This week: how I think about buying used, and the when/how I do it; and a note on Austin, Texas.
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Month: February 2023
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Grand Seiko SBGX261
Most of my watches are complicated in nature. I don’t really do simple watches — I am not drawn to them. Even my simplest three-handers (plus date), have things about them (like accent colors) which make them less simple. Most of the time, that’s just fine.
Some of the time, it makes life slightly harder to go about. To select a single watch which fits anything and everything I might wear, is complicated by my watch buying tendencies. And I have long held that a Rolex Datejust (specifically the 36mm model) is among the best (if not the best) simple watches you can get, which will work for everything.
Then I saw a video on the Grand Seiko SBGX261 — this is Grand Seiko’s (more or less) entry level High Accuracy Quartz watch. It’s a simple watch in almost every way, and at 37mm, it is a compelling alternate to Rolex’s Datejust, or is it? I don’t know (ok, it’s essentially better).
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Prepping for Commuters
What if we want to take my idea of preparing for bad things like spilling coffee on your pants, or the more extreme where you find yourself in an unplanned overnight stay at a hotel near your office. Let’s take that thinking and apply it to those who commute on public transit and need to do it all in a reasonable sized bag. Can we get all that you need to stay in a roughly 26L bag and keep you from looking like a lost mountain trekker?
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Filson Original Briefcase versus 24hr Briefcase
Now that I’ve spent time with both of the popular Filson briefcase models — the question that sticks in my head is which is better, and which should you pick? The outright answer to this is that the 24hr Briefcase is the better briefcase. If I could only have one, it would be that one.
However, I don’t think the answer will be as cut and dry for everyone out there. So here’s my comparison between the two popular bags.
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Grand Seiko vs The Western World
A while back, after my first purchase Grand Seiko, I had mentioned in a Member Journal that I was considering the Swiss watch market a bit dead to me — that I might go all in on Grand Seiko going forward. It’s kind of a ridiculous statement for those who think luxury watches are ridiculous, or perhaps just think having one luxury watch is enough — completely valid stand points. It’s where I was, and how I am still feeling about luxury watches today.
And as I’ve been diving deeper into Grand Seiko these days, I’ve come to realize that the way I think about watches, and what I care about in a watch, more closely aligns with Grand Seiko’s watchmaking philosophy than it does any other brand. None of this is to say that Grand Seiko is better than Rolex, Omega, or Patek — it clearly is — but rather to say that the way Grand Seiko approaches watches, feels completely unique in the market.
To that end, I wanted to talk about Grand Seiko versus the Western Watch world, and help those who have not owned a Grand Seiko, understand why those who do own a Grand Seiko may never go back to other brands.