Grand Seiko is a popular watch brand that produces its own in-house watches and is located in Japan. With the high degree of luxury, together with master craftsmanship and made in exclusive watch manufacturing studios, comes the urge to see it as a potential investment. So, do Grand Seiko watches hold value?
Some Grand Seiko watches hold value. Depending on the model, most Grand Seiko watches are expected to lose 10% – 20% of their value immediately after the moment of purchase. Some limited edition models will hold their value, but you can expect a value decrease of up to 45% at the time of resale.
Grand Seiko is an amazing brand that offers exclusive movements and exceptional craftsmanship. Some of their high-end luxury watches will hold value and we will discuss the exact models in the following paragraphs.
Why most Grand Seiko watches do not hold value
Grand Seiko is a luxury watch brand. Luxury watch brands usually are more likely to manufacture watches that have good value retention. This is also the reason why people think Grand Seiko is a better brand to invest in than the regular Seiko watch line, which is true in a sense.
Grand Seiko is basically made by the same manufacturer as Seiko, the difference is that it’s made in one of Seiko’s two exclusive watchmaking studios, where they manufacture watches for luxury watch enthusiasts as their target audience. The differences are seen in the price point, quality of materials, and handmade craftsmanship. These factors usually make for a better resale price.
The fact is that most watches in the industry do not hold their value nor are great investment opportunities. Only the most premium brands like Rolex or Patek Phillipe make for a worthy potential investment. But it is also a fact that watches holding their value comes down to specific models rather than entire brands, due to the characteristics or emotional value of a specific model.
This is the reason why most Grand Seiko watches do not hold their value. The value retention of a watch usually comes down to the supply & demand of a model. if the supply is lower than the demand for that model, prices tend to rise as time passes. Let’s discuss which models hold value.
Which Grand Seiko watches hold value
Just like some other luxury watch brands, Grand Seiko offers some models that hold their value better than others. Although you can’t expect them to be an amazing investment like some, for example, Rolex models, the following models have proven to hold their value relatively well. The models you should look at are usually the limited edition or some popular discontinued series. While these watches won’t always hold their value, they have proven they are capable to hold up to 80% – 100% of their value.
Limited editions:
- Grand Seiko SBGJ021
- Grand Seiko SBGA405
- Grand Seiko SBGH267
Grand Seiko SBGJ021
This model is a limited edition watch that Grand Seiko produced in 2016. It comes with a 55-hour power reserve and a 36,000 vph operating movement. This limited edition model has only produced about 500 pieces ever since, making the supply rather limited. Although this watch doesn’t have an amazing demand compared to the supply, you can still be up for a great resale value of its initial purchase price due to the low supply.
Grand Seiko SBGA405
This is another limited edition model that has proven to hold significant amounts of its value. When Grand Seiko first introduced this limited edition watch, it cost $12,500, we now see these limited edition models sell for around €10,800, which means it held its value really well through the years with value retention of about 85%.
Grand Seiko SBGH267
This is another popular limited edition watch amongst watch collectors. With a production rate of 1500 units since the first launch in 2018, the watch has sold out ever since. It used to sell for around $6,500, we’ve seen these limited edition watches gradually rise in price, and have even seen price increases of up to 150% of their initial purchase price. Making it one of the few Grand Seiko models that did not only hold its value but was also a great investment.
How much will Grand Seiko watches hold value
Grand Seiko watches are known to hold pretty good value when choosing the right model. Although there are a few models that hold their value, you can generally state that these watches are not great investments nor hold value well.
You can expect a value drop for these watches of about 10% – 30% if you wait long enough for your resale. Expect a bigger value loss of about 40% – 50% when selling it within a year after purchasing.
Does Seiko hold value
There is a difference between Seiko and Grand Seiko watches. Although they are made by the same manufacturer, Seiko owns two exclusive watch factories where their Grand Seiko models are produced. Seiko is an entirely different story when it comes to potential investments or value retention.
This mainly has to do with the fact that Seiko is not a luxury watch brand. This includes the fact that it is mass-produced, made by machines. And has a way lower price than its premium brother Grand Seiko. We actually have an entire article explaining if Seiko holds value or not, you can read it over here.
There are several factors that determine whether a watch will hold its value or not. A few of them are the price. The supply compared to the demand, and the rarity and mental value of a specific model. The fact is that Seiko doesn’t target the luxury watch audience.
They rather target an audience that is just wearing watches as fashion pieces, making their products very affordable. So, it’s safe to say that Seiko models usually do not hold their value. Except for some discontinued models.
Is Grand Seiko good quality
A watch that has good value retention needs good longevity. This has to do with the fact that a potential investment or value increase needs time, usually years or even decades. Therefore, the quality of a watch that holds value needs to be rather good.
Grand Seiko is an amazing brand that carries a big package of experience through the years. The manufacturers that produce their watches have been producing watches since 1881 when Seiko was founded.
Grand Seiko is known to have an amazing value for the price you pay. This means that their products have very good quality compared to the price you pay. This is reflected in the materials, craftsmanship, design, and finishing of the watch.
To make it even better, Grand Seiko watches are known to have an outstanding quality of construction compared to their competitors. Grand Seiko is superior in terms of quality and is amongst the best quality watches in the industry.
Is Grand Seiko a good investment
There is a difference between a watch that holds value and a watch that is seen as a potential investment. The fact is that Grand Seiko is a luxury watch brand that offers limited supply and relatively high demand. This causes some sort of extinction that could provide a potential investment.
The fact is, like we mentioned before, that most Grand Seiko watches will depreciate around 10% – 20% after they leave the store. With some exceptions that have proven to hold their value. It is hard to say which models will exactly be good investments. But we’ve definitely seen Grand Seiko models that appreciate in value after some time.
In general, Grand Seiko watches are not great investments. When looking at potential investments you should be looking at other watches like Rolex or Patek Phillipe, maybe even Omega. But the general Grand Seiko won’t do more than hold a significant amount of its value.
Conclusion
To conclude this article, we can state that Grand Seiko does not hold value as well as some other brands do. You can expect a value drop of about 10% – 20% of its value the moment you leave the store. When quickly selling your watch after you buy a watch, you can expect a value drop of around 40%.
Grand Seiko has models that have proven to hold value really well and you can resell them for sometimes 80% – 100% of their initial purchase price. Which is really reasonable when selling your watch after several years of wearing it.
All in all, like other brands, Grand Seiko watches hold value when choosing the right models. Make sure you do your research when buying a watch as an investment or if you expect it to hold value.
We have more articles on watches and specific queries about them. If you have questions about all of the different popular watch brands, don’t hesitate to check out our website over here. For more articles on Seiko or Grand Seiko, you can check out this page, we talk about additional service costs, potential investment opportunities, and more about this particular watch brand.
