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"It's just a Seiko"

31K views 477 replies 138 participants last post by  wuyeah 
#1 ·
Most brands have their fans and detractors. We all have different tastes. But it feels to me that Seiko is often singled out for particular loathing. I'm curious to know why.
 
#2 ·
I honestly don't think they're loathed - at least not in my readings. If anything, around here, they're adored.
 
#3 ·
Yep - I've seen no loathing on here.

In real life the "just a Seiko" attitude is more common (and by 'In real life' I mean the average man on the street) because they know Seiko as a lowish priced watch with fairly tame styling and reasonable quality, sat between the more desirable fashion watches or higher priced Rolex/Breitling/Omega in most high streets.

Seiko is the safe middle ground.
 
#4 ·
Yep - I've seen no loathing on here.

In real life the "just a Seiko" attitude is more common (and by 'In real life' I mean the average man on the street) because they know Seiko as a lowish priced watch with fairly tame styling and reasonable quality, sat between the more desirable fashion watches or higher priced Rolex/Breitling/Omega in most high streets.

Seiko is the safe middle ground.
OK, maybe loathe is the wrong word but I see blanket dislike of the brand. To dismiss an entire brand seems odd.
 
#8 ·
I think it's because for the majority of average watch wearers it is just a Seiko. Most people see them at the mall for a hundred dollars next to the Timex and don't know anything about their serious, high-end offerings and suffer from the stigma of their average everyman affordable watches.

Would you wear a Grand Timex?

I think it's difficult to play all fields. They may be unique in that they have such a wide range of price points from disposable watches all the way up to the Grand Seiko but for most people they are synonymous with an average inexpensive watch.
 
#16 ·
I think it's because for the majority of average watch wearers it is just a Seiko. Most people see them at the mall for a hundred dollars next to the Timex and don't know anything about their serious, high-end offerings and suffer from the stigma of their average everyman affordable watches.

Would you wear a Grand Timex?

I think it's difficult to play all fields. They may be unique in that they have such a wide range of price points from disposable watches all the way up to the Grand Seiko but for most people they are synonymous with an average inexpensive watch.
It's all about marketing and branding and little to do with intrinsic quality. In automotive world, Hyundai tried the same strategy as Seiko and didn't do too well. Their Genesis and Equus models at the top end apparently were comparable to the best from German and Japanese luxury brands but suffered from "Who would buy a $60,000 Hyundai?" Last I heard, Hyundai is going to do like the Japanese brands and start a luxury brand named... Genesis. Japanese were smart to start separate luxury brands from the get-go like Toyota with Lexus, Nissan with Infiniti, and Honda with Acura. There may have been some snide comments in the beginning but no one scoffs at the luxury Japanese car brands anymore. Perhaps Seiko should do the same and start a separate luxury brand.
 
#9 ·
I rarely see anything but praise for Seiko. On WUS, the few times that I've seen the phrase "it's just a Seiko" is usually when the topic is Grand Seiko. There are some who find it hard to accept, or perhaps were unaware, that there are some Japanese watches with prices equivalent to some well known Swiss brands.
 
#13 ·
Honestly, this is the type of post that breeds any underlying contempt for the brand. If the watch in question is not a Grand Seiko (or a Spring Drive which could be considered an "auto") we all know you were remarkably lucky and most Seikos are not remotely that well regulated.

Back to the OP in general. It is arguable that Seiko has the more universal love/respect of any single major brand on WUS. This is what I wrote in a similar thread a while ago in the Seiko forum:

Sorry guys but :rodekaart.

If WUS has a true darling brand it is Seiko, period. This thread is a like a Ivy league educated man, from a Connecticut blue blood family with a household last name that complains he can't catch a break in life. I get it you expect universal love but just be glad your favorite brand isn't Panerai, Hublot or AP.

There are a laundry list of brands that get 10 times the hate that Seiko does and 1/10th the love. Venturing into F2 can sometimes be a hard knock life if you can't accept criticism of things you love and admire, it isn't a happy little home where most everyone agrees like most brand forums tend to be. It is however the best place on WUS to gain perspective, it can be brutal to every watch from a $50 homage watch to a $50K horology classic, but there is a amazing level of insight and knowledge that passes through there. In F2 you are always going to get all levels of love and hate for any given piece and the more love you see the more hate you will see, it is the natural order of balance. If you are FC Barcelona, the New York Yankees or Mercedes Petronas you are going to have haters. It is when people have NO strong opinion that you need to be concerned.

https://www.watchuseek.com/f21/seiko-hate-2797258.html

In the end VERY little hate and almost universal love and/or respect, and Seiko fan that feels their brand is singled out for hate here is rather blind to the numbers of brands that receive FAR more universal "hate" and contempt.

