http://www.gmtplusnine.com Japanese Watch Enthusiasts Tue, 29 Jul 2008 06:56:04 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Orvis has a special place in many a fly fisherman's heart. They make high-quality rods and reels, and brand loyalty among fans is strong. Orvis doesn't make their own watches, they contract with companies, including Citizen, to make watches with the Orvis brand name on them. Yesterday I was lucky ... http://www.gmtplusnine.com/2008/07/27/orvis-zambezi/ I received this Casio G-Shock GW-9200 yesterday and posted a couple of pictures of it on the Watchuseek G-Shock Forum.  "Bluegum", one of the posters replied that it looks like "...the watch Batman would use."  That description struck a chord with me and perfectly illustrates something I like (and I bet ... http://www.gmtplusnine.com/2008/06/26/batmans-watch/ GMT+9 reader "Tom" recently picked up the gorgeous new Grand Seiko Quartz SBGT021.  He was kind enough to send us some pictures along with a few words about the watch and his purchase. Here’s what he had to say: I owned a SBGT015 with the gold dial for about five years and ... http://www.gmtplusnine.com/2008/06/25/grand-seiko-sbgt027-gmt9-reader-initial-impressions/ [flashvideo filename=xl.flv /] Click above Here is another recent G-Shock commercial from Japan, this one made with Japanese youth brand X-Large Clothing. I like the hip-hop tune in the "old-school" style. Enjoy! ### http://www.gmtplusnine.com/2008/06/23/casio-g-shock-x-large-movie/ The Citizen models like the one above had an ultra-stealthy look -- just the single word "CITIZEN" on the dials. Aside from the detailed case polish there was no hint the watches were special. And they had plain casebacks. But these were high-flying birds, with the most accurate quartz movement ... http://www.gmtplusnine.com/2008/06/22/the-citizen-design-trends/ Seiko released information and photos on its Japanese Web site about four of its Grand Seiko designers. They are, from left, [Nobuhiro] Kosugi, Toshiro Matsubara, Eichi Hiratani, and Shinichiro Kubo. This post features Kosugi. Kosugi is a designer of both the Grand Seiko Classic Line, and the Grand Seiko New Line. The ... http://www.gmtplusnine.com/2008/06/21/grand-seiko-four-modern-japanese-watch-designers/ A Grand Seiko Fair will take place from Wednesday, July 2 through Tuesday, July 15 at Takashimaya Department Store in Nagoya, Japan. The 13-floor-high department store is part of the Nagoya Japan Railway Train Station complex (which has restaurants, beauty salons and barber shops at the top on the 51st ... http://www.gmtplusnine.com/2008/06/19/grand-seiko-fair-july-5-15-at-takashimaya-department-store-in-nagoya/ Editor's note: Thought some might enjoy diving deeper into the Seiko Spring Drive Diver's Watch movie. Perhaps this translation will give you a feeling of how these are being marketed in Japan. Click on the image above for the full translation. Enjoy! *** Know the attraction of the Spring Drive Diver's Watch With Seiko Diver's ... http://www.gmtplusnine.com/2008/06/17/grand-seiko-divers-movie-thumbnails-with-translation/ Click on the image above and watch Grand Seiko movies. Six different movies are available. When you get to Seiko Japan's website, choose the movie you'd like to watch by clicking on images on the left hand navigation menu, and then hit the "start" button. Movies are 3 minutes long. They ... http://www.gmtplusnine.com/2008/06/15/grand-seiko-movies/ Seiko has released a new 9F Quartz model with 5-seconds-per-year accuracy. It is a limited edition of 300 units, released in commemoration of the 15th anniversary of the launch of the 9F Quartz movement in 1993. The watch, Grand Seiko SBGT027, retails for ¥399,000, and is only available in ... http://www.gmtplusnine.com/2008/06/14/new-seiko-grand-seiko-sbgt027-5-seconds-per-year-accuracy/ On June 11, Richard Garriott reported on his mission blog about his Seiko Spacewalk. Garriott is a video game programmer and son of a NASA astronaut, and will be the sixth private citizen to travel to the International Space Station. He'll use the specially-designed Seiko watch that uses Seiko's Spring ... http://www.gmtplusnine.com/2008/06/13/seiko-spacewalk-june-11-update/ Seiko Quartz Type II 7546-7010 -- mine was manufactured in May 1978 The Seiko Type II Quartz holds a unique place in the history of three watch companies: Seiko, Citizen, and Bulova. How's that? And what does "Type II" mean? Two Japanese quartz watch fans provides clues on Japanese-language watch blogs. The ... http://www.gmtplusnine.com/2008/06/07/seiko-type-ii-quartz-a-piece-of-history/ "Oh Nooooo!"  That was my thought as I picked up my Grand Seiko yesterday morning realizing that it was dead.  Time for a new battery.  Well, I knew this day was inevitable; the day I would have to change the battery on one of my high-end Seikos.  I just wasn't sure which watch it would ... http://www.gmtplusnine.com/2008/06/06/grand-seiko-battery-change/ LOGAN put another new Casio G-Shock TV commercial up on their Web site. It's called "Attack," and features Casio G-Shock Mudman G-9000. Enjoy! http://www.gmtplusnine.com/2008/06/05/logan-g-shock-tv-commercial-attack/ Citizen watches don't get a lot of ink ... er ... pixals, on GMT+9. Petew's recent review of a long-sought-after Campanola is a noteable exception. Without objection, I'd like to focus on another unusual Citizen today. The Citizen i:VERT is a digital watch that syncs with Sharp 3G cell phones ... http://www.gmtplusnine.com/2008/06/03/citizen-ivert-digital-watch-that-syncs-with-cell-phones/ [flashvideo filename=isopp.flv /] Copyright ©2008 Casio Japan Here's a 25-second-long video from G-Shock Japan's website that highlights---again---creative G-Shock marketing to Japanese youth. The commercial features Japanese b-boy ISSOP (Satoshi Maruyama). Enjoy! ### http://www.gmtplusnine.com/2008/06/02/casio-japan-g-shock-video-25-seconds/ Editor's Note: Chronograph.com launched in 1996 -- at the dawn of the Internet era. It took remarkable foresight for owner Wee Wah Lee to realize online shopping would be the way of the future and to register the domain name "Chronograph.com." Thousands of Internet businesses have come and gone; that Chronograph.com ... http://www.gmtplusnine.com/2008/06/01/1235/ Those familiar with the traditionally ornate look of Citizen's Campanola line would be surprised to see the watch pictured above.  