Building a Complete Collection with Grand Seiko

Wait, so are you are you playing chess with me? A little bit. I actually don't know where you're going next. That's funny you say that because I don't either. Hi everyone, Teddy Baldasar here. We're in Westlake, Ohio at our boutique, and today we have another challenge with Grand Seiko. We're going to be building the best collection possible, three watches each, and this is the weekend before our big Grand Seiko event, so it just felt like the right time to do this. But it's only fun to do this if you have some So today I have Danny Milton joining me again. I have not left the store since last time we did this. I've been sleeping back there. That's very good. How are the accommodations back there? It's not super comfortable for sleeping, but otherwise it's beautiful. Well now you have the upper hand though, so you have a good understanding of the store now. We've done a couple of these and it just felt right to do Grand Seiko. So for those that are not familiar with this format, do you want to explain how this works? Basically, Teddy and I are going head to head. There will be three watches. We're each trying to build the best collection of, in a certain brand today, being Grand Seiko. At the end, there will be a panel of judges that will say which was the better collection, and then also try to guess blindly whose collection that it was. Now additionally, later, once the video is published, it really is up to you, the audience, in the comments section, and I will say the last time we did this, I was fairly certain I lost one of the videos, and the audience kind of went counter to that. I think they started feeling pretty bad for you to lose. It might have been a bit of a pity party for me. People like to be contrarians. They like to pick different things, but hey, we'll let them decide. They can decide what is the true winner at the end. For sure, and as usual, we like to make things interesting, kind of add a twist to everything. So while Teddy and I are each trying to build our perfect three-watch Grand Seiko collection, no price limit, just what we feel is the perfect Grand Seiko collection, we have the ability to block one of each other's choices, but not both of us. We're actually going to flip a coin in a second, and whoever wins the coin flip has two choices. They can either go first or they can defer, and if they defer, they have the opportunity to block the other. So it's kind of like football, except watches. Yeah, defer the kickoff, I'm going to take the block. Exactly. I want to take in the second half. Do you have the coin? I happen to have the coin, a good old five cents with Thomas Jefferson and Monticello ready to play. You'd be very surprised how hard it is to find a coin in a shop. We don't actually think about this. It was an adventure to find this nickel, for sure. It's a very dirty nickel. Nickels are still in circulation. We got the 2023, not even that old. Okay, all right, here we go. Should I call it? Call it in the air. Okay. Tails. It is tails. Is it tails? All right. Which one are you? You know what, I'm going to let you go first. Wow, look at this. All right, so that means that I'm at risk for the rest of this, the proceedings. No, you could just exercise options. I know, I know. That's how I would frame it, but all right. What do you think, sir? Every time I try to balance the idea of what do I personally pick versus what is sort of empirically a good collection, I think one watch in the Grand Seiko collection falls into both categories. It's the most obvious pick we're going to have today, I think. I know where you're going, all right. It's the SBGM 221. Okay, I knew you were going to do this. And it's similar to a watch that I have on my wrist, but I think that Grand Seiko flops, I knew that was going to happen. And I had a backup plan. Wait, so are you playing chess with me? A little bit. Okay, so you were trying to put that out there, okay. So I'm going to go in the same sort of universe of where I was picking, and I'm going to go with the SBGM 257, because I am a blue dial guy. Okay. And if I was going to have an alternative to what I consider to be the iconic Grand Seiko GMT, a format that really is Grand Seiko through and through, I think this kind of elevates the form. It speaks to Grand Seiko's dial mastery, and it has that kind of twinkle to the blue on the dial that you can kind of spot from across the room. This has a much more aggressive texture. Absolutely. I know you like warm tones, so that's why I did throw you off there. So I know you're probably saying that you do enjoy the blue, which I know you also do. Yes, absolutely. That navy color. But I also know that you're a two-tone guy. Totally. You're a warm... And the audience is with me on that. Hey, this is a great pick. So this is a newer release, but you're getting a little bit of a different flavor with the texture on the dial, still getting the 9S6 GMT caliber on the inside. And a nice contrast. I think the yellow and the blue coloration is really something that's very striking, and it really, to me, elevates what's already