New Seiko enthusiast

[bullinachinashop]

Hello all,greetings from England!

Having had a passing interest in watches forever, things have suddenly escalated this year, started I think by a watch thread on a non-watch (hi-fi) forum.

Also, I inherited a white-dial Seiko 5 from my dad a couple of years ago (which I chose for his birthday in 1986!)...

so started reading up on Seiko and was really drawn to their broad and deep back-catalouge of interesting designs, the engineering heritage numerous 'world-firsts',the classic Japanese 'take on the establishment and do it better' approach and the fact I can actually afford to buy a few! I like smaller,simpler watches and there are so many Seikos that appeal!

So,three weeks in, the collection's building nicely and the plan is to stop panic-buying cheaper pieces (all purchases so far, apart from the new Nato-strap Sports are <$50) and work towards a more significant purchase; perhaps a high-beat Lord Marvel or King Seiko, or a Speedtimer, to raise the stakes a little. I've also set myself a rule that any future purchases must have Kanji days, I don't know why, I think it just works

Anyway, sorry for the ramble, looking forward to learning loads and building my collection

[bullinachinashop]

Sorry, quick diversion to VIP Tapatalk land for photo uploads

[bullinachinashop]

And the two square(ISH) dial watches need new straps so I'll probably start asking questions about that soon !
Cheers

[victor]

Welcome bullinachinashop  - looks like you've quickly gotten together a nice start on a collection.  I say "start" because it will quickly grow.

As you've discovered, there's a vast back catalog of Seiko designs and movements to fit any kind of interest.  Here's a link to old catalog scans (https://www.theseikoguy.com/catalogs/) collected by another enthusiast, which might be fun for you to peruse and help you discover what you like.

As you've discovered, vintage Seiko watches are accessible at a wide range of prices.  Also, take a look at Citizen watches, as there's some really fascinating designs there too, and though they're not as well documented as Seiko vintage watches, are even more accessible price-wise.  

A bit of advice, that we all learn at our own pace, is that unless you're a tinkerer and want to get into repairing watches, you should look for the best condition example of the watch you like in order to improve your chances of getting one that works well. 

This forum is a great one for searching and asking questions.  Looking forward to seeing your watches on the daily WRUW thread.

Oh yeah, what kind of hi-fi are you into?  I need to get one of my old turntables over to the shop so I can start enjoying my vinyl again.

[nordlys]

Welcome and thanks for sharing your collection!

[dapellegrini]

Welcome!

[inboost]

bullinachinashop, absolutely fantastic intro - you're off to a great start! Echoing others, you've come to a great place to learn and grow your collection and knowledge. Which one expands faster will be anyone's guess as around here we're enablers

I will second victor on the Citizen brand as I think they represent the underdog to Seiko and they often momentarily outdo their more notorious adversary in any of the areas of interest. At the end of the day both produce junkers and gemstones, but one of them will usually get it 'right' better than the other on some new technology or style - at least for one turn of the date wheel. There is rigorous and never ending one-upmanship between the brands (and even internally to Seiko between the two houses of Dani and Suwa) and we all get to benefit from it!

Welcome aboard!

Inboost

[bullinachinashop]

Hmmmm... Citizen.. I'm tempted by the Cosmotron that scubarob99 is selling 😬

[scubarob99]

Welcome

Rob

[inboost]

I can vouch for scubarob99 considering I've just bought a few watches from him - you won't get better service and the items are accurately described. If I didn't already have a nearly identical Cosmotron this one would have been mine too. It's a great price bullinachinashop and the documents that come with it are incredibly rare. It would not be a bad move to take him up on his very generous pricing!

[leffemonster]

Welcome to the forum! Good to see another Brit on here, I’m down in the south-east corner. Nice collection you have there but, as victor said, beware - it’ll grow…

[victor]

Mar 9, 2024 8:54:41 GMT -8 bullinachinashop said:

Hmmmm... Citizen.. I'm tempted by the Cosmotron that scubarob99 is selling 😬

I've a few similar to that one.  Cosmotron are fun watches with a fascinating technical history - that one looks in great shape and for a great price, particularly with its additional bits and bobs.  In fact, if I didn't already have several, and more importantly had not just approved a watch restoration by one of your countrymen that is going to set me back by more than I'd anticipated, I'd have pulled the trigger on it myself.

Incidentally, if you do find yourself going down the rabbit hole that are electric watches, you are fortunate to have one of the premier watchmakers in the world that specializes in these timepieces at electric-watches.co.uk/ should you need them to be serviced.

[bullinachinashop]

Mar 9, 2024 7:22:36 GMT -8 victor said:

Welcome bullinachinashop  - looks like you've quickly gotten together a nice start on a collection.  I say "start" because it will quickly grow.

As you've discovered, there's a vast back catalog of Seiko designs and movements to fit any kind of interest.  Here's a link to old catalog scans (https://www.theseikoguy.com/catalogs/) collected by another enthusiast, which might be fun for you to peruse and help you discover what you like.

As you've discovered, vintage Seiko watches are accessible at a wide range of prices.  Also, take a look at Citizen watches, as there's some really fascinating designs there too, and though they're not as well documented as Seiko vintage watches, are even more accessible price-wise.  

A bit of advice, that we all learn at our own pace, is that unless you're a tinkerer and want to get into repairing watches, you should look for the best condition example of the watch you like in order to improve your chances of getting one that works well. 

This forum is a great one for searching and asking questions.  Looking forward to seeing your watches on the daily WRUW thread.

Oh yeah, what kind of hi-fi are you into?  I need to get one of my old turntables over to the shop so I can start enjoying my vinyl again.

Thanks for the advice and information! So much to learn !!

I'm on the learning curve with hifi too, happy with how it's going though. JVC TT-71 direct drive turntable in a plinth made by a cabinet maker with some 250ish year old Cuban mahogany and an Audiomods tonearm.
And a mish-mash of a Tube Technologies pre amp into an XTZ Class D power amp, a Jolida valved DAC and some LS3/5A type bookshelf speakers.

[bullinachinashop]

Mar 9, 2024 8:13:43 GMT -8 inboost said:

bullinachinashop, absolutely fantastic intro - you're off to a great start! Echoing others, you've come to a great place to learn and grow your collection and knowledge. Which one expands faster will be anyone's guess as around here we're enablers

I will second victor on the Citizen brand as I think they represent the underdog to Seiko and they often momentarily outdo their more notorious adversary in any of the areas of interest. At the end of the day both produce junkers and gemstones, but one of them will usually get it 'right' better than the other on some new technology or style - at least for one turn of the date wheel. There is rigorous and never ending one-upmanship between the brands (and even internally to Seiko between the two houses of Dani and Suwa) and we all get to benefit from it!

Welcome aboard!

Inboost

Thanks for the warm welcome! Good to hear another vote for Citizen...I wasn't considering them before but am now reading up and agree there's some lovely looking watches...soany options!! 🤯

[cd_god]