Rolex vs Grand Seiko - The Ultimate Decision 

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The ultimate decider is that you can walk into a Grand Seiko AD and actually purchase a watch that day. Try that with Rolex and let me know how it goes!

I've never seen either dial in person, but from pics, the Grand Seiko dials blow the Rolex dials out of the water. The texture they have is so much more interesting that lasered dope leaves.

I'm impressed with both Grand Seiko and Rolex. For me there is a huge difference though - Grand Seiko are bought by those that appreciate their fine design and attention to detail, and when worn they discreetly slide under the sleeve. Rolex are bought as a status symbol and as a speculative investment and are either worn boldly or hidden away in a safe. I know that's a bit of a generalisation, but I'd suggest it isn't too far from the mark. The other key difference of course is availability - I can walk into a Grand Seiko dealership and walk out with one on my wrist. Even if I wanted a Rolex, I can't and at best have to go through a lengthy and expensive pantomime to buy one. And I'm too old to play those games.

It's hard for many people, but GS is superior to Rolex. The main difference regarding the dial is that GS creates art, Rolex decorates.

Here is the Difference: Hey everyone look at my Rolex, compare that to "Look at my Grand Seiko" and you can't take "YOUR" eyes off that Dial and on top of that the smooth sweep of the Spring Drive. Sold My Sub and Bought 3 Spring Drives, that's right 3 For the Hyped Value of the Sub. The Spring Drive is far and above A Higher Quality, more efficient Movement.

I bought a GS Toji SBGE269 (winter solstice) about 6 weeks ago. It is my first "high end" watch, but is my 10th watch in my collection. The first time I wore it out, we visited some friends at their home for dinner. The light was low, and from 15 feet across the room my friend (a watch novice) noticed how amazing it was. The Zaratsu polishing is amazing in low light, the dial is perfect, and the spring drive movement is mesmerizing. It flies under the radar in the right way, and has a human touch to the design that you can only get from Japan. It doesn't ask for attention, but receives it in spite of that. While Rolex are great financial investment pieces, that's not what a watch is for me, and Grand Seiko has it right.

That palm dial Rolex is one of the ugliest things I've ever saw. Why they would put that on a watch dial is beyond me.

What is the most succinct way I can put this? OK. Rolex a €2,000 watch for €9,000. Grand Seiko a €9,000 watch.....for €9,000.

Whenever I see a GS on someone’s wrist, I know it’s real. Whenever I see a Rolex on someone’s wrist, I always wonder if it’s real or fake. Personally, I prefer GS watches as they’re almost impossible to replicate and fake. It’s not financially feasible for rep factories to attempt spring drive, hi-beat, and zaratsu polishing. As covered previously on this channel (Rolex Daytona Panda), Rolex replicas have gotten soooo good that fakes have become indistinguishable to the naked eye. That’s right. $800 counterfeit Noob Daytona looks just as good as a 30k genuine one. This is a huge hit for brand equity, and they should start getting tougher with counterfeiters. But perhaps it’s too late.

OK here's the difference. Palms and meteorites have nothing to do with Switzerland or Hans Wilsdorf. The snowflake, four seasons, etc. are tributes to Japan and their whole cultural awareness of man's place in nature. It's commerce vs. nature, in a way.

As the owner of both brands, I’ve got to say I would hand it to Grand Seiko for the dial work pretty much every time.

Grand Seiko's dials are works of art. Once you own them, you just keep looking at the watch and how beautiful they are.

Bought a Snowflake a few months ago. Absolutely loving it. The finish and accuracy is on another level compared to Rolex.

Regardless of whether you like the pattern or not, a "laser-etched" anything just doesn't say luxury to me - it's fast, cheap and easily replicable.

You hit the nail on the head with the Rolex, evil laser point, They looked at GS, saw that their nature themed watches were popular, so tried to emulate it; only they're so out out touch. They went into the lab, behind their retina scanning volt door, and took a look at a computer generated palm leaf. Then, they went to their femtosecond laser and etched an AI designed dial into mass production, using their automated factories. They did it, yes, a nature themed watch - but it completely defeats the object. Btw... this was so funny to watch! I really enjoy this conversational setup for the Decider series, as well as how well informed and well-thought your opinions are.