sort of like an elegant styling of that kind of watch. This is the first time someone's used their block this early. We always waited. I went with risk knowing I was picking one that was like very much bullseye on the board. You started building it up. I'm like, you know what, I feel like I should exercise my options now. All right, so that changes the dynamic though. So now you can act freely. We are now playing a level... I have way less fear from here on out. Okay. Okay. So my choice, my choice. Three watches. And the other thing to remember too, because I blocked, this watch is now removed. SBGM221 is removed from field, so I cannot pick it. I actually forgot about that rule. That's great to be reminded of, so thank you. Yeah, so I actually removed it for myself. Yes. But that felt too obvious. People know I love that watch. So Danny, I remember we were talking personally about your Grand Seiko collecting journey, and we were talking about watches for you that could make sense. I'm going to pick one of those watches right now. Oh, that's great. The Omiwatari. This is one of my favorite Grand Seikos in general. One, it represents a strange spot in the catalog because it has a case that not many other Grand Seikos are going to mirror. And I call this basically the Omiwatari case. Yep. Just because it has this 38 and a half millimeter case size. There's really nothing else that wears like it. Manual wound caliber on the inside, power reserves on the reverse side. When this came out, there was always that conversation, hey, why don't you put more power reserves on the back? This was the one watch that was sustaining it. Thin on the wrist, and then just look at the beautiful symmetry. Well, it's a perfect color. It does sit a bit more elevated in price compared to some of the more entry-level spring drive calibers, but come on. It's just a beautifully positioned watch. This is a great choice. All right. So two takes. A little bit of blue. Rolling strong blue so far. Two takes on blue. I'm thinking color today. Okay. And I'm also, I'm not going to sort of signpost any of my decision-making here, but I'm thinking collection. I'm thinking utility. All right. Thinking different use cases, thinking different movement types. And I'm going to go with a new watch for 2026 in green. Ushio green. Okay. I'm going the new Ushio UFA diver in green. A watch that I had some ability to see hands on when we were in Switzerland together. And while I typically, if this was going to be in a vacuum, would have gravitated towards the blue, I think in light of what I'm building, it has a nice kind of contrast. If you were to make a three watch box and you were to have a sort of like on display to look at every morning about where you're going to choose. I mean, these dial textures are really playing off each other just visually, but then I'm getting a proper dive watch. I'm getting all the movement technology and I'm staying in my size realm. I'm not, I'm not going up in size. I'm not sort of betraying who I am as a watch collector. I really enjoy that. Why green over blue? Mostly because of the collection we're building. So I'm trying to stay true to, I kind of had the audience in my head. I keep the judges in my mind and I'm trying to make diversity. So I have what I would consider to be the blue watch in my collection. So I think I can say, now that I'm not being blocked, I can say some things. You're not going to see me pick blue anymore. No, it's strong. It's good. I feel like I can't pick the blue dial on now because you pick that. That'd be copying you as much as I was thinking about it. It's not off limits, not against the rules. You could pick it. But they'll hold it against me. The judges will hold it against me. I would hold it against me. They will hold it against me more than the judges because the judges will not know what happened first, but that's a good pick. Oh man, I wish I had a block just so I could preserve the plan that I have here. He's going to go SPGA 413. I know where he's going to go. You don't know that. He's going to go that way. I may have changed his mind now. You know, Danny's getting pretty crazy, spending a lot of money. I'm going to show that you can get something fabulous for not as much money. How about we go for an SPGX 9F, 37 millimeters. I love this watch actually. This is the 261. I actually really like this watch. $2,700. This is one of the most underrated watches. All right, so I have a watch that's pretty romantic, more dress-oriented. But what if I wanted something that was more utilitarian, everyday, don't have to worry about? Truly everyday. 100 meters of water resistance. The big stigma they have with quartz is that people think it's disposable. 