grand

Nivrel Héritage Grand Chronographe Watch

New from German based Nivrel is this duo of "Heritage Grand Chronographe" watches. I say - that if you are going to place an "e" after "chronograph," you might as well put and "e" after "grand." Am I right? Extra "Es" for all!

The Heritage Grand Chronograph collection is just that. Two 42mm wide steel watch in classic German heritage style watch cases with German silver (not actually silver) guilloche engraved dials. Blued steel hands and black or brown alligator straps complete the "heritage" look.

Nivrel will offer the watch with two movements. One comes with a Swiss ETA 7750 automatic chronograph, and the other comes with a Swiss ETA 7751 automatic chronograph with moon phase and annual date. Simple and classic in demeanor, these pieces are nevertheless quite nice and offer a look sought by many people for a price more reasonable than the Swiss offer. I would say that these watches compare to offerings from brands such as Longines. Check out the cool large and round chronograph pushers as well. Price for the 7750 based model is 1,995 euros, while the 7751 based Heritage Grand Chronograph is 2,595 euros. Look for them soon.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: 512.001, 522.001, chronographe, german, grand, heritage, nivrel, watch

Grand Seiko 50th Anniversary Collection Watch In Platinum

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

This is probably the first time that an over $25,000 platinum Seiko watch was been offered in the US - so it will take us some getting used to. I recently discussed Grand Seiko's entrance into the world market here. If you aren't familiar with their high-end timepieces, then this sounds like a diamond encrusted Toyota. Ironically enough, this watch is part of a new collection from Seiko that celebrates the 50th Anniversary of their high-end Grand Seiko watch collection. So Seiko has had 50 years to refine this collection. The style is all about tradition, and the movements are superbly made. The dials each have the gold Grand Seiko lion logo on the dial and on the 18k gold automatic rotor (save for the quartz model).

For the 50th Anniversary model collections, the watches each have a similar style but come with three different movements and different sizes. At the top of the heap is this limited edition Grand Seiko Spring Drive in solid platinum (Ref. SBGA065). It has 40.2mm wide case with crocodile strap (with platinum buckle). Inside the watch is a Caliber 9R15 Spring Drive movement. Price is a whopping 2,100,000 yen (just over $25,000) and it is limited to just 30 pieces. The Spring Drive 50th Anniversary watch also comes in a 41mm version in steel with metal bracelet that is about $7,000 limited to 300 pieces (the pieces in the collection are generally limited to either 300 or 500 pieces).

In addition to the Spring Drive models, the Grand Seiko 50th Anniversary collection is offered in a pure automatic mechanical version as well as a quartz movement version. These are in steel and range from 37-40mm wide. Prices start at about $3,800. You can read more about these classy high-end Japanese watches here via Seiko press release here.

Ariel Adams publishes the watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Gallery: Grand Seiko 50th Anniversary Collection Watches

Tags: 50th, anniversary, collection, grand, platinum, seiko, watch

Grand Seiko Luxury Watches Finally Available Wordwide

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

One of Japan's best kept horological secrets - Grand Seiko - will very soon be available world wide. For years (and years) watch lovers longingly looked to Japan at the prestigious high-end Grand Seiko timepieces that were available exclusively in that domestic market. Grand Seiko has been around for 50 years, and this month will officially be available around the world. Until now, only a few places like Hong Kong (I believe) were able to sell Grand Seiko timepieces.

Seiko announced that Grand Seiko would be available world wide last March, but didn't disclose any specific schedule. News has just been released that this month Seiko will offer the entire Grand Seiko collection (with the likely exclusion of a few special models) to 20 new markets around the world - including in North America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Oceania.

Grand Seiko watches are hand-made in Japan by highly skilled watch makers - probably the very best in the country. I personally visited these manufactures and wrote about them here. Most watch lovers agree that Seiko has 'gold' with Grand Seiko. The collection includes timepieces of three varieties based on the movement. One collection has quartz movements, another has purely mechanical movements, and the third collection contains Seiko's now famous Spring Drive movements (that is a beautiful combo of mechanical watches with high accuracy quartz regulation).

A brand new website has been released for Grand Seiko here. The well-done site includes information on all the available models, and clearly describes the many benefits and selling points of Grand Seiko watches (not everyone has someone like me to sit there and passionately explain why they should like these timepieces). I am not alone in my ability to be impressed by these watches. The designs are classic, the quality is superb, and the movements are beloved among collectors. The best part is that compared to their distant Swiss cousins, these watches are a good value. Prices (for mechanical and Spring Drive models) generally seem to be in the $4,400 - $9,700 range. My current favorite model is the Grand Seiko SBGE001 with a GMT Spring Drive movement. When Grand Seiko watches come to a store near you (there is a store locator on the site), I highly recommend you check them out.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: available, grand, japan, luxury, seiko, watch, world