The Watch Appreciation Thread - Part two (Rolex, Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Jaeger LeCoultre,

[Neville Southall]

Stunning piece.

Thanks, man. I love it. I wear it when I want to cleanse my palate of the "ugly and hideous" 5712G "on a strap" POS Patek that I unfortunately own because I'm a poor that lacks soft iron casing.

 

[mebiuspower]

 

[Ebitdaddy]

This is better finished than almost any watch I've ever owned.
View attachment 2227945

Yeah the hands and the indices on their watches are really amazing at the price point. I'm surprised people are always going on and on about the cases, which are ok. The hands on my two GS were better than a lot of haute horology I've owned...lol

 

[Neville Southall]

Yeah the hands and the indices on their watches are really amazing at the price point. I'm surprised people are always going on and on about the cases, which are ok. The hands on my two GS were better than a lot of haute horology I've owned...lol

Totally agree. I love the zaratsu (spelling?) polishing, too. It's just a fun watch to wear, man.

 

[Ebitdaddy]

 

[Wild Strawberry Rabbit]

 

[mebiuspower]

 

[Dino944]

Yeah the hands and the indices on their watches are really amazing at the price point. I'm surprised people are always going on and on about the cases, which are ok. The hands on my two GS were better than a lot of haute horology I've owned...lol

I had an opportunity to try some on and the hands and indices are really nice. As you said, the cases are ok. However, one of their real downfalls is their bracelets and clasp. I thought they felt cheap, lightweight and like something that would have been more suitable on an $800 watch, than a watch that's around $10K. If you go with a strap it negates that issue, but it just surprised me that they do such a nice job on the rest of the watch and the bracelets and clasps are so junky.

 

[DorianGreen]

I had an opportunity to try some on and the hands and indices are really nice. As you said, the cases are ok. However, one of their real downfalls is their bracelets and clasp. I thought they felt cheap, lightweight and like something that would have been more suitable on an $800 watch, than a watch that's around $10K. If you go with a strap it negates that issue, but it just surprised me that they do such a nice job on the rest of the watch and the bracelets and clasps are so junky.

The most of their bracelets look boring and ininspiring.

The only exception is this one.

 

[mebiuspower]

I had an opportunity to try some on and the hands and indices are really nice. As you said, the cases are ok. However, one of their real downfalls is their bracelets and clasp. I thought they felt cheap, lightweight and like something that would have been more suitable on an $800 watch, than a watch that's around $10K. If you go with a strap it negates that issue, but it just surprised me that they do such a nice job on the rest of the watch and the bracelets and clasps are so junky.

Huge fail for a brand that supposedly care so much about small detail.

 

[pmeis]

I had an opportunity to try some on and the hands and indices are really nice. As you said, the cases are ok. However, one of their real downfalls is their bracelets and clasp. I thought they felt cheap, lightweight and like something that would have been more suitable on an $800 watch, than a watch that's around $10K. If you go with a strap it negates that issue, but it just surprised me that they do such a nice job on the rest of the watch and the bracelets and clasps are so junky.

I think the bracelets are fine...though the standard three-link is only average, the others are nicer. Though my biggest complaint are the ridiculously tiny screws they use. The clasps on the other hand truly suck.

To me though, they are mainly strap watches.

 

[Dino944]

I think the bracelets are fine...though the standard three-link is only average, the others are nicer. Though my biggest complaint are the ridiculously tiny screws they use. The clasps on the other hand truly suck.

I think you and I will have to agree to disagree on their bracelets/clasps. I really found them to be tolerable at best, but if being truly honest they were unacceptable at that price point. Plenty of watches for the same or less money have bracelets and clasps that not only look nicer, but feel far higher in terms of quality and workmanship.

Perhaps as you said, they are really strap watches.

 

[Ebitdaddy]

I wore SBGE275 daily for ~6 months and SBGE255 (almost) daily for ~1 - 2 months. Both are sport watches so the bracelet is quite relevant. Personally, it didn't bother me that much. What did get to me over time more than anything was the thickness of the watches. 15mm+ for a sportswatch with time only is really hard to swallow, and it's extremely noticeable when you put almost any other watch on.

Definitely agree that they are not up to par vs competitors on the bracelet side though. With Grand Seiko, I think it's extra frustrating because they do such a good job with things most people will not notice. For example, the avg customer will not notice how well finished the hands are - which are often better executed than ~$20k - $30k watches. It's just kind of weird my wife's Tudor had a better clasp and bracelet than my SBGE275...

It's the number one complaint you see on WatchuSeek as well.

 

[pmeis]

I think you and I will have to agree to disagree on their bracelets/clasps. I really found them to be tolerable at best, but if being truly honest they were unacceptable at that price point. Plenty of watches for the same or less money have bracelets and clasps that not only look nicer, but feel far higher in terms of quality and workmanship.

Perhaps as you said, they are really strap watches.

I don't think we actually disagree that much, they should definitely be better...though I think my opinion on other bracelets in the $2k to GS price range is way worse than yours as I generally think most bracelets are bad. Until the latest generation of Speedmaster bracelets, I don't think the Omega bracelets were any better or worse than GS. I just don't think the GS bracelets are remarkably bad compared to the majority of what's out there, because most bracelets are bad...

The only bracelet I've ever really cared for and enjoyed wearing are Rolex Oyster bracelets (I'm sure I'd appreciate the feel of a Jubilee as well, but I've never had the pleasure for some reason). I appreciate the Santos bracelet a lot (it's well finished and easy to adjust), but I can't say I enjoyed wearing it that way.

Of course this is generally why you see most of my watches on rubber, fabric or leather, so I may just be a bracelet hater and not the best judge.

 

[Mute]

I had an opportunity to try some on and the hands and indices are really nice. As you said, the cases are ok. However, one of their real downfalls is their bracelets and clasp. I thought they felt cheap, lightweight and like something that would have been more suitable on an $800 watch, than a watch that's around $10K. If you go with a strap it negates that issue, but it just surprised me that they do such a nice job on the rest of the watch and the bracelets and clasps are so junky.

That has been my one gripe with GS. Given their pricing, they really need to up their strap/bracelet/clasp game.