VFA. I love that dial. You have Grand Seiko on top in capital letters, you have the VFA and Daini symbol at 6. And that's it. It's so clean. Hands are nice, and markers are also really, really nice. And again, it's a 45GS, so that would be my pick.
- [70:24]
Stephen Polvern
That's such an incredible watch.
- [70:26]
JP Vicente
Yeah, it's amazing watch. I mean, for me, it's the Grand Seiko first in platinum. That would be. That would be it. But. But I think that the VFAs are terrific as well. If I had to pick, I have two VFAs that I love, which is a 6000, 186, 8000, but I like it with a blue dial, which is the, you know, rare or rarer, and the 4,000, 587,000 with a blue dial. That's. That's amazing too, you know, But. But if I had to pick one, I'd have to go with the GS first in platinum.
- [71:00]
Daniel Young
I don't. I don't know if I have a grail. Like, I would say if I could, like, just keep one watch that I currently have, it would be the 031. I'll be pretty content with that. But if I were to pick one, I'll probably go to Sweden, break into Stefan's house and take his sbgw. And that'll be my girl.
- [71:21]
Stefan Molin
You're welcome.
- [71:22]
Stephen Polvern
We can get you your own. You don't have to take Stefan's. We'll keep his.
- [71:26]
Stefan Molin
But just to be sure. Daniel, is it this one? This is the one. You mean?
- [71:32]
Daniel Young
Yes, one. Man.
- [71:35]
JP Vicente
Wow.
- [71:35]
Daniel Young
That is so. That's so hot.
- [71:37]
JP Vicente
Yeah, it's pretty. Yeah, it's amazing.
- [71:41]
Stephen Polvern
I think we may have to have you guys back to do a deep dive into VFAs and Grand Seiko firsts at some point. I mean, I might be the only person who wants to listen to that show, but I personally want to have that conversation. So we might have to circle back and do that. But I want to thank you guys for doing this. I know this logistically was. Some of us are getting ready for bed. Some of us are just having our first cup of coffee or tea right now. It's pretty cool. Cool. And I think a nice testament to the Grand Seiko community that we can do something like this. That we have people across 14 hours worth of time zones all getting together to talk about this formerly esoteric, impossible to learn about Japanese watch brand. And I wonder if just to finish, maybe I'd love a thought from each of you about that aspect of Grand Seiko, about the kind of community aspect. And, you know, aside from the physical watches themselves, what. What is it that you guys love about being Grand Seiko collectors? So maybe let's start with Daniel and then do Stefan and then jp.
- [72:48]
Daniel Young
What I like about the Grand Seiko community is that we're almost like a family. And speaking of family, I've got a new Instagram account. Sorry, guys. I've got a new Instagram account.
- [73:01]
Stephen Polvern
Plug away, man. That's what this is for. Thanks, Steven.
- [73:05]
Daniel Young
There you go. Well, Grand Seiko family, guys, it's a place to learn about Grand Seiko. But even if you don't want to, that. That's cool too. Speaking about the collectors out there, they're so knowledgeable and so willing to just give you information. And there's. I Don't really see that much flexing as you do in other, I guess watch communities or communities. Like sometimes there's dedicated groups for dedicated brands. But the grand second one, like everybody.
- [73:33]
Stephen Polvern
Seems to be very.
- [73:36]
Daniel Young
I'm forgetting the word here, but willing to give out information. I think that's really cool. And there's no, there's no like scrutiny for like if you don't know anything about watches or about Grand Seiko, everybody's willing to share and I think that's great.
- [73:51]
Stefan Molin
I fully agree with Daniel on this. It's like family. But I think everyone is welcome, everyone is friendly. No one looks down on you if you ask stupid questions or if you don't know. And also most people like to share, I mean the findings. And there isn't much literature about the Grand Seiko. The one literature that do exist is in Japanese which can be tough for most of us to read. And some nice people, like Gerald for instance, he has been scanning catalogs and listing all the vintage Grand Seiko's every single piece. And you can read everything about it. So I think that's. And he's doing it for free. So I think that's. Everyone seems to be friendly. In the beginning it was more like when I started in Sweden, no one knew about it. So you were fairly alone at some point. I think all the Grand Seiko pieces that you could buy second hand was coming from me. Basically that is not the case. It's a much bigger following. But somehow the community has been able to keep this family kind of feeling around Grand Seiko. It's still very small compared to some other brands, but I hope that we can, we can keep that. And personally I've met so many people both online due to my Grand Seiko collecting. I mean I met JP was it three, four years ago here in Stockholm. That was a nice thing.