 
#11 ·
The issue with seiko is they use the same brand name for a $50 watch, a $5,000 watch, and everything in between. Since 99% of the population only know of the low end watches, you have the "just a Seiko" mentality.

Its also similiar to Rolex. Because most people have inky either seen a fake Rolex or a practically identical homage submariner, the real Rolex gets a negative image.
 
#12 · (Edited)
I would have to concur that many non-WIS people associate Seiko with quartz watches sold at Zales, Wal-Mart, etc. If they only knew of the great lines of automatics.

As for this form, if one interjects, Invicta, into the statement, "It's just an Invicta" then I would say, yeah, the word, loath, would be one word frequently used in the same sentence as Invicta.

I do have to say Invicta makes a pretty good steel clasp band with nice dimensions (20mm at the lugs and 18mm at the clasp).
 
#18 ·
Where are they loathed or disliked on WUS? There is a separate forum dedicated to Seiko and Citizen watches on WUS. And there are several other forums that follow watches from those makers.

However I do recall hearing that comment about Seiko, Citizen and Casio watches during the 1970's and 1980's when the big three overwhelmed the european brands. It probably originated with disgruntled sellers and was mindlessly repeated by some watch buyers. Haven't heard it for a long time.
 
#19 ·
Because some people buy a brand to set them selves up above the crowd. They see some waiter wearing the same brand as they are and this affects their self esteem.
Because some people are Eurocentric and think that only the Swiss can make good watches.
Because they equate luxury and status signallers to heavily marketed brands and Seiko is awful at marketing.
 
#136 ·
There's nothing wrong with Timex and Casio. They just trade in a different price bracket than Rolex or Patek. Seiko trades mostly at the lower end bracket too and thus are more ubiquitous, which makes them underwhelming if you are trying to show off.

I remember watching a Top Gear episode where they were driving the Lexus LFA (a car worth about 1.5 times the baby Lambos and Ferraris most people are aware of) and while they kept on saying how great it was, they said "at the end of the day, it's a Lexus." We can't expect everyone to know everything about all things, and so, when you run into a product that you don't know much about, you default to what you know about the brand. And Seikos are cheaper than Rolexes, so the default mindset is "it's just a Seiko," even if it's a GS. That happens to everyone about some topic, whether it be cars, headphones, designer clothing (who the heck knew about Public School until recently with the IWC videos?), electronics, and yes, even watches.
 
#23 ·
I have not come across a single person who has a negative view of Seiko. As all the other replies state - quite the opposite. I'm not sure where the OP has seen this loathing but I have never come across it. Seiko make fantastic value mechanical watches.


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#32 ·
I think in general people like to categorize watch brands into inexpensive, mid-level, high end, etc., which of course you can't do with Seiko since their range is $50 to over $10,000.

But my guess is that 95% of the population believes that Seiko produces only low end quartz watches; does not know or care that they produce excellent mechanical watches; and
has certainly never even heard of Grand Seiko.

I currently have two Seiko's: A 35-year-old quartz Sports 100 on a steel bracelet that runs perfectly, and a new Seiko 5 day/date automatic that I paid $56.00 for inc. shipping.

In the future I would like to own a GS Hi-Beat and possibly a Spring Drive if I can ever determine or get a grip that it's really an automatic and not a hybrid.

No loathing here.
 
#37 ·
The answer is that Seiko isn't singled out. Most (not all) of their watches are low priced and it's hardly surprising that watch enthusiasts like expensive watches. From what I've seen, Seiko is the darling of the affordable section, there are several low price models like the Cocktail Time and Alpinist that are very popular and well regarded, and the low-mid priced divers have almost a cult following.

So again, the answer to "why is it" is "it isn't".
 
#41 ·
The reason is because there are a lot non Swiss watch haters that don't even look at Seiko because they are not Swiss watches, then when everyone recommends a Seiko in those what watch should I buy threads, these haters come out and bad mouth them as subtlety and as stealthy as they can but it's obvious to people with a keen eye or psychology degrees that there is hate. It's mostly Rolex fans that can't stand it when people say GS are on par or better than their precious Rolex. The RDF is a cult basically.

And since Seiko is recommended in almost every thread.....stuff starts to hit the fan.

That's my take.
 
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