9F is not disposable. It's made to be serviced. If you look at a 9F and its bridges, it actually looks better than a lot of mechanical movements at multiples of its price. It's kind of sad. It actually is very well finished. On top of it, you're getting a caliber as well with plus or minus 10 seconds a year. Yeah, absolutely. So there's a lot to like here. It's honestly, that dial, as simple as it looks, really plays nicely with all kinds of lighting conditions. This is a watch that punches way, way above its weight. It's $2,700. Way above its weight. And the caliber, going back to 9F, there's over 100 components just in the caliber. There's more components in this quartz watch than a lot of mechanical three-hand movements out there on the market. This quartz is done right. That's a good pick. And I'm saving some money. So I have spent less money with two watches than you have. We very intentionally, when we devised this show, we did not put prices on it. I'm just letting the people know at home what I am doing. Playing to the audience at home, listen, that's fine. I'm going to do me. We're not all just made of money like Danny, where we can just spend as much as we can. In this monopoly world that we've created for ourselves, I'm going to spend all of the big bucks that I've got. And I don't care if Teddy called it, Shun Bun is where I'm headed. I knew it. It's where I'm going. It's where I was meant to be. It completes my color palette creation. You telegraphed it. You telegraphed the choice. I know. I saw you lock eyes. I could have gone. I could have gone snowflake. I could have. It still works. But honestly, it's a watch. All three of these watches, I would legitimately, any one of them would want personally. And they speak to my taste in Grand Seiko. And here's a watch. First of all, I'm getting Spring Drive in the collection here. In a watch that I think as much as the Snowflake, as much as the SPGM 221, I think it is one of the icons of Grand Seiko now. Like truly. Oh, yeah. It's such a subtle pink color. I'm from Washington, DC. Cherry Blossoms also are part of where I'm from. All right. So it's my personal story, guys. I'm sorry I'm not trying to be as money conscious here. I'm having things that speak to my soul. And this speaks to my soul, Teddy. And I really, when I look at this collection, it really, I think if there was a world where I could make this a reality, I would. I mean, you talked about this being like an icon of the brand. It absolutely is. And I remember when Grand Seiko was just getting off the ground. So the Snowflake, at least when I'm getting off the ground in the U.S. And it became like this international brand. Snowflake is what helped establish them. This is where you really saw them like take everything that they were able to establish and move them forward. Like the Four Seasons collections. And I've talked about it. I actually wanted to review the 415. I remember I saw this collection. I saw all the renders. And I asked Grand Seiko, hey, like, could you, if there's ever a sample available, I'd love to be able to take a look at it and cover it for our channel. And they accidentally sent me this. And I'm like, I don't want a pink watch. And then I saw it and I took it out. It's so subtle. It's unbelievable. Yeah. It was one of the coolest surprises I've ever had. And it was a great reminder to me that you don't write off a watch completely until you start to experience a little bit more. Okay. All of that said, I gassed up your pick a lot there. So I have to really bring it home here. You blocked my first pick and telegraphed my third pick. And I perhaps hurt myself because I do think that that watch would look really good in my collection right now. This is tough. I actually don't know where you're going next. That's funny you say that because I don't either. I have no idea what I'm going to do. You can renege on something you said previously and you can always go for the blue diamond. I also want to express an issue that I'm having here and an issue with the framework of this. Yes. So the Evolution 9 Collection was released. Now the E9 Collection. The E9 Collection was updated just a few days ago. Those watches are available, at least so you know they exist, but they're not present. Physically here. Yeah. We don't have them yet. I am at a disadvantage right now because I would probably pick one of those watches here, but I can't do that. Will they hold it against me if I copy you? I don't think so because I don't know that it's copying. I honestly think when there are two distinctly different colors, it just comes down to what you like more. It is very clear that this is the best choice. You know what's really funny is I think the judges are going to think that your collection is my collection. For some strange reason, I don't think they're going to get this right. You're probably right. Because I would totally go with this one. The SBGX. I would do that. I bet they're all going to guess that that's you. But reason for the blue. See, I have my dress watch. I have the pinnacle of utility within the catalog. And then I have a different take on utility with the dive watch. Now getting basically this Rolls Royce of Japanese engineering and the dive watch factor. Getting NRB, the series caliber on the inside. Wears great. I like my picks. I like mine too. I mean, I'm getting all sorts of complication and movement technology. And the dial mastery all in three watches. I don't have a mechanical option. Which is, so you have the mechanical, but you also