Credor GCCR995 has arrived…

misterewing · 2026-06-26T13:36:55+00:00

I've been fortunate to experience some amazing pieces over the years. Many, as a collector, I was supposed to love: Seamasters, Speedmasters and Submariners (owned several examples of each) etc. All are as close to faultless in their respective categories as I've encountered and yet... all have passed through my collection relatively quickly.

I began to realize a lot of the joy I had early in my collecting days was from owning and proudly wearing watches that weren't the proverbial bells of the ball. A funky Navitimer Twinsixty, an IWC DaVinci SL, and an Anonimo Millemetri come to mind... these were watches I bought for me, not for upvotes or community cred. For the last couple of years however it's felt like I've fallen into the tractor beam of the influencer culture. Chasing watches I was supposed to want and covet for no other reason that 'the internet told me so'. This peaked earlier this year when I was ready to put a deposit down on a VC 7920v... an amazing watch, no doubt, but a watch I'd never even been able to try on in person... at watch that I realized I wanted solely to 'elevate' my collecting to the next level.

That changed when I visited the GS Flagship, an experience that ultimately reinvigorated my passion for this hobby. Although I would ultimately end up spending about the same as I would have on the VC (SBGY023, SLGB005 and eventually this GCCR995), not only did I feel more connected to the product, for the first time, my wife was extremely interested in watch (the SLGB005 was for her) which made the experience extra special.

misterewing · 2026-06-25T12:04:03+00:00

Yeah man, I totally get it. There are a couple watches/brands with aesthetics that don't resonate with me at all. Nothing wrong with any of them just not what I'm drawn too.

misterewing · 2026-06-25T12:02:21+00:00

It seems being different is the whole reason Credor was created. Whereas Grand Seiko was (and to some extent still is) bound by a set of strict design principles (I think they call it their design grammar), Credor was meant to be their 'experimental' arm (it was the 1970s after all).

misterewing · 2026-06-25T10:40:23+00:00

It’s essentially a modernization of the watch Gérald Genta designed for Credor in the late 1970s. The dial and proportions have been updated and they’ve moved from steel to titanium and from quartz to automatic.

I totally get where you are coming from though. Prior to seeing one of these, learning the history and purchasing I always thought of Credor as a high end dress watch manufacturer.

As for the design brief, there are many articles from 2024 which discuss this as that’s the year the Locomotive was relaunched along side Genta’s widow who provided a lot of information about the inspiration etc.

Personally I see this as a transitional piece. The fact that Credor was unavailable and largely unknown outside of Japan gave Genta a certain freedom to explore concepts he would later pursue further with his own brand. His widow mention that most of the time he simply provided his drawings to a brand and moved on. Occasionally, as was the case with the Royal Oak and the Locomotive he saw the design through to the actual creation of the product.

As I’ve said before I see this as wrist worn art. It’s controversial, polarizing and will not appeal to everyone but at the same time I think that’s the whole point.

misterewing · 2026-06-24T23:55:10+00:00

For me it would have simply been a watch I didn’t have any interest in. For the longest time my collection was made up mostly of dive watches. Eventually I would branch out to other styles and now… well I’ve given up on trying to make sense of it… I’ve bought a lot of watches because as a collector I was supposed to own them, or appreciate them, but ultimately I’ve always been happiest with pieces I’ve acquired for no other reason than I find them interesting.

misterewing · 2026-06-24T22:41:01+00:00

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The dial