The GS blows the paint off the Rolex in every aspect. Movement, finish under macro, dial, looks and what not. Both are robust on the same level, only area Rolex is slightly better is in the bracelet, which is nothing…

Truth is GS make the better watch and in Spring Drive they achieved the ultimate goal of combining perfect accuracy with automatic power. BUT Rolex is Rolex and everyone including non watch people ( lets call them muggles) wants one.

Rolex doesn’t want your money, just ask them.

GS blows Rolex out of the water. Have an exp2 42mm and sbgj255. R: +1.8s/day GS: +1.1s/week Both are within spec.... One is better to my mind. Service. Personal experience is the GS is about 1/3 the price and seems better made in general based on prior pieces. Really. My favorite is the family member gifted a quartz rolex with a 700 dollar service charge...not even sure how to think about that one. Battery and seal checks/replacement.... That is super cheap if GS and quartz (the 9F is perhaps unfair to compare to as it has a super clever sealed system good for 50 years...maybe in 50 years it will be 600 to service too). Case finishing: GS>>>>R Hands: GS????R Bracelet feel GS. Clasp usability/microadjust R. Bulkiness of clasp: R. Clasp elegance/looks/usabilty once adjusted: GS. Getting a Rolex right now is just silly and borders to me on the unethical in the cases I've dealt with....I don't plan to participate in the elitist exercise Rolex calls sales. Frankly, a Rolex sub is a 3000 dollar watch. Period. GMT2 master 3500. More than that is just silly and they lack the quality to justify more than these number in 4/2022. Lots and lots of other brands now are as good or better than Rolex for less....GS, The Citizen, to me Christopher Ward and Farer (really, I know they are generic movements but if you hold them in hand, they are better made than rolex). Etc. I think Ellen Degeneris has over 20 Rolex watches - and if she walked into an AD could get 10 more tomorrow. I hard working professional cannot get one....and that is to me damning of Rolex as a brand. It is shameful. It is, to me, wrong.

Grand Seiko dials somehow seem rooted in their culture. It is hard to imagine them being anything other than Japanese.

Serious question: What year was the last time a regular guy could walk into a Rolex Boutique or AD and purchase a Rolex with cash or card (mens models)? No history with the brand or AD.

Proud owner of 2 Grand Seikos. An original Snowflake (SBGA011) and a steel white dial Hi Beat (SBGH-001) both original versions (when SEIKO logo was still on the dials). I would love to have a couple of Rolexes, but I would never trade my Grand Seikos for Rolexes.

When I was young I saw all the rolex sponsored sporting events, discovered they were very expensive, and equated them to something like an expensive set of dress shoes. Wind the clock forward and now that I've seen the types of watches you can collect, rolex reminds me of a pricey pair of Nike

“Palm in the corner and parquet floor” best watch joke I’ve heard in a while!😄😆😂😅

For me it's GS all the way. Stylish, elegant, beautiful. The Rolex palm motif looks like it should have an image of Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson peering through the fronds. Great video, chaps. Love the humour.

I bought a gmt GS in 2018. SBGJ201. I was looking for a different dial, but I was able to visit an event where they had several different models. I saw the white mt iwate dial and i was ab-so-lu-te-ly smitten. What a dial!! Bought it on the spot, never regretted it. Mt Iwate dials are AWESOME.

Those Rolex dials are pathetically cheap looking, the GS has quality all over it😊

GS feels like a work of art, and the reason you own one is because of what it is as an object, as a machine. Modern Rolex feels like a gilded business card, something you own because of the name on the dial. This isn’t entirely Rolex’s fault, but they’re leaning into it quite a bit.

Rolex is the Cadillac of watches....and that's not a compliment.

The Rolex dails look horrific. They look like wallpapers for your restroom.