After all, this simple, time only pilot style watch is the antithesis of what collectors expect from a Campanola branded watch.  Just as surprising as the name on the dial ... http://www.gmtplusnine.com/2008/05/23/a-very-unusual-citizen-campanola/ Another month has gone by and the watchlist is ready to be renewed. These auctions cover the time period of April 14 - May 20. The funky watch pictured above is a Ettore Sottsass design Seiko. Sottsass was a very famous Italian modern designer. Like the ... http://www.gmtplusnine.com/2008/05/21/the-gmt9-auction-watchlist-10/ Last week I found photographs of Seiko Spirit SBPB001 posted on a Japanese watch vendor's Web site. I'm glad to see pictures of an actual watch, rather than just catalog images. Some watches we categorize as "fun to wear," and that is what Seiko Spirit SBPB001 looks like to me. The ... http://www.gmtplusnine.com/2008/05/04/seiko-spirit-sbpb001-power-design-project-pictures/ Photograph by Seiko This new SBDD001 Kinetic Direct Drive Marinemaster is slated for a May 2008 release. Details are sketchy, but here's what I can tell you: Movement is the 5D22 Kinetic with handwinding capability. List price is 241,500 yen. Size is indicated as a whopping 49mm. This might include the crown, ... http://www.gmtplusnine.com/2008/04/21/a-new-marinemaster-release/ Welcome to GMT+9's latest presentation of various auctions that we and our readers deemed interesting of late. These auctions cover the time period of March 7th - April 14th. The watch pictured above is a Seiko 5M45 Kinetic GMT Brightz. I believe that this was the first ... http://www.gmtplusnine.com/2008/04/15/the-gmt9-auction-watchlist-9/ Photograph by Seiko I've been thinking more and more about Seiko's Spacewalk announcement and release. I'm starting to realize what a great marketing opportunity this could be for Seiko. So much so in fact that if I were Omega, I would be watching this project very closely. As much as ... http://www.gmtplusnine.com/2008/04/08/further-thoughts-on-the-seiko-spacewalk/ Photograph by Seiko Kohei Sato at Timezone just reported that Seiko has announced the release of a brand new Spring Drive chronograph marketed directly at the venerable Omega Speedmaster. This no nonsense bullhead design is all about functionality. Super legible military style dial, lots of lume, cool hands and ... http://www.gmtplusnine.com/2008/04/03/lets-go-for-a-spacewalk/ Last month Casio Japan released model GW-M5600 (shown above). The watch features a new, smaller Multi Band 5 antenna, allowing Casio to release a Tough Solar version of the 5600 series that can synchronize with atomic clocks in Japan, the United States, and Europe. At first glance, the watch may appear ... http://www.gmtplusnine.com/2008/03/22/gw-m5600-g-shock/ An advertisement on the last page of the April 2008 issue of Free & Easy magazine caught my eye. It features a new, limited edition model G-5500 G-Shock. The watch comes in three variations, a US Army version, a US Air Force version, and a US Marine Corps one. The ... http://www.gmtplusnine.com/2008/03/22/casio-g-shock-g-5500-limited-edition-military-versions/ Grand Seiko SBGA029 photograph by Seiko Kohei Sato posted a picture of the new Grand Seiko Diver on Timezone today. It's a ground breaking announcement for the GS nameplate. Over the last couple of years, the look of many Grand Seikos has crossed over from the staid traditional dress ... http://www.gmtplusnine.com/2008/03/14/not-your-fathers-grand-seiko/ One year ago, the US dollar/Japanese yen exchange rate was around $1 = ¥120. That means 12 months ago a watch that retailed in Japan for ¥100,000 costed about $835. Today, a ¥100,000 watch goes for $1,000. This is the first time since the dawn of the Internet age the ... http://www.gmtplusnine.com/2008/03/13/1-vs-100/ My colleague Petew recently broke the news on GMT+9 of the resurrection of the Seiko Phoenix. Today I noticed Seiya Kobayashi in Tokyo unveiled one of the brand new Phoenix models on his Web site SeiyaJapan.com. I immediately contacted Seiya-san and asked if he'd let me share photos of the watch, ... http://www.gmtplusnine.com/2008/03/11/seiko-phoenix-chronograph-model-sagh005-with-caliber-6s28-movement/ The buzz around the water cooler Monday at offices in America was a national story that tap water in the US is more contaminated than many realized. Last weekend I heard Bobby Kennedy Jr. on the radio say monitoring at the mouth of the Columbia River, monitoring that has been ... http://www.gmtplusnine.com/2008/03/10/new-mercury-free-seiko-watch-batteries/ Welcome back to another installment of the Auction Watchlist. I've got watches to show covering auctions from 01/11/08 - 03/06/08. The first watch shown is probably my favorite. It's a 7K36 Cruising Master which is a cousin of both the 7K52 diving computers and 7k32 Land/Marinemasters. ... http://www.gmtplusnine.com/2008/03/06/the-gmt9-auction-watchlist-8/