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rodrigohyde · 6 years

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What's Old Is New Again Says The Watch Snob

How Do You Say French In Japanese?

I've gained invaluable insight through your columns. Particularly [with regards to] movements, aesthetics and value vs. marketing.

Looking beyond the Rolex, Omega, Longines, and Tags, which I believe command a higher price because of the label, there seem to be brands that offer excellent value for the money. Without having a fancy globally recognized logo.

Sometime back you had provided excellent insight to my previous query [with regards to] Brellum. I have since come across Yema. The models do resemble some Oris brands and some models resemble Zenith.

In a world where we are bombarded with too many options, where does Yema stand? Also, any other lesser known brands that offer value for quality?

As always, your advice is very much appreciated.

Yema, the current brand, is a type of company rather common in modern watchmaking – the original firm went out of business thanks to the Quartz Crisis, and for a while the brand name and I presume, any related trademarks, were actually owned by Seiko. It is a name of which many Frenchmen are proud, however; it was one of the few successful mechanical watch firms to enjoy some success outside Switzerland, and to this day many French people recall the name quite fondly. It’s even become somewhat collectible and vintage Yema is now an interesting and still relatively affordable entry into collecting vintage watches.

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The modern company is essentially a resurrection of the brand name; there is no continuity of manufacturing between the old company and the new. An analogous situation would be if someone American bought the Hamilton name back from Swatch Group and undertook to assemble watches in the USA again. Normally this sort of thing is completely uninteresting, but I give the new company – and make no mistake, it is a new company – credit for respecting the original firm, in terms of its designs.

That said, I think they are something of a niche firm – you really need to be a fan of the original Yema designs, and/or be interested in something off the beaten track, and moreover you must accept the general immediate depreciation that accompanies most small niche brands. None of these are reasons to avoid them, but be aware of what you’re getting into. If you do find Yema designs interesting, you may be better off collecting vintage Yema rather than pieces from the new incarnation.

Change Of Heart For The Wrist

I just caught up on your last few posts and noticed a conflict in your thoughts. In your article titled “Wait... Batman Wore A Rolex?” you seem to dislike the new Rolex GMT SS Pepsi by stating the “silly use of the Jubilee bracelet”. But in your article titled “Precious Time” you state with regards to the New SS Pepsi “the Jubilee bracelet seems to set some people’s teeth on edge as inappropriate for a Rolex sports watch, but the GMT Master has appeared on a Jubilee bracelet before now and in any case, I rather like it on the new Pepsi – it gives the watch a little mid-century flair, if you ask me.”

Can you clarify?

While I may have your attention at the moment, would you mind commenting on the new Grand Seiko 9F GMT watches that are coming out soon, if you have seen or heard of them.

Hah! Caught in the act of changing my mind. Well, I suppose I ought to admit that it did strike me as silly at first – however, it’s rather grown on me and I suppose there is nothing more sinister behind the first, and later take on the bracelet, than that it has grown on me on that particular watch. As much as I do enjoy giving the impression that my word is the last word on all things horological, I believe it is salutary to occasionally note that even the strongest opinions are subject to revision.

On the question of Grand Seiko quartz caliber 9F GMT watches, I have heard the rumors but of course, what Grand Seiko plans on that front is known only to Grand Seiko. I would most certainly welcome such a timepiece, though; a most logical development of the 9F movement.

Don’t Let The Details Lead To Disappointment

I believe your horological perspicacity might be capable of resolving what has, embarrassingly, become the hardest decision of my life thus far. I cannot decide between two irreproachable Grand Seikos ; specifically, the SBGR097 and the SBGH267. The former offers a lovely blue dial with a "GS" motif, no date, a 4 Hz movement, and "SEIKO" labeling with "GS" labeling relegated to 6 o'clock. The latter offers a different lovely blue dial with "GS" motif, date, a 5 Hz movement, and "Grand Seiko" labeling with a cleaner 6 o'clock. I prefer the dial color of the former, the motif of the latter, the no date of the former, the beat rate of the latter, and, in honesty, don't care especially much about the labeling. Indeed, I'm not sure why I mentioned it at all. To complicate things further, the 097 is limited to 500, although it has sibling watches that are not limited editions, and the 267 is limited to 1500, with, I believe, sibling watches that are also not limited editions. Rarity is somewhat important to me. As my wallet suffers so similarly between the two choices as to not factor in my decision, only my heart and brain are engaged in a battle; one of emotional and logical confusion. Oh help me, Loupe Liege!

“Loupe Liege” is pretty good – like most apparently brittle-shelled individuals who affect to disdain the views of others, I am underneath it all susceptible to flatter so thank you for brightening my afternoon.

Well you certainly have presented me with a difficult choice, and I can understand your struggle. I would say this: they seem to be very similar watches, but you have enumerated the differences between the two most clearly and these details add up. Grand Seiko is nothing if not a kind of watch that lives in the details.

I think the labeling is key to understanding the difference in appeal between the two watches, both of which, by the way, are most beautiful. The SBGR097 has a quite stunning dial and the deep, almost impassioned blue is indeed almost irresistible but the labeling, as a design element, contributes to what is a slightly fussy-seeming dial relative to SBGH267.

The SBGH267, on the other hand, by comparison strikes me as a more mature design. The dial is more subtle in coloration than is the case with SBGR097, but in person it is incredibly compelling, and though it is a bit less obviously seductive at first blush, it really grows on you the longer you look at it. This is not to say that SBGR097 would not age well, but the electric blue may not give quite as much of a sense of discovery. SBGH267 is, of the two, the one I personally would most choose to wear if I were choosing a daily-wear wristwatch.

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