Grand Seiko SHOULD ABSOLUTELY start adding micro adjustment clasps

Short Hills mall NJ, USA. Rolex AD has velvet ropes blocking entrance and no watches to sell. Omega AD next door welcomes you in and has plenty of stock. This is all you need know about Rolex. Buy the GS.

Brand names aside ... I've always preferred Grand Seiko dial designs ...except the inclusion of the marmite 50/50 power reserve indicators ...which I'd prefer to always be on the back lol

It's all subjective. For my money -names aside- Rolex has the more attractive case+bracelet design AND more tasteful dial decoration, IMO. On the other hand, GS completely outclasses Rolex in dial design and options. Again, my opinion :)

GS for me. The dial is stunning. Especially the spring drive movement is just amazing. Can’t get enough looking at that second hand sweeps.

I think Grand Seiko (GS) > Rolex. Most wouldn't admit that because of the name. But I can see GS become an equal if not better name than Rolex in a few years.

Everyone works hard for their money and want to reward oneself with the things they love. Buying watches is one of them and it has to be a memorable and unique experience. Unfortunately this is not happening with Rolex.

I love you guys. You're hella funny, and this podcast is a perfect thing to cheer me up when I work late at night.

Oh that's a palm motif!! There was me thinking it was a cannabis plant! 😉 Grand Seiko is the way to go for two reasons. 1. The Seiko is a real hand crafted watch, Rolex turn out a million robot made pieces a year. 2. You can actually buy a Grand Seiko without having to beg them to take your money. I suppose I could add 3. Rolex makes the same watch every year.

Best episode ever on this channel. It's much better to hear Andrew play off of someone as opposed to being snarky for ten minutes.

The palm dial Rolex is for the 59 y/o man who goes to the Caribbean with his new 23 y/o “girlfriend” and matches the watch to the shirt

I want both , have neither . The GS seems attainable for a newbie in the game

Grand Seiko most definitely. Every GS watch carries the passion and soul of its creators. Rolex is just a status symbol

Grand Seiko to buy. Rolex to sell.

Rolex is what you wear if you want to impress others. Grand Seiko is what you wear if you want to impress yourself.

So I have to say sure the Datejust dials are not as amazing as the GS dials but the new palm dial is really amazing. At a glance it is just a dark green dial, just when you put more attention to it you noticed the palm motif.

My seiko samurai manta ray takes me to the depths of the ocean. Even that seiko dial has feeling and beauty

Palm dials? By the time you get one, it’ll have coconuts on it😂

It's always good to hear the cracking banter between the talking microphones. As for Rolex dials v GS, I'd call it a draw (I'm perched on the fence on this one) as they are so different. The Rolex dials are more clinical in the execution (thinking lasers and a certain old Bond film here) compare to the more organic implementation (thinking about working on that allotment patch in the freezing winter) by GS. Almost like comparing an old film Leica M camera to a smartphone camera, they are so different but both great at what they do.

Grand Seiko all day long - perfection - you can actually buy one, own one and wear one - and they’re honest - it’s the thinking mans Rolex

The perfect combo for me would be a GS and a Zenith. You can have them both for the price of a Rolex Daytona.

GS without a doubt

Hitler will buy Rolex , while Einstein will buy GS , u got what i mean ??!

When they finally figure out how to make a nice looking, urban bracelet that gets thinner from lug to clasp, we will have a game changer in the watch market.

GS bracelets let the watch down IMHO. the day they start making rolex quality bracelets then I'm in.

The palm leaf dial is just awful - but people will buy it purely for financial reasons. The fluted dial in blue is really nice. However, GS will always win on the quality and wow-factor of their dials. People buy Rolex for all the wrong reasons these days.

I love Grand Seiko, unfortunately AD's are now starting to do their pathetic "waiting list" game with GS as well. Ever since the White Birch came out, it seems like there was no much hype that AD's starting grouping purchases. Same thing is happening with A. Lange & Söhne, in order to qualify to purchase certain pieces - one must purchase other watches. I do not know what the future of watch collecting looks like for those of us who cannot afford to buy a watch outright. I was lucky to have bought my ALS 1815, two years ago. The economics of the luxury market went insane during Covid, wealthy individuals pouring money into watches - making it near impossible to purchase at retail. I'm saving up for a JLC, let's hope they're still available by the time I get there.

