Moving ahead. Touching hearts.

November 8, 2017 11:55 PM

Morioka Seiko Instruments is located in the northern industrial city of Morioka, about three-and-a-half hours from Tokyo by high-speed train. This is where Seiko's high-end mechanical watches are born – where a single watchmaker puts together each Credor Caliber 68, where a 40-year Seiko veteran assembles high-end movements, and where the widely revered Grand Seiko takes shape — A visit to Seiko Japan
posted by timshel (18 comments total)

Ooh that was really lovely. Out of all my 15+ watches (It's NOT a fetish, even if i do have a dedicated glass front case for them. Well, most of them. Those that'll fit, that is—Screw you, man! Don't judge me!), I rely on my Seiko solar diving watch the most for day to day use. And it has the most deliciously orange face you can imagine, like wearing an orange sherbert push-pop on your wrist, but not sticky 'cause that'd be gross.

I can remember my dad having Seikos back in the 70s, and they still seem to be built as solid as ever. Of course, a big reason I rely on the Seiko now is that it's solar. Do you have any idea how annoying it is to swap batteries on 10+ non-solar watches? Very. Very is the answer. So very annoying they're all basically sitting in the case dead now, mocking me because I now have solar watches, so to hell with 'em. All my watches henceforth will be mechanical or solar. Because fuck batteries, man.

Maybe I need help.
posted by los pantalones del muerte at 12:28 AM on November 9, 2017 [12 favorites]

What a lovely find. Thanks so much for sharing.
posted by smoke at 3:26 AM on November 9, 2017

I have a thing for watches. I ignore my thing for watches because money, man. Oh god this FPP has me looking at watches.
posted by Annika Cicada at 4:38 AM on November 9, 2017 [1 favorite]

It's funny that Seiko does what most folks imagine Rolex does (hand finish watches by dedicated artisans) and Rolex does what most folks imagine Seiko does (mass produce watches in a factory).

So strange that Japanese watches are still looked down upon by many, given Japan's long artisan tradition and reputation for high quality manufacturing. The power of marketing, I guess.
posted by leotrotsky at 4:51 AM on November 9, 2017 [8 favorites]

All my watches henceforth will be mechanical or solar. Because fuck batteries, man.

Casio Oceanus ocw-s100-1ajf. World's most practical watch. Oceanus is Casio's Grand Seiko at a better price point. Radio Wave sync to Atomic Clock, Solar, Titanium, 100m Water Resistant, Automatic Pointer Calibration, Shock Resistant. Always exactly accurate, never needs a battery, light, and you never need to take it off in the water. And it's got a simple face.
posted by leotrotsky at 4:58 AM on November 9, 2017 [2 favorites]

I believe they also manufacture mechanical watches for the export market under the name Orient. I got my dad one by that brand and by all accounts he is quite pleased with it.
posted by DoctorFedora at 4:59 AM on November 9, 2017

My first real watch was gifted to me by my grandfather when I turned 18... It has a story... Apparently, he found* it in a washroom on the Orient Express (no, I am not a shill for the new movie, with the "wrong" Poirot) - it was a self-winding Seiko from the early/mid-70's.

I loved that watch - wore it everywhere. I had people cross the room to ask me if it was a Rolex.

Then... (I wore it everywhere), I was cleaning out a swamp... The owner wanted it returned to it's "natural state", remove the rusted out crap, etc. Well... I found out the importance of watch upkeep - one of the band links had been a little loose...

And boom, while the swamp was clean, the watch was gone. The owner did try to replace it with something else - but it was obviously not the same.

*found - well, I have to admit - perhaps he should have turned it in, obviously someone had hung it on a hook while washing their hands... but he was a simple man, a janitor for the bulk of his life, so...
posted by jkaczor at 5:10 AM on November 9, 2017 [1 favorite]

That was indeed lovely. As a run of the mill machinist (ha!), I'm in awe of the process that results in a fine mechanical watch.

