LogFAQs > #975675341

KazGT6 posted...

Hey winged, what do you generally think of upper level Japanese movements or Chinese movements? Or medium level Japanese...etc...?

I love and own several Japanese watches myself. I love anything from the low end (sub 200) to the high end (5 digits). It really depends how punchy a watch can be within their price bracket. An Orient Bambino Small Seconds costs less than $200 and uses a Japanese, robust movement made by Orient (owned by the Seiko Group). It has hacking seconds, a manual wind feature and will run for 10+ years without a service.

Higher end Japanese watches are phenomenal as well and generally represent incredible value. Grand Seiko's finishing is incredible for the money you pay, however up until recently their finishing was really only incredible when looking at the case, dial, dial furniture, and hands. The movements looked pretty good too, but weren't amazing - until recently. When they introduced the Grand Seiko 9SA5 with the Grand Seiko White Birch, this changed completely. Their movements have finally come to the level of the rest of the watch, which is also reflective of their price. Grand Seiko have been moving up market in the last few years which I'm completely okay with seeing as they are developing higher quality timepieces. This is saying quite a lot, because as mentioned before they have been creating excellent watches since the 60s.

On Chinese movements... I'm really not a fan. The finishing is all machined (nothing wrong with that) but they are known to have problems. The difficulty is that when these movements have problems, it's very hard or even impossible to find a watchmaker who will touch them. It's usually cheaper to throw the watch away and buy another. This kind of defeats the purpose of a mechanical watch for me, so I generally stay away. Don't get me wrong there are Chinese movements that have featured very expensive functions like a tourbillon that are impressive because they manage to do it for a very low price. But the problem, again, if it breaks, you can throw it away.

The Japanese have a strong history in watchmaking, and it really shows. The quality is excellent and the prices are more than fair. You will get most bang for buck with Japanese watches. Below you'll see a picture of a Seiko Alpinist Ginza Edition I've acquired in 2021. It's just an example of insane value for money. The dial is beautiful and changes depending on how light hits it. It's reminiscent of the cobblestone floor in front of Ginza's first Seiko boutique. You have a 3 day power reserve movement, 200m water resistance, a screw down crown and a bracelet. If you wanted something Swiss with the same features, you will be paying closer to 4000. This Seiko however cost me $800.https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/6/6/0/AAMtjIAAEyUE.jpg