ROLEX is comig for Gs but is EONS away. That palm dial ON THE Rolex is utterly ATROCIOUS.

GS > Rolex. Glass is Glass and Glass Breaks.

In June 2020, I bought a black Daytona for 19k/20K, the quality of the watch is top notch, very nice bracelet, so comfortable, and very accurate too for a mechanical watch. But I didn't love it because: 1st the subdials at 3 & 9 o'clock are off center, feels like a quartz chronograph. 2nd the hour markers edges are rounded, feels more like woman jewelry than a man watch. 3rd the lugs widths are not balance between the left and right. 4th too many lines on the dial, like Rolex wanted to sell me a story? So sold it a year later, used the profit to get the no date sub gray market. Again very very beautiful watch and bracelet, more a man watch than the Daytona. Not really a fan of the Mercedes hand though. But the biggest problem of all, you can't wear a Rolex outdoor really, it is an indoor watch you wear at home or office only, you'll get robbed. So a few months later sold the sub again didn't really made big profit since I bought it gray market. By the way, buying and selling a watch online is stressful given their prices. I needed to bring it to my local watchmaker to look at the movement every time I bought a watch or the seller returned my watch... I don't buy watch without paper (OK with no box) because I don't want to deal with possibility of buying a stolen watch…

If you gave me all the money in the world and let me loose on any watches I wanted, I would have several Grand Seikos, and probably still wouldn’t get a Rolex, besides an Explorer II. That is me though. I have every intention to get a Grand Seiko in the future already, but the hype of Rolex kind of takes away from the nice points of their watches to me. They started as a tool watch, and still largely carry that style, so they lose that appeal to me when they are hyped as luxury items into oblivion. Grand Seiko presents their watches as either luxury, or art. They suit that presentation more to me at the moment. That might change with time though.

Grand Seiko lit up Rolex with its artisan dials and Rolex is logically replying with its robotic creativity. Everyone wins. The growth in popularity of GS in the USA caught Rolex’s attention. I think you guys captured this subject exquisitely.

🤣🤣😂 the CEO Laser James Bond reference got me!!

The simplest decider of all: I can get a Grand Seiko and actually be treated like a customer. Rolex and its dealers are disgusting and fully bought into the hypebeast cancer of social media.

The palm-dial Rolex is a Hawaiian shirt at a garden party where everyone else is wearing blazers

My 2 pence on this is GS dails seam to provoke real emotion where as the palm leaf Rolex looks a bit tacky just my opinion

Yeah... you guys can forget about getting anymore Rolexes from the ' evil corporations' after those burns 😂

Grand Seiko any day over those new Rolex dials. The meteorite Daytona however, I do like. But not tha plastic strap. Give it a proper bracelet (in white gold like the case if you must) and I'd get behind that.

Key difference: Rolex is a symbol of Status, while Grand Seiko is a symbol of Class

In my experience.Rolex movements have gone off in the last few years . The accuracy isn’t as claimed.

Maybe Rolex want s us to think of expensive watches as fashion pieces. I think the fascination with the palm dial will wear off soon. It has no long term quality, which teh Grand Seiko dials have.

It's funny that you joke about the sparsity of Rolexes at ADs when you're part of the problem

Totally agree, the grands evoke emotion, the Rolex's were done to look nice.

I'd like to own the grand seiko snowflake spring drive and the rolex explorer 36mm

My choice is simply GS. You just can't get a better dial than Seiko, aside from the misalignment of the affordable side of Seiko.

Hey y'all! Love the series! Correction: 904L steel is NOT harder than 316L steel. In fact, it's the opposite--904L steel is softer, but the tradeoff is that it is more corrosion resistant and has a brighter shine because of more chromium. New question: Cartier is such a big player in the Swiss watch market share (3rd biggest behind Rolex and Omega), but they're not talked about nearly as often amongst watch enthusiasts. For example, you even have pieces like the Ballon Bleu which is one of the best selling watches around, and yet watch enthusiasts seem to never talk about it. What do you think they would have to do to enter that conversation more frequently?