- [75:30]
JP Vicente
Oh God, it was awesome. Yeah, totally. Yeah, I'll take it from there. You know, I couldn't agree more. I think this is a very open community and to me I was actually reluctant to jump on Instagram. It took me a while. I used to look at Instagram a lot, but it took a while. And then when I started posting the watches in my collection there, which are the collection is really barbelled between Grand Seiko and everything else. And so the response was really, really interesting. So when I started the watchers there wasn't really, you know, I had no intentions apart from a, you know, I've seen some pretty cool watches. Let me, let me just put something back or give something back there. And that paved the way for me to get to know so many, you know, great people. You know, the two here, you know, me being just two of the great people that I've met through this particular community. And I agree. I think it's a community that in many ways, I don't know if it's related to the idea of being Seiko and grand Seiko fans. People collect those pieces and there's not the quote, unquote, snob factor that much. So that makes the community a lot more selfless, I would say. There's no. I don't see a lot of bragging. There's more like, this is grand. Seiko fans are usually Seiko fans as well. So what they're, you know, so you're able to appreciate an He2 and a Seiko5 for what they are. And I think that when you, when you're talking about a community that really spans, you know, that that level, the spectrum is so wide that, you know, you know that those guys are in for the watches. They're not in for the bling or they're not in for the, you know.
- [77:33]
Stefan Molin
The.
- [77:36]
JP Vicente
Brand per se, but they're not in for just the logo, let's put it that way. You know, they're in for the watches and for what it means to them and that connection. And because Seiko itself is an entry point for so many people that are, you know, starting their collections. I mean, we've talked about it today and I think that a lot of folks got introduced to mechanical watch, as, you know, via a Seiko 5 or lower end Seiko. So I think that that's what's so great about the community. It's just, it's really cool.
- [78:10]
Daniel Young
Yeah. I just want to add on to Stephane as well and what JP was saying, that everybody is so willing to share information. So Gerald, who he's talking about is Watch DXB on Instagram. I think you had an episode with Mark Cho. Mark Cho gave him a shout out, so I'll give him another shout again as well. Because that guy, I would annoy him with questions. And he probably knows that I'm not buying anything. I'm just asking him because I want to learn about. And he's happy to just continuously share. And there's another dude from Australia as well. He's more of a Seiko guy, but Seiko, his name is Paul, he's always willing to share his knowledge as well. So those two blokes.
- [78:49]
JP Vicente
Awesome. Well, Anthony Cable as well, you know, like, he's a guy that needs to be, you know, because he's, you know, if we're talking shout outs, I mean, Anthony is a tremendous source of information. And, you know, talking about selfless, I mean, he. Information that he has on his site, his Instagram account is just amazing. So shout out to him. And I had mentioned Eric before. He's also a great friend and a tremendous collector. Tremendous. Like an incredible collection spanning through Seiko, Grand Seiko vintage. Like, it's amazing. And he's a really super, super, super nice guy.
- [79:24]
Stephen Polvern
Yeah, I completely agree. I mean, basically everybody you guys have mentioned here are people that have been instrumental in my own experience as a Grand Seiko collector and fan. And it's pretty amazing that we can sit here again across so many time zones and we know so many of the same people and have learned from each other. And it's a really fantastic kind of subset of watch collecting. And I think for anybody maybe who hasn't dipped their toes yet or gotten into it, hopefully, hopefully our conversation here has given them a taste of maybe what they can experience. If they're interested. We'll provide links to everybody down in the show, notes to everyone we just shouted out and to the three of you and to your collector profile. So hopefully people can start going deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole once they're done listening. But I want to thank you guys for taking the time to do this. I really appreciate it. Again, I know it's. It's late for some of us, early for others of us, and yeah, thank you guys for doing this, for sharing your knowledge, sharing your passion, and hopefully we can get nerdy again sometime soon.
- [80:29]
JP Vicente
Thank you, Steven. It's been a great pleasure. Thank you all.
- [80:31]
Stefan Molin
Thanks, Steven. Really great. Hope we can do it in New York next time.
- [80:37]
Stephen Polvern
Yeah, I would love that. Hopefully soon. Hopefully very, very soon.
- [80:42]
JP Vicente
Amen to that. Amen to that.
- [80:45]
Stephen Polvern
Awesome. Thanks, guys.
- [80:46]
Stefan Molin
Thank you.
- [81:10]
Stephen Polvern
This week's episode was recorded remotely by our group of editors and was produced and edited by Grayson Korhonen. Please remember to subscribe and rate the show. It really does make a difference for us. Thank you for listening and we'll see you next week.
- [81:32]
Stefan Molin
Sam. Sa.