One of the key aims of this site is to be a source of information for those who collect vintage Grand Seiko. We don’t just list the watches that we have for sale in the anticipation that customers will add them to their collections – we also list watches that we have never had in stock, along with as much data about those watches as we can glean. The intent is to be a reliable source of information about exactly which references were created by Grand Seiko, and to provide data on those references.
We are confident that currently this site contains the most complete, accurate and detailed information on the historical Grand Seiko references that you will find anywhere.
Seiko Sales November 1969
Much of the information regarding vintage Grand Seiko references that you will find on this site has come from extensive and detailed research into the official publications that Seiko produced during the vintage Grand Seiko period.
The monthly newsletters that Seiko distributed to their dealers are a vital source of information. They – along with the annual catalogues – not only provide evidence for what actually existed, but can also be a rich source of data about those watches.
First introduced in this issue of Seiko Sales were the two variants of the highly collectible Grand Seiko 6146-8010 “Arabesque”.
We have recently added a great example of this reference to our stock, so thought it was an opportune moment to write up an article on the Seiko Sales newsletter that introduced the watches to the authorised dealers in Japan.
You can view that listing by clicking on the image below, that shows in detail the feature of the watch that gives it its nickname – the graphic painted in gold around the applied Grand Seiko logo.
Introduced here, and only on sale for a year, it was priced at a significant premium to the regular 6146-8000 model. Whilst the regular model had a retail price of 43,000 Yen, the -8010 was almost 50% more expensive at 60,000 Yen.
Interestingly, it was also simultaneously marketed in two versions with differently faceted crystals – it was the first ever Grand Seiko to feature such a detail.
What is confirmed by the newsletter is that at least part of the increased retail price for this model was down to its use of a hardened stainless steel case and that the faceted crystal was sapphire. It has also been speculated that this model was regulated more accurately than the normal Grand Seikos, and was in fact the precursor to the Grand Seiko “Specials” that were introduced a year later, although we have uncovered no evidence for that claim.
When we flipped through this publication to select some relevant pages to share with the listing of the watch for sale, it soon became apparent that there so many pages of interest to those who collect vintage Grand Seiko, that it would probably make more sense to scan the entire thing!
So we are delighted to share with you a gallery below of 26 images containing scans of the whole publication.