For about a year, I'd had a hankering for a decent mechanical watch, and was overwhelmed by the selection. Even moreso by the prices. But the long research period paid off. It ended up being a Seiko self winding piece, about as inexpensive as a decent mechanical watch gets. And only marginally more expensive than a sketchy cheap mechanical watch of mysterious origin. Not made in Japan, but a very nice object to behold nonetheless.
posted by 2N2222 at 6:08 AM on November 9, 2017 [1 favorite]

If you have a hankering for a mechanical watch and don’t want to spend a lot of money, you will probably find that a Seiko 5 is very satisfying to own and wear. It is almost Christmas!
posted by chrchr at 6:39 AM on November 9, 2017 [3 favorites]

Ah, I remember when a Seiko 5 was a $35 watch before 2008. The economy recovered, but the exporters got a taste of a better exchange, I suspect? Still, they're remarkably good mechanical watches for under a hundred dollars.
posted by Kyol at 6:43 AM on November 9, 2017

I believe they also manufacture mechanical watches for the export market under the name Orient. I got my dad one by that brand and by all accounts he is quite pleased with it.

Actually, Orient (disclosure: Orient fanboy) is an older, formerly-independent part of the Seiko family. They also make JDM watches. Orient diving watches are regularly listed as best bang/buck for mechanical (self-winding) watches.
posted by notsnot at 6:55 AM on November 9, 2017 [4 favorites]

Seiko also has a middle tier line of watches under $500 called the SARB line. They are quite lovely. I have the sarb029 and get complimented on it all the time.
posted by cazoo at 7:28 AM on November 9, 2017 [2 favorites]

found - well, I have to admit

Be careful, they’ll send the Watch Dogs after you....
posted by GenjiandProust at 7:48 AM on November 9, 2017 [1 favorite]

Annika Cicada: I have a thing for watches. I ignore my thing for watches because money, man. Oh god this FPP has me looking at watches.

A warning to you and other watch enthusiasts with limited funding, that whole site is a wonderful sink of time and builder of ambitions for expanding your watch collection.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:19 AM on November 9, 2017

For a bonus I read about the Paul Newman Daytona. Quite a story. "Most expensive wristwatch ever" and storied provenance.
posted by achrise at 8:58 AM on November 9, 2017

As a graduating present after law school I bought myself a treat: a Seiko analog watch (humanity had just switched from sundial back then), a beautiful slim gold face watch with an alarm which was very rare for analog watches back then. Still have it, still ticking...
Thanks for posting
posted by Malingering Hector at 9:15 AM on November 9, 2017 [2 favorites]

All my watches henceforth will be mechanical or solar. Because fuck batteries, man.

Yup. My final semester of college, I went on an archelogical dig for my spring break. One week in the boonies, and of course, my battery powered watch died the first day of the trip, which made both doing dig reports and knowing when it was okay to eat lunch or have a beer a total pain for the next week (bonus tip: when hanging with archeologists, it's always okay to have a beer). Upon my return to civilization, and confirmation that I had finally completed my long and checkered undergraduate career, I bought myself a second gen Seiko Kinetic.

The nascent online watch community scoffed at my purchase as the sort of thing that would need service more often than the low-end, Wal-Mart model, Seiko digital watch would need batteries. I've been wearing that watch all over the world for over fifteen years now, and never once has it let me down. Never once have I opened the case, the only repair I've made, if you can call it that, was to order a new link for the bracelet so it now fits my now fatter, middle-aged wrists. And never once since have I ever been late for a drink, due to not knowing the time. So yeah, fuck batteries.
posted by 1f2frfbf at 5:08 PM on November 9, 2017

It's funny that Seiko does what most folks imagine Rolex does (hand finish watches by dedicated artisans) and Rolex does what most folks imagine Seiko does (mass produce watches in a factory).

Watch enthusiast William Gibson has reached the same conclusion
posted by timshel at 5:13 PM on November 9, 2017 [2 favorites]