don't have 9F. So we're basically deciding between those two what caliber family you want to pick. All right. So let's just recap before we introduce this to our judges. So everybody understands. So you picked out SBGA413. You have the SBGM257. And then the Ushio 300 green. Yes. I had the Ushio 300 blue. Only with Atari. And then I had the SBGX261. We can show on the screen just the amount of dollars spent. So people can just factor that into their decision. I do want to throw that out there. I think I win. I think I win that one without having to have any opinion on it. But you know what? We've talked a lot, Danny. I think it's time for our judges. We have three judges. We're going to pass the mic down the aisle. They're going to assess and make a decision on which one they prefer. We might have a split. We could. Now that we have three judges instead of one, anything can happen. So it's like a heavyweight boxing fight. Like UFC fight. We'll see what the judges decide. Okay, Danny. So we have made our selections, but it is now out of our hands. The judge panel has gotten bigger from last time. Well, we wanted to have diversity of opinion because I thought there could be some easy collusion that could take place. So, you know, in the last time. The fusions of collusion. Every time. There was still collusion. Well, you know, people can say what they want. They can say what they want. That's fine. This is a little bit different. So we're going to be doing. We have not disclosed whose collection is who. But they are going to quickly go down the line. So we have Javier. We have John. We have Nicole. They're going to quickly analyze the collection. They're going to ultimately give their opinion why they selected one of the collections over the other. And then if they want to, you can try to guess whose collection belongs to who. Perfect. So Javier, you want to kick it off? We'll lead it off. Beautiful selections here just to start. Really love this one as well. Just with the. We both laid on a theme of dive watch. Everyday watch. And also maybe something a little bit accented with it. Grand Seiko Quartz. Time all your watches with it. Kind of set them all accordingly. Very good. Especially with the Ushio Diver. Very well done. This collection is going to be very well done as well. I would say the GMT element is what kind of attracts me a little bit more. A little bit more well-rounded in that aspect. Especially for traveling. Both very close. But in my personal opinion, I do really like this collection as well. I fell in love with the Green Diver right when I saw it. Shun Bun. Most popular watch in Grand Seiko's line for a reason. And then this new GMT right here is right on the nose. Okay. I agree with Mr. Javier's assessment of these collections. I like both of them. I think that there's some really good options here. I won't rehash exactly what you said. But you pretty much laid it out the best way possible. I will say as somebody who owns a sky blue Grand Seiko dial. That I kind of am leaning towards this tray here because of the Alman Guattari. And I do think having the 9F Quartz is kind of a... It's a nice addition. Underrated sort of sleeper of the entire Grand Seiko line. So I think while this is a very close call and I do love this tray. I'm going to lean slightly in favor. We've split. We have a split. There was some personal... So no pressure. There was a personal attachment there that pulled him towards it. But that's a good... I mean, that's a sign of a judge that's thinking about it in a different way. I like that. So Nicole, you can decide it all. It's like back to our roots. Yeah. It's Nicole's call. I love how we added two more judges and it's basically the same result. So I'm going to go with this collection. And the reason why I'm doing that is because you got a little bit of everything here, I feel. You've got your new take on the classic. So you have the new iteration of the GMT, which I think is really cool, especially in that blue dial. And then you have your Shun Bun, which is unmatched. That pink, the texture of it's incredible. And then you have the new UFA diver, which is a great size for a diver. So I really like this one. This one's nice. It's got the quartz on there, which I think is a great step into Grand Seiko for people. But this is too much blue and darker. And this gives you a little bit more variation in color. It's a shame. John's the only person at the company has good taste besides me. I can't believe it. I knew it. Did anyone not think... Did anyone think this was Teddy? No. I thought it was Teddy. Okay. I thought this was going to read as not me. Well, Danny, it looks like you won here, but maybe people at home... Maybe not. As we know, they might think differently. Exactly. So you guys got to see all of this. Who do you think won this collection battle? Leave comments down below. Also, if you enjoyed these videos, let us know in the comments. Is there another brand that you would like us to do this for in the future? I'd like to thank our judges. Thank you all for watching. And Danny, thank you for some good competition. Thanks, Ernie.