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Should I expect a seiko 5 level Finish/quality (300 dollar watch) for my 350 dollar rep watch?
- Thread starter Pixelman
- Start date
valueprop
Active Member
- 17/12/19
- 250
- 106
- 43
Imo best are deals on lightly used watches in the 1k range. Like with any luxury product, second hand gets you great savings. Do your due diligence on micro brands. Even a cursory Google of "best watch for $1000" will get you a ton of leads.
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These guys that are responding in favor of Seiko have collectively probably worked on hundreds of watches maybe even thousands. I'm going to side with what they say.
I have personally had close to 100 watches including just about all the popular Seiko Divers, lots of micro brands, a bunch of Reps and quite a few other Gens in the $500-$2500 retail range. Most of the watches I buy I wind up selling, but I still have at least 1 or two out of each category. For me I think it is less about which is better & more about what you are after. If you are after the best specs then it is hard to beat some of the microbrands but then you have a watch with a brand on the dial that literally no one has heard of. If you want a luxury name brand on the dial, but you don't want to or can't spend for the gen then you have to put up with spotty qc/reliability etc.
I have personally had close to 100 watches including just about all the popular Seiko Divers, lots of micro brands, a bunch of Reps and quite a few other Gens in the $500-$2500 retail range. Most of the watches I buy I wind up selling, but I still have at least 1 or two out of each category. For me I think it is less about which is better & more about what you are after. If you are after the best specs then it is hard to beat some of the microbrands but then you have a watch with a brand on the dial that literally no one has heard of. If you want a luxury name brand on the dial, but you don't want to or can't spend for the gen then you have to put up with spotty qc/reliability etc.
I've owned quite a number of Seikos, Citizens and micro brand watches in the Sub 1k range. I think you can get the better metal work and materials with a rep in the 500 USD price range. I've yet to find a $500 watch with a bracelet, housing and bezel like the ZF AP 15500 or an ARF SD43. However, the movements are crap compared even to Seiko cheapies and you can always end up with a lemon where the bezel falls apart and markers are tilted. Makes sense, as they're put together by someone's cat. Seikos in that price range only have OK bracelets and simple finishes (it's more or less all polished and rounded), but the consistency reps can never achieve. 99 out of 100 Trutles/Sumos will run forever without any service and you obviously don't need QC pics to know your watch will have an aligned date window...
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- 17/7/12
- 45
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All this replica movements too bad.Is Grand Seiko really that good? I think they have achieved a bit of a cult-like fan base in recent years.
My own personal experience with Grand Seiko (SBGR051) is really bad.
You can see how much flex my Grand Seiko bracelet. It has more flex than even a 500USD replica watch: https://imgur.com/gallery/EgCdXkN#dbHhep0
After 2 years of use, my movement is no longer accurate. Watch has to be sent back to Japan for servicing. Movement overhaul + replaced escapement for 2 year watch. Shitty customer service and long ass lead times. Grand Seiko watches are even more difficult to service than some replica watches. I have posted my ordeal on WUS: https://www.watchuseek.com/threads/g...#post-30471434
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Ams55557
Renowned Member
- 16/3/18
- 633
- 350
- 63
I’ve moved away from a rep obsession and towards an obsession modding and building on the seiko/ nh35 platform. Recently I’ve been buying many srpd models as they are heavily discounted and have all the parts I need for novel builds.
Absolutely me experience as well.
That’s true but also not true. The lower tier seiko movements leave a lot to be desired as they are lower beat, offer limited complications. they have day, day-date, and open heart but no Chrono, a weird gmt and not much else.
In buying so many just to take them apart I’ll tell you that they are built like tanks with super well fitting parts. I don’t think their finishing is particularly great though. The “crystals” suck in every model south of grand seiko. (Honestly though, Profs and Domi crystals are the highest bang for the buck mod that you can get...I’ve been debating getting a batch of 31.5mm done for my seikos). The oem bracelets suck, especially compared to the higher tier arf/noob/zf.
Absolutely me experience as well.
That’s true but also not true. The lower tier seiko movements leave a lot to be desired as they are lower beat, offer limited complications. they have day, day-date, and open heart but no Chrono, a weird gmt and not much else.
In buying so many just to take them apart I’ll tell you that they are built like tanks with super well fitting parts. I don’t think their finishing is particularly great though. The “crystals” suck in every model south of grand seiko. (Honestly though, Profs and Domi crystals are the highest bang for the buck mod that you can get...I’ve been debating getting a batch of 31.5mm done for my seikos). The oem bracelets suck, especially compared to the higher tier arf/noob/zf.
Of course, movements like the 4R36 or 6R15 aren't decorated in a way we'd accept for a rep, but their longevity is great. Never had an issue even with Seiko 5 watches and I didn't even know that mechanical movements need to get serviced back in those days. Agreed on the crystals, not many companies dare to sell you a Hardlex at 500 bucks. Even the Marinemaster 300 didn't have a sapphire crystal until it's update version in 2016.
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There's literally tons of Citizen watches without sapphire crystals. You can even select that feature specifically on their website.