Reply With QuoteI seen that myself but though the price was a bit much
https://youtu.be/5UEjFZutgU8
Saw this on YouTube and thought it looked quite cool. The guy builds them from scratch. I contacted him about them but at $925 it's a bit more than I'd like to pay as I already have a samurai. Although in saying that he does looke to have made a significant outlay on equipment etc.
It did make me think about moding a watch like this though. Perhaps start with a cheapie Seiko and do some bezel work etc..
I seen that myself but though the price was a bit much
Not cheap but a lovely watch, thought the display back was a step too much.
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
Lovely mod but I agree the exhibition case back wasn't necessary and the price is prohibitive.
Yeah I have to agree. As the movement is decorated to any degree it's a bit plain with the exhibition back. If it was around 400 I'd be game, as I do think it's a really unique and cool design.
He's got to buy all his parts though, and putting them all together is clearly quite a time-intensive process... where's his earnings at 400 usd?!Originally Posted by eoghan101
Prices for a stock Samurai seem to be between 450 and 550 USD, so say 500 on average. Perhaps one of the forum's watchmakers could give us an estimate of how many hours were needed to carry out the work and the cost of all the parts.
And perhaps the bod who thinks it should be sold at less than the cost of an over-the-counter watch, never mind all the work that has gone into the finished product, could explain what they do for a living - I'm sure I have some work for you.
I meant £400. But agree that there is a lot of work to do and he deserves to be paid for it. But the overall outlay versus what you get at the end is too much for me. He's sold out on the initial run so their are many who feel otherwise.
I guess what it boils down to is at £845 (including a bracelet.) Plus shipping and import duty your going to be getting close to £1000 and for that money their are other watches I'd rather have.
I'm not trying to take anything away from the skill, and vision it takes to make this.
You are right regarding the price of the new Samurai to start with. Plus cost of parts can easily come to half of that or more again. Removed parts can be sold off to recoup some costs, but we are still looking at a bill for at least $650 dollars before he works on it.
I have modded Seiko's many times (dial, hands, bezel, etc and occasionally the crystal), and it can be done in a surprisingly short time, but that only comes after many hours of trial and error, frustrating and sometimes expensive mistakes, and outlay on equipment etc. Also include the time, effort and cost involved in photographing, listing, packing and posting the watch and redundant components. So yes, regarding the other persons $400 comment, I can only assume it was made in jest.
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Well it's not a stock samurai being upgraded. So the comparison isn't exactly right. The affiliated link on his website is to crytaltimes.
NH36 movement $45.50
Ceramic insert $31.95
Samurai case $89.95
Mm style bezel $31.95
Chapter ring $19.9
Crown 27.95
Dial $60
Hands $22.50
Crystal + gasket $55
Bezel gasket 9.95
Display caseback + gasket 34.95
Total $429.65
Orders over $300 on that website get a $15 discount and free shipping. Greater discounts for more.
So assuming he only busy the material as each individual orders, that would be $415.65 for all parts.
If it was priced at ~560 that would be a $150 for labour and would make it £450.
So I don't think I was miles off the mark.
Ah that does make a difference, and he probably orders multiples of each component at a time thus getting even more discount. £450 would still be pretty cheap though, but yes, much nearer to the mark.
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Beautiful looking watch. I would prefer it without the red numbers on the dial to make it even cleaner.
Great video and thanks for sharing..
My thoughts exactly! He’s made a significant investment in procuring parts etc plus the time to assemble. There’s also the guarantee, anything faulty will need sorting out. I don’t like the display back, but I can see the appeal of the watch if you like this sort if thing.
Not sure how much time is involved, but it’s significant, it’s not a 20 minute job!
Equating prices to value is v. difficult when comparing watch prices, I don’t think this is priced excessively when considering it as a niche product.
Last edited by walkerwek1958; 27th April 2020 at 13:40.
So he's getting $500 for around an hours work? Nice work if you can get it. If anyone fancies one of these then just gather up the parts, post them to me and I'll put them together for the forum exclusive price of only £300
I guess it depends on what your expectation is for a particular price point. I'm looking at the end product and the sum of its parts. When I saw this video I really wanted one of these. But when I enquired as to the price, I couldn't justify the spend.
I suppose if I looked at it as paying for the craftsmanship of the watchmaker I might come to a different conclusion. Just the same way you don't pay for a photographer just to click the button on the camera. Rather you pay for their investment in learning & equipment and to have a photograph from X,y or Z.
Lovely looking watch but not worth the price for me despite the added exclusivity. At £500-600 I could be tempted.
Very nice craftmanship and the equipment look quite professional too. I personally prefer spending less on a stock Seiko but appreciate that others the modding scene might want to spend more to get the watch to look how they want it.
Loved the video
Nice watch too
Deffo glad I watched it all
he has some pretty nice kit, the case back vice is awesome, no more slipped wrenches. very cool.
His set up must of cost a fortune and a nice mod as well, great video
Given how many times he named the maker of the tools he uses, I was left thinking that there is probably a sponsorship deal in place.
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
fair point
£500 from cousins, + £140 for the rolex adapters if you were doing this full time, seems well worth it
So the parts are roughly around 400£ and his work is valued at 200£ and he makes markup of around 200£ per piece.
And you find that .. too expensive or what?
I suggest some of the harshest critics to try to assemble watch themselves.
Eh? He's charging £400 to knock up a Seiko mod.
I suggest if anyone's interested in one of these to contact an independent watchmaker and ask what the labour would be (hint: It'll be a fraction of what this guy is charging).
And independent watchmaker would not want to tinker with custom watch assembly. And he would charge you arm and leg.
Nevermind.
I thought this mod was excellent.
I'm no Seiko WIS, but are Seiko just a bit oblivious of what the market demands?
If they put this out at a fair price, they'd sell shed loads.
I'm tempted to this very thing. Or perhaps throw my hand at some modding/wreaking.
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