Thomas owns a Grand Seiko, Thomas owns a Grand Seiko...

[Thomas]

Na-naa-na-naa-na! Thomas owns a Grand Seiko! 


Wow, pardon my enthusiasm, but I never thought I would EVER own a Grand Seiko. 


The most expensive watch I ever bought was the 1972 King Seiko 4502-7001 Hi-Beat at US$450.


And the Grand Seikos that were mechanical and in decent condition were always US$2000 and more! 


And yet, somehow, this lovely EMS bag arrived Friday from Japan! 

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Inside was very familiar grocery bag...

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Cool! My local Japanese newspaper has been delivered! 

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And inside that expected plastic-bagged bubble-wrap bundle...

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Inside the bubble-wrap there appears to be a well-protected watch!

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And there it is! Wow, not just any GS, but a 1969 Hi-Beat Grand Seiko 6146-8000, with an automatic, 25 jewel, 36.000 bph movement. 


Often just called the "61 GS", it holds a prestigious position in the Seiko line-up history, as it was the first Hi-Beat Grand Seiko produced, and only 36,000 were made


In his article for the Monochrome web site, Seiko’s Affinity to Hi-Beat Movement, Evan Yeung says:

"To say that the 61GS was not only Seiko’s first, but archetypical automatic 10 beat per seconds model is an understatement; to date, the 61GS remains one of the finest achievements by the brand. It was essentially one of the best, if not the best automatic movement Seiko has ever made."

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Here is a closer look, I like the angled hands and hour markers, with the black stripes.


When the seller went to pack this watch for shipping, he noticed it was not running. So he gave it to his watchmaker for a movement cleaning and lubrication. I shudder to think what was done in the two days it was away, but at least the seller assured me the watchmaker knows vintage Seikos and would not damage the movement.


As a plus, the watchmaker seems to have removed the white spotting that was on the hands, markers and day/date window! I like that! 

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The wonderful GS crown-view...

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The non-crown side...


(We need to make a name for this side! Since it is the non-"crown" side, how about the "commoner side"?     The "peasant side"? The "subject side"? Come on, help me out here!)

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Since I had to touch that messed-up mesh bracelet to show the case-back anyway, I took that rusty, broken thing off and replaced it with a shiny, black cowrocodile strap I had nearby. 

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And here are some movement shots from the seller:

I am so proud and thrilled to have this, such a famous Grand Seiko model, in fine condition, for less than US$600!


The dial has some light staining and a hair-like mark between the 6 and 7 hour markers, but it still seem like an excellent bargain. Someone said I could consider it my "Beater Grand Seiko"! Bwahahaha! 

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What are your thoughts? Did I do okay? 


Thanks for clicking in!


- Thomas

[Deleted]

That is a wonderful addition to your herd! I love the understated styling of that period and you certainly have a thoroughbred motor in that one 7dfe79adc2f0

[Thomas]

Thanks "Ben",


I may send it out for a movement service, just as a precaution. I have a shipment going to IWW anyway...


But I want to wear it for a while, and I don't want to hold up the other watches from going out! 


Sigh, there is always a decision! 


- Thomas

[russtmurray]

Congratulations Thomas, it looks great!

[tritto]

Congratulations Thomas. That's a great looking GS and a great price.

[orgigeorgie]

Thats a nice looking watch, well done  

[cayenne1200]

Congrats! You definitly did ok

[canberramike]

Great pickup Thomas, am chasing a 69, 6145-8000 myself.

Cheers Michael

[69ChevelleSS]

Sweet.

[Groundhog66]

:winner:

[cd_god]

Congrats.

I thought you would have had at least 5 of those by now.

[sdoocms]

Nice find!!!

[Adrian-VTA]

Awesome. 5 adjustments...oh yeah

[Thomas]

Nov 24, 2014 18:12:16 GMT -8 cd_god said:

Congrats.

I thought you would have had at least 5 of those by now.

Ha!    But point well taken!    

I did bid on another Hi-Beat GS a day or two later, a 1970 hand-wind 4522-7010, but it went too high and I dropped out. Only US$382! See I can be frugal! 


- Thomas

[croolis]

firstly congrats that's a lovely watch

may I suggest .. Stephan / schillachi61 (on Ebay) has original crystals for this model very cheaply .. they come with the silver rehaut so that yellowness around the edge will go totally ..

also since that is a very nice strap, might be worth getting a deployant buckle, it does save a lot of wear and tear on the strap.

I have this same model in cap gold (250 micron gold plated) .. it's one watch that I will not be selling!
My other 6146 is an 8020 model with the funky case style and tea sunburst dial ..

[Thomas]

Nov 30, 2014 1:03:36 GMT -8 croolis said:

firstly congrats that's a lovely watch

may I suggest .. Stephan / schillachi61 (on Ebay) has original crystals for this model very cheaply .. they come with the silver rehaut so that yellowness around the edge will go totally ..

also since that is a very nice strap, might be worth getting a deployant buckle, it does save a lot of wear and tear on the strap.

Thanks croolis,


I contacted Stephan and have bought a few of his crystals now, including the one for this 61 GS, so thank you for the reference. Stephan says "Hi" by the way. 


I wore this watch over the Thanksgiving holiday, for about 5 full days, and when I checked it against the NIST time webpage I had set it to, it was only 4 seconds fast!!     Woohoo!


Actually that strap is an inexpensive cowrocodile strap, but I always wear my leather straps with deployants, this one is using a nice Bob Davis double-butterfly. 


Thanks for all your good advice!


- Thomas