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Pre-owned 017s are listed for more than new 037s on C24 even though twice as many 017s were made - and despite the 037 being mechanically superior and with a much higher original retail price.
I wonder if this would have been so much the case had the other two not been (deep) blue dials.
I've noticed that people flipping coloured OPs price the similarly blue variant the least aggressively.
Howard-
TBH I think they could have been any other colour and people would still want the grey the most because it is such a signature of the 62MAS.
The SLA037 is beautiful FWIW. Really lovely dial, very subtle.
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Sorry, late to the SLA party but I see @regal has you covered, we chatted about this often because I couldn’t get past the price of the 037 and tbh I ended up buying at the absolute peak because of my FOMO which still smarts.
One piece of advice I’ll offer is that you probably know which watch you really really want and buying something else will just eat your budget and never quite scratch the itch.@ejay2.0 lucky guy, don’t you already have a mk2?
@paininthe love the Citizen, congrats.
Regal
inchpincher
This is a very valid point.
When the SLA017 came out, the retail price was something over £3000 (can't remember how much exactly, £3150 or something). That was, to say the least, extremely punchy for "just a Seiko". There was criticism from collectors at the time of how Seiko had chosen to execute a number of the details. For example, it doesn't have applied markers or an applied logo (the original 62MAS had both). The bracelet looks and feels like one from an £800 Prospex diver. The movement, while high quality, is undecorated and unadjusted. And it's the same movement that was in Marinemaster 300s costing (at that time, pre-ceramic bezel) no more than half the price.
The 037 then one-upped that by adding another grand and a half for the hi-beat movement and a different steel alloy for the case.
I think the fact that 037s and 043s are still widely available, NWT and at or below RRP, says something about the value proposition and what people are willing to accept. Pre-owned 017s are listed for more than new 037s on C24 even though twice as many 017s were made - and despite the 037 being mechanically superior and with a much higher original retail price.
Why? It's because the 017 is the only one that is actually in the 62MAS colour scheme. That's the one people want, the "true" 62MAS recreation. And that's what you're buying, the design, the vibe and the history. It's a great watch, is it objectively worth 4 and a half grand? Rolex OP RRP? Grand Seiko RRP? Hard to say it is. It's not a Grand Seiko. But if you're into it, that's the market price.
If they announced another 62MAS reissue in the original grey colour, and especially if they used applied markers and logo, I reckon 017 values would take a hit.