What time is it? Watches and horology

GS store called me and asked if I would like to pay now for - maybe - one of the first of the second wave of the smaller 62Mas-a-likes arriving ‘next year’.

No.

Such slimy negative vibes :(

Send me the reference and I can keep an eye out if you like.

Nah, it’s just silly now.

Slimy/negative why?

I know they are staggering the release of this one, which is lame. But they always ask for the full amount up front for limited releases, that’s standard. And I would be quite sure that if you pay for one, you will get one. I’ve never heard of them taking full prepayment without a guarantee of getting the watch.

If they really did try to do that with no guarantee of allocation, tell me who it was that called you and I’ll give the boutique some “feedback”.

Originally I asked them about the new release - they had sold out but asked if I wanted to be on a wait list in case anyone pulled out. So then they call me but I didn’t give them my number to be sold something they don’t have. They gave me no specifics, and leant heavily on the scarcity angle - sure, I guess that’s the whole point with these but nobody needs to be reminded.

All feels a bit gross.

Maybe this stuff is fine if they are peddling something really creative and unique. But they aren’t. It’s a middling re-issue.

An email with the date they’ll get them and a button to ‘pre-order’ now would have been a bit more Seiko imho. Much less gross salesy.

I paid $300 for mine. You're right, they are chancers. Order one from Japan. Dirt cheap.

Mm, I think it’s more that they know these are in demand and they think they’re doing you a favour. I think they just want people’s names down rather than doing an email shot and seeing who bites. Dunno. I think you’re less enamoured with the watch than a lot of their customers will be!

paying now for a seiko being released next year some time is weird IMO

small deposit to be on the list, maybe..

This rhetoric about Seiko is so played out...

The point here is that you're not on 'a list', you're paying to get a watch that is guaranteed going to be given to you.

Yeah, it’s a pre-sale for what they said was one of the small number they say they’ll get from the mothership.

To be fair, I think their sentiment was good, I’m just pissed off with both the approach of Seiko and the style of the comms from the GS shop (who I’ve rated in the past for being a great experience).

I would like one of the smaller 62Mas jobbies but I’ll save my hustle for something far more shiny.

I get that you’re paying for something that will be delivered I just don’t think you should have to pay 6+ months in advance to get it.

Maybe I’d totally do it if I was in love with the watch and so maybe it was just a silly comment. Initial reaction was just that there are not many things I’d be willing to pay for with delivery scheduled for next year. They’re not a small indy or made to order brand that needs supporting in that way and maybe they could just release more.

But again, I totally get that if you were anticipating this watch the wait would be worth it and maybe the exclusivity would make it extra special

What point am I making? Who knows

I just don’t think you should have to pay 6+ months in advance to get it.

Yes, quite.

I think that’s totally fine, but also for watches like this they have the demand in place to be able to ask for full payment so they don’t get people flaking on them when the watch arrives. If you decide you don’t like it when you see it in the metal you don’t have to accept it and they will give you a refund.

It’s not a Rolex type scenario, yet.

Contextual init. In this case I don’t really think it’s fine. Wait on the first batch was eight weeks or so iirc?

If it was some fancy artisanal GS with a dial that’s manufactured by a cadre of reclusive monks in the Japanese mountains and the movement by a crew of elite trained southpaw squirrels then maybe… but it’s a bunch of robots doing the work. Just persuade a few to work overtime and get em here for October.

I have in the past if we know we are getting a specific limited edition piece , told people that the first person to pay for it got it .
And they paid , and they waited. And it arrived for them, even if I didn’t have a date we knew it was going to at some point.

some fancy artisanal GS with a dial that’s manufactured by a cadre of reclusive monks in the Japanese mountains and the movement by a crew of elite trained southpaw squirrels

In.

Yeah, it’s that.

Right, I get where you’re coming from. I expect with these that they have all been manufactured already. The delay between the first batch and the second is totally artificial and, I suspect, something that Seiko are experimenting with as an irritating marketing strategy (false scarcity to drive demand / create hype, then making people on the waitlist feel special - not that that worked on you, lol - when they get The Call).

I do just wonder whether they are not totally sure at this point what size their second allocation will be, exactly. Which would put them in a weird position. Total speculation on my part though.

Last point though, it’s not a £1000 Prospex with a 6R in it, it is significantly more hand-assembled and finished than that and I think it’ll be made at a different facility, probably the one that makes Marinemasters and some mechanical GS movements. Though not properly hand-made like a GS, obviously.

No way! I had this marked and forgot about it, came with two other Seiko chronographs, no? One looked like a Seiko and Tag Collab. This one looked in way better condition than others I've seen, nice!

Last point though, it’s not a £1000 Prospex with a 6R in it

I have one of the blue SLA versions - the finishing is very different to the 6R jobbies - I’ve owned two - which feel very ‘flat’ in comparison. We know that the SLAs are not GS though, and the neither one thing nor the otherness of them is problematic when trying to do some bullshit availability model imho.

Reckon the folks that might want one of these will want them at the point of release, too. Getting one six months later feels like turning up to an exclusive do just as the DJ is packing his shiz away and the after party is well underway somewhere that you are not.

All feels like a muddle to me, interesting to see how it pans out.

Ha ha yes that’s the one! The lot didn’t sell so I contacted them after and managed to snag it. The other two are pretty horrid!

Hey everybody, need these discontinued bits gone.
Message me for forum fire sale prices if either floats your boat.

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Any recommendations for Japanese sellers?

None specifically. I bought mine through Yahoo Shopping on buyee.jp

Yeah I did see it didn't sell and was gonna contact them as well but thought 40mm maybe a bit of a push for me, I'm also due to move shortly too, really nice piece though!
Yeah the others were just tag alongs, ha.