Great video format! The GS blue with the ocean… its just stunning! I wouldn’t wear them palms at any price hahaha

Rolex is the SWATCH of premium watches at this point. Why bother?

I find this palm dial a cheap and bad execution of a great idea.

forget about the watches and focus about the quality of this video, is just amazing. congratulations

Grand Seiko has a much better level of finish than Rolex, the dials are far more beautiful and the movements are better. The only thing Rolex does better is hype and marketing. That is why some people are prepared to pay ridiculous prices for average watches, when they could buy a better watch for less,or an infinitely superior one for the same money. Rolex only retain their value because their devotees are desperate to get one and avoid ridiculous lead times.

The depreciation argument is a valid one, I get watch lovers saying you love the watch and wear and enjoy it. However if a watch doesn’t depreciate you can trade that watch for something else to keep experiencing new watches. That said i bought a shunbun in Japan after seeing the cherry blossoms so it takes me back there. Both arguments valid

I see the exact thing you mentioned about Rolex dials- the "coldness" and perfection of machine made object- in Montblanc limited edition pens. Years ago they used to be really beautifully made by craftsman and they had something special in them. Now they just look like Chinese fakes, cold, perfect and not very attractive. It's hard to quantify this feeling, but it's pretty obvious once you start noticing it. Those Rolex dials are not even in the same category of attractiveness as the Grand Seiko ones.

I would go as far as saying GS probably have the best dials in business. Truly mesmerizing. I said it. Perhaps second to A&S, that's it. I'm sorry, but Rolex dials aren't just behind. It's some places behind.

At the risk of enduring cat-calls, I'd have to say...both sets of dials have their charms.

For a 16cm (6.3") wrist circumference: 34,36 or 39mm OP? About 49.5mm across.

I would guess, that since Rolex was really a marketing agency for a long time before it became a real watch making company [something that many forget], that they are doing this only to peddle more watches. Yet another weeze to pull the punters. If it requires that they give the impression that it is art like Grand Seiko does, then that is the impression they will manufacture.

The background music reminds me of *Dankpods* mate. Been listening to it through the freakish ears on a stand with the huh duh six hungeos from ol mate senny!

Great video. Can anyone tell me about the gold Seiko Hi-beat at 9:33? Can't find anything on it.

The green branched Rolex dial looks horrible. Not subtle, really busy and distracting.

Says it all....Grand Seiko train their craftsmen over many years, and yet the public elevates the mass produced Robot assembled and finished Rolex to icon status. I have been lucky enough to own both, and maybe the fact that I am left with two GS and two KS watches speaks volumes. There is just something very special about hand assembled and finished watches....

I prefer sport watches over dressy watches, so Rolex for me. Additionally, all the hate for Rolex makes me like them even more...🤷‍♂️. With that being said, GS makes beautiful watches. No question about it.

Although I am not a big Rolex fan, that green dial is nice.

Ever since I was kid, everyone was into Rolex. Also from what I understand you couldn't just buy a Rolex. You will have to be picked ir soend more money in the authorized dealers. I could only afford Gshock which is nothing wrong with that. Now I have a better job I thought about obtaining Rolex but I was introduced to Grand Seiko. A few hours on Reddit people showing theirs and I was sold. GS > Rolex.

Grand Seiko over an over hyped watch any day!

Grand Seiko is calling out Rolex by providing a similar BUT better product for a fair price without the nonsense 'wait list'...and they're winning people over...Rolex is becoming a joke.

Id take the Grand Seiko any day.

there is nothing special about laser process. It's used in every industries to mark parts and boxes. cool its a fancy laser for eye surgery so its a little bit more special but really nothing to really pay more attention than that. what they do to make bi colour ceramic bezel is far more difficult to master.

I bought my SBGA407 Skyflake first...now I share wrist space with a Palm motif