The Big Date Final Boss
All previous newsletters have led to this moment
The Precursor
Work trip concluded - I’m back in action!
Every watch featured today comes from a Limited Edition collection, apart from one. And despite being a “normal” release, it’s one of the rarest watches I’ve ever written about. Yeah, I’m not sure how that happens either.
The mystery that is Seiko.
Credor 18K “Big Date” GBLP996
This is where the Big Date story ends. For now, at least. Over the past fifteen years, Seiko has released just a handful of Big Date Spring Drive models, spread thinly across 2009, 2014, 2018, and 2019. The GBLP996 is the most recent - and arguably the most ambitious.
It stands atop the Big Date pyramid with an eye-watering retail price of $20,000. That’s a steep climb, even for a solid 18K gold watch - and perhaps explains why it quietly vanished almost as soon as it arrived. Despite not being a limited edition, it has almost no digital footprint. I’m confident very few pieces were ever made, with most of them presumably sitting in Japanese bank vaults for safekeeping.
What makes it so special? For one, its movement: the 7R87 Spring Drive, visible through the exhibition case back, is incredibly thin. At just 9.9mm in total case thickness, the GBLP996 even undercuts Grand Seiko’s famously slim Omiwatari, which comes in at 10.2mm. The delicate proportions are matched by elegant decoration and a dial that gets better the closer you look.
Inspired by traditional Japanese shoji - the paper panels used in doors and windows - the dial has been etched with a subtle crosshatched texture. Not immediately obvious but it’s a quiet nod to its Japanese heritage. Even at arm’s length, you’ll notice shadows dancing across the textured surface.
While other Big Date models have leaned on raden, lacquer, and textures for their visual flair, the GBLP996 lets its choice of materials speak for itself. It’s quietly luxurious - a final statement in the Big Date lineage that feels more like a whispered farewell than an explosive finale.
The Credor GBLP996 is now available to buy on our website
In great condition. Recently serviced by Credor. Some minor hairlines can be seen on the bezel, but nothing significant or noticeable. Box and service papers.
Citizen “Nature Collection” AQ4100-22L & AQ4106-00A (LE 400)
Beauty and function, perfectly bundled. As I’m sure you know, Eco-Drive is Citizen’s proprietary solar-powered technology, capable of running a watch for up to six months on less than a single day of sunlight. It’s so reliable and convenient that I regularly hear people half-jokingly complain that an Eco-Drive has “taken over” their collection and become their go-to daily watch.
Both watches offered today are the latest releases from The Citizen’s Nature Eco-Drive Collection.
In 2017, Citizen engineers realised that Tosa Washi paper - one of the thinnest yet strongest papers in the world - could serve as a textured, translucent dial material. The paper is used in Japanese walls and doors to bring in light while maintaining privacy, and they're sometimes decorated to bring colour to a room, or, in this case, a watch dial.
The AQ4100-22L is a summer’s night, with the hand-dyed indigo dial depicting a gentle river flowing in the moonlight. The gold accented second hand becomes a firefly skipping across the river’s still surface.
Meanwhile, the sakura pink AQ4106-00A captures a spring dawn, with the dial designed to look like both cherry blossoms, and soft clouds against the first light of day.
Both watches feature floating indices and hand-polished details. Sharp edges and mirrored surfaces cause the dial to sparkle, even in soft lighting.
Beyond aesthetics, these movements are also accurate. Really accurate. They’re good for ±5 seconds per year, and the battery is rated for decades. After wearing one of these for 20 years, not only will it still be ticking, but it won’t have deviated more than a minute and a half.
The Blue AQ4100-22L is now available to buy on our website
The Pink AQ4106-00A is now available to buy on our website
Both in brand new in box condition. Full box and papers, and with almost their full multi-year warranties remaining.
Campanola “Anniversary Grand Complication” AH4086-05E (LE 120)
Not a watch that needs much of an introduction in this newsletter. I’ve covered different versions of the aptly named Grand Complication Campanola before, but this Anniversary model - limited to 120 pieces and released in 2022 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the complication’s creation - deserves its time in the spotlight.
Its jet-black lacquer dial is brushed with a bold stripe of gold leaf. A design inspired its poetic name: Hoshi no Ame, which can be directly translated as “stars falling like the rain” - akin to a meteor shower.
The black and gold theme is executed beautifully throughout, and while I’ve enjoyed some of Campanola’s more restrained recent offerings, it’s refreshing to return to something proudly brazen - and unmistakably Japanese.
The Citizen Campanola AH4086-05E is available to buy on our website
In great condition. No noticeable marks of any significance. Full box and papers.
Citizen Eco Drive “Eyes” AO9010-02E (LE 250)
The watch too difficult to make. You might recognise this as the blacked-out version of the previously covered AO9010-02A. Its hand-finished dark ceramic dial began life as part of Citizen’s 2010 Baselworld concept line-up.
Despite its technical successes - as it was one of the first Eco-Drives to feature an intricate dial - it proved too complex to reproduce at scale. As a result, it wasn’t added to Citizen’s permanent line-up. Just 250 black dials and 250 white dials were made, making them the only ceramic Eco-Drives Citizen has produced to date.
The blacked-out look creates a totally different energy to the white variant. I’ll never be able to explain exactly what I mean by this, but it looks like the opening credits to an '80s cinematic cult classic. I’m not referring to a specific film, but it probably stars Kurt Russell.
See? You can practically hear the synth.
This watch is anything but simple. Its razor-sharp markers jut out of the ceramic bezel like ancient monoliths. Every hour marker is hand-polished with diamond paste to achieve an impossibly flat surface. Under macro scrutiny, the chamfered edges on the indices are so perfect that I have to assume they were the most likely point of failure during production.
This won’t be for everyone, but it’s a unique piece of Citizen’s horological history - and a rare opportunity to own something that hardly ever surfaces for sale.
The Citizen AO9010-02E is available to buy on our website
In very good condition overall. Just serviced. All original apart from the strap and buckle. The watch show signs of aging and wear, but nothing unusual from a watch this old. Miniature pin included.
Watches you’ve seen before…
A mix of modern and old, all with historical significance. One of the first fully fledged mono-branded Grand Seikos, one of the first Campanola Triple Calendar Complications, and two full set Gold and White Gold Emperor Kotobuki watches from 1973.
And all are available to buy on our website. If find a direct link for each one below:
Grand Seiko “Tapestry Dial” SBGA347
Campanola “Perpetual Triple Calendar” CTU57-0683
Seiko White Gold “Kotobuki” 21-3210
Campanola “Perpetual Triple Calendar” 6702-H32132
Please click on the link above to read each condition report and see additional photos.
Don’t forget to follow my Instagram to see all of the watches above in full cinematic glory next week.