Konnichiwa

I will be heading to Japan after Christmas for a couple weeks. Anyone done any Seiko, Orient or Kuoe Kyoto shopping there? Don't think I will have Grand Seiko money unless they are considerably cheaper there

The minute counter on the chrono of one of my Original Grain watches stopped working properly.
Would increment, but would reset to 31 min instead of 0

15 emails of troubleshooting & OG is sending me a replacement, just have to get the customer engraved caseback swapped over to the new one.
Pretty sure it's just a snap back, looking at the one I have on now.

quote:

Originally posted by BigSwede:
Konnichiwa

I will be heading to Japan after Christmas for a couple weeks. Anyone done any Seiko, Orient or Kuoe Kyoto shopping there? Don't think I will have Grand Seiko money unless they are considerably cheaper there

My son and his buddy went to Japan two years ago, and he looked for an Omega Speedmaster for me, thinking it would be less than U.S. shops. But everything he found was just as pricey as here.

BidSwede I was in Japan last April for about 2 weeks and if you are buying a watch that costs about $1,000 dollars or less you can take advantage of the dollar to yen exchange rate being about 40 percent in our favor.

One Seiko I looked at is over $750.00 plus tax here stateside and I could have bought it for a hair over $400.00 dollars out the door tax free. If you have one make sure to use a credit card that has no conversion fees to get the exact rate for the day.

But when I was shopping at various shops for high end luxury watches including Grand Seiko's flagship store in Ginza they all raised the prices in yen so that even after the conversion to dollars it was the same price back in the United States. I think they do this to protect the local market and prevent foreign tourists from buying up all the inventory.


There is some hope. If you are looking at used luxury watches say at Nakano Broadway you will save a few bucks on the exchange rate and with the 10 percent sales tax duty free will come out to 500-800 dollars or more cheaper than Ebay or Chrono 24.


Now I came across a local mentioning Mitsui Outlet Park Makuhari for the best prices on Seiko's in Tokyo and he couldn't show prices due to the store not allowing filming for that line, but he said Grand Seiko's were anywhere from 20 or 30 percent off I'm going to bet that's after exchange rate and hopefully before no sales tax of 10 percent.

If you want to go to Kuoe plan on waiting at least 45 minutes or longer in line just to get in. And if you are buying anything another 1 hour for them to build your watch. I was seeing most of Kyoto in 1 day so didn't have time to spare. I've handled a bunch of them and for the price you are paying for them to mix and match from a set of options and charging double to triple the price of a Seiko and using a off the shelf Japanese movements. Not worth it coming form a guy that works on watches for a living.

Stickman!

Watchtoberfest is tomorrow. Are you going?

quote:

Originally posted by LMLarsen:

quote:

Originally posted by BigSwede:
Konnichiwa

I will be heading to Japan after Christmas for a couple weeks. Anyone done any Seiko, Orient or Kuoe Kyoto shopping there? Don't think I will have Grand Seiko money unless they are considerably cheaper there

My son and his buddy went to Japan two years ago, and he looked for an Omega Speedmaster for me, thinking it would be less than U.S. shops. But everything he found was just as pricey as here.

Depends on a few things-
Biggest is dollar to yen exchange rate.

Looking at a few websites, there seems to be a lot of nice used stuff in Japan.
I’ve been paying attention to Rolex Subs (box & papers) as of late. There’s a decent amount just below US prices. Buying it off the internet from Japan, Italy… now tariffs are involved, and the more inexpensive watch just becomes more expensive than the American one.

You may Think you don’t have Grand Seiko money, but you might just find a great used one for a nice price.
Be prepared and bring your calculator!

quote:

Originally posted by Snapping Twig:
Thanks guys!

Could you direct me to a quality 18mm strap for the Omega?

I picked up this lizard strap cheap and... it's cheap. Watch sits off my wrist 1/4" when I tried it. Sort of like the Alpinist strap I threw away.

Looking at brown, no stitches if possible or discrete stitching, something period correct.

First- DONT GET RID OF THE ORIGINAL BRACELET!!!!

As Rogue said, Crown and Buckle has some awesome stuff!
There’s some “period correct” styles out there, and there’s some that just look really good on that watch.

Price point is something else!
$50 on up to $1000… depending on your taste and budget.

https://veblenist.com/collecti...utm_term=watch+bands


https://www.bosphorusleather.c...7gudEYDHWSSWd7J5NExW


https://milanostraps.com/colle...Cwt8Cdua1-AmwH0uVl2W

quote:

Originally posted by vthoky:
Stickman!

Watchtoberfest is tomorrow. Are you going?

Windsor on Stratford?

I’m probably going.

quote:

Originally posted by scot818:
Windsor on Stratford?

Yessir!

Lots of good stuff to see there this evening, including some new releases from Seiko.

I went tonight for the first time. And wow I couldn't believe how many people were there and I didn't know anyone. I was a little disappointed they didn't have more of the Longines Hydroconquest on display. There are a couple of variations I'm interested in but I would like to see them in person before making a decision.

There were several others I saw that I really liked - most had a blue face. First was the Doxa 300T Caribbean. But the ones that really caught my eye were by Brietling the SUPEROCEAN HERITAGE B31 AUTOMATIC 42 in blue on either the mesh or rubber strap. And then the TOP TIME B01 GINO BARTALI in blue or green.

Doxa 300T

Brietling Superocean Heritage

Brietling Top Time

There were so many people there it was difficult to ask questions of the SA's. But it was good to see a few more watches. Definitely worth attending.

The Bravarian Band was fun.
.

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Five years I've wanted this watch. Saw a Breitling Super Ocean with a beautiful green dial. Can't afford that so this is the one I can afford. Thrilled beyond repair.

Really a great looking Tissot! Congrats.

quote:

Originally posted by scot818:
The Bravarian Band was fun.

I went early, had to get back to the mountains before evening set it. Bummed that I missed the band!

I'm glad the event drew a big crowd, though.