They lead the game in terms of signalling disposable income to the 90%ers. They have been beaten by the Japanese in multiple areas for decades. The best exampl

They lead the game in terms of signalling disposable income to the 90%ers. They have been beaten by the Japanese in multiple areas for decades. The best example is that the Swiss used to have accuracy contests which they had to cancel after Seiko systematically bested everybody else for several years (easily Googleable e.g. [1]). Even in the quartz world, the current best is still Japanese with the (comparatively cheap!) $1,000 Citizen Chronomaster, the most accurate non-atomic-sync watch. And your average $80 G-Shock now has the atomic sync functionality. How about extremes? Whilst everybody else was messing about with fragile and expensive helium valves to deal with coming back up from high pressures required by professional divers, such as those repairing oil rigs, Seiko put together an R&D team and after 8 years of research came up with a design that went deeper with no valve, the 6159 aka "tuna can" [2]. Of course divers now use a dive computer, but if you need a backup the Darth Tuna is very good indeed. Want some real "handmade" artisanal creds, some ties to history? How about hand painted laquer dials using centuries old traditional methods (see any "urushi" model) or the extreme attention to detail in the Credor line (e.g. [3]). So the watch world is fragmented into Seiko lovers and haters, the former seeing value in the engineering and artisanship and the latter seeing a lack of brand equity and disposable income signalling that is more easily found in Switzerland (or rather, on what is badged as made in Switzerland, see [4]). Maintenance costs are not per se an indication of low quality. For example, Seiko's Hi-Beat movements (which "beat", or move the seconds hand, many more times per second than average, generating the illusion of smoother motion) have an exceptionally strong spring and need more frequent servicing as a result of the extra work done by the movement, whereas a $10 vintage HMT watch from the 1970s beating 5x slower might just need its first oiling which you could do yourself. [1] http://watchesbysjx.com/2013/06/explaining-seikos-legendary-history-in-swiss-chronometer-trials-with-live-pictures-of-its-landmark-astronomical-observatory-chronometer.html http://watchesbysjx.com/2013/06/explaining-seikos-legendary-... [2] http://wornandwound.com/a-look-at-seikos-early-divers/ http://wornandwound.com/a-look-at-seikos-early-divers/ - not a great source admittedly but if I find better I'll update the link. [3] https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/with-the-seiko-eichi-ii-versus-dufour-and-ferrier https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/with-the-seiko-eichi-ii-ve... [4] https://www.indy100.com/article/cheese-one-million-pound-watch-h-moser-7535436 https://www.indy100.com/article/cheese-one-million-pound-wat...