Seiko: Most Interesting Yet Most Overlooked

For those with several thousands of dollars to spare, buying a watch is hardly an issue. The rest of us, at least for once in our lifetime, have faced this problem and to keep things under our grip, often ended up buying something big and blingy of little or no substantial value. Often, the price paid is way more than what it should actually have been, but alas, then you are too late.

You are not to blame. In a world of numerous watch brands, it’s easy to get carried away; more so, when a plethora of jazzy monstrosities are out there. They blur your vision well; so well, that you fail to notice the most obvious choice.

That to say, the Seiko! The Japanese watch company makes watches that are every bit as good as their Swiss counterparts; sturdier and less expensive. For between $500 and $5000, Seiko eliminates soul searching, much hand-wringing and uncritical adulation that often accompanies so many from other globally popular brands. With Seiko, pockets may not once again be emptied, as it used to be in the happy days of yore.

The reason that keeps Seiko Watch out of the leagues of atrociously priced sweet nothings is they understand that marketing alone cannot sell a lot of watches beyond a certain point. For Seiko utilises their brand DNA instead of their brand name. Folderol was never a forte with Seiko; their range of excellent watches for excellent value at every price point is.

One might argue that why Seiko? Despite so many other brands that make more-accurate-than-necessary, high-precision watches? True, Citizen, Breitling, Bulova and quite a few more brands do that, but do they have the repertoire of offerings, from the most basic to the most sophisticated like Seiko? Nay, there ain’t any! From the self-recharging Kinetic quartz watches to the Spring Drive, Seiko’s roster runs from the most basic to the most classic, stretching to the Grand Seiko luxury-level mechanical watches. They are competent enough to rubs shoulders with Longines, Vacherons and PP; they are very high-end with peerless construction, reliability and finish. Even Philippe Dufour – the God of Movement Finishing – admits it; after that, you really don’t need to rely upon this article to build your faith on the Seiko.

So why do some still shy away from? Simply because it says Seiko and not some other name that poses as Swiss! But then again, this habituation to conventional luxury is kind of a sadomasochistic relationship between luxury brands and those who own them. These are the brands that prevent you from appreciating good watch-making at reasonable price points. You simply cannot deny it – the goodness of the Seiko watches and their representation of astonishing values.