Tastes change with age. I’d always thought of gold watches as gaudy. In bad taste. Self-indulgent. Hedonistic. Either that, or I considered them watches for old people. For retirees. But recently it struck me how fun it would be to wear a gold Grand Seiko as an everyday watch. To wear to the office. To wear pumping gas. Solid gold Grand Seikos are sexy.

Collecting watches is an enjoyable hobby, but usually not a good investment. Yet, with the steadily weakening US dollar caused by fears of a looming economic recession in America, watches with 18 karat gold cases, such as Grand Seikos, become more valuable each year. The chart above shows how gold has appreciated over the past seven years. Last week, gold traded at over $700 US per ounce. Gold is a good hedge against inflation.

Even the value of a book with a gold Grand Seiko on the cover has risen sharply. The out-of-print book Japanese book called The Seiko Book, released in 1995, retailed for 2,200 Yen (about $20) but now sells for over $85 used.

But economic reasons are not why I think it would be enjoyable to have one of these beautiful watches. Admit it. Part of the fun of wearing big divers watches, or large analog chronographs, or even Casio G-Shocks, is that their large size makes them stand out. They get noticed. Now think of the audacity it would take to wear a gold watch.

Seiko has been making gold Grand Seikos for a long time. The Grand Quartz above from the mid-1970s is a beautiful example. Unfortunately, I’m not able to document the name of the person who took this photo because the auction I grabbed it from ended before I got a chance. But I wanted to include it with this story since the caseback, with the gold battery hatch, is so beautiful and unique.

Grand Seiko Caliber 6146
Photo: utiwa1619

Seiko used gold to make Grand Seikos since the 1960s. Even on stainless steel versions, such as the one featured above, a gold medallion with the Seiko GS logo was inscribed on the back of the watches.

Photo: dskatou

During the 1980s and early 1990s, many versions of gold Grand Seikos with quartz movements were released. For those who prefer metal bracelets to leather watchbands, models such as SBGS006, which retailed for 1,890,000 Yen (about $16,400 US), might appeal. It was powered by a 9587-8010 caliber quartz movement, and the case size was 35mm across, excluding the crown. Imagine how heavy it must be.

The 45 caliber automatic Grand Seiko Hi-Beat shown above, listed on Yahoo! Japan Auctions by dskatou, features an 18k gold cushion case. According to the auction, the seller hopes to at least get 260,000 Yen for the watch (about $2,500 US). That’s almost affordable, compared to . . .

The 4520 automatic caliber Grand Seiko VFA (Very Fine Adjust) offered for sale by marantz7. It’s priced at 3,001,000 Yen (about $26,000 US). According to the seller, the watch was released between 1969–1970, and only 173 units were produced. It’s an astronomical observatory model, with a movement that won the Swiss competition for the most accurate watch movement.

Photos: Sale851 | M9518

So much for dreams. If you’re like me, the reality is if you want a gold watch in the Grand Seiko style, you’ll probably buy a gold-colored one instead of an 18k gold one. Something like the quartz Bently above left, that retails for 10,000 Yen (about $85 US). Or maybe you’ll buy one like the automatic Seiko 5 on the right, that sells for 15,000 Yen (about $130 US). A Japanese sales ad actually recommends the Bently as a good watch for gold Grand Seiko owners to wear when they don’t want to risk wearing the Seiko. The Seiko 5 is a “made in Japan” version I’ve only seen for sale in Japan.

Although some gold Grand Seiko models can only be mined by the filthy rich, clean used ones sell for under $3,000 US. In Japan I saw a few older men wear Grand Seikos, people like presidents of universities and top executives at corporations, but I don’t remember seeing anyone with a gold one. I can imagine a Japanese politician wearing one, and can imagine myself wearing one too.

Note: The first and last image is of Grand Seiko SBGR002, retail 808,500 Yen (about $7,000 US), photo by try3316. The retail price of this current-production model jumped $1,000, up from 700,000 Yen, as of July 1, 2006. I take back what I said about gold being a good hedge against inflation.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, September 16th, 2007 at 8:43 pm and is filed under Seiko. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.