Big In Japan

Probably the name is not quite fitting. However, I like the 80's Aphaville hit & wet-shaving, so here we go.
(Big in Japan refers to failed Western celebrities who found success in Japan.)

The watches, mechanical high end watches, I'm going to talk about were actually never offered in the Western world. They were produced by Japanese companies for the Japan market only.

Even though we know the Japanese watchmakers like Seiko or Citizen as producers of affordable and reliable timepieces, they actually produce some very high end mechanical watches as well. The bad news is that these watches are offered to the Japanese market only (sometimes available in Hong Kong and Singapore as well).

Seiko by far is the company that has the largest and most prestigious portfolio of high end time pieces. Credor line watches (produced by Seiko Corporation) can retail for as high as $150,000 (no it's not a typo). Case in point: this Spring Drive Sonnerie.


Detail of The Credor Spring Drive Sonnerie

I'm far from an expert in Japan-only models but I'll list some names though. It is up to you to study and find more about them:

* Grand Seiko; high end watches that can retail for as much as a Rolex, if not higher. The watch connoisseurs are willing to swear this watches are as good as the high-end Swiss timepieces, if not better. One model I really like is the Grand Seiko, High-Beat 36000. Only one other manufacturer is making a 36000 beat movement (Zenith). Rolex used to buy these calibers for their Daytona chronographs .
* As mentioned earlier: Credor. Their timepieces tend to be elegant, dressy models.
* Izul, also owned by Seiko. High-end mechanical complications.
* Galante, you guessed it, Seiko again. A rather fashionable line of superb watches.
* Campanola, (not a Japan only brand) by Citizen. Mostly high end mechanical complications. As far as I know, they are actually available worldwide.
* Royal Orient, superb (and somewhat more affordable mechanical watches) produced by Orient (company in which Seiko has a 52% controlling stake).


Taiwanese magazine ad for Orient Japan

So, the natural question would be: How can you buy such a watch? Well... they are not cheap but at least they are hard to get.

Higuchi and Seiya are two known japanese based retailers (as far as I know with regular brick-and-mortar stores) who will sell to Westerners. I have dealt only with Higuchi and the customer service was very good. Many watch enthusiasts will say the same about Seiya. Even if they don't have a particular model listed on their web-site, they are willing to accommodate and source you a particular watch, if available.

One word of caution. Market forces are very much at work here, and I'm referring to high demand and low offer, so don't expect huge discounts when purchasing. Prices will tend to be rather close to MSRP.
Katsu-san, the owner and manager of Higuchi, has a very interesting blog as well. BTW, from blog pictures you can easily deduct that he likes good food as much as he likes watches.

Another good option would be the sales forums on different watch aficionado forums (i.e. Timezone or Watchuseek, etc..). However, don't hold your breath, you might have to wait a long time until a Japan-only model is posted for sale (as I said, these models are rare).