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.
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.
As those who saw our earlier scans of the February 1964 issue of Seiko News will notice, there was a theme running through the magazines in 1964 where the covers were all sports related – tying in of course with Tokyo’s hosting of the Olympic Games that year.
The February issue introduced the 43999, and in this issue we see it highlighted on page 8 as one of the watches that Seiko was promoting for their water resistance –
Today, it may seem rather odd for this reference to be promoted from a sports perspective, but here we see that it was the watch’s water resistance to 50 meters that was the key marketing message being used (although we’re not sure that customers would be taking a dip in the pool or at the beach with their 43999 Grand Seikos on a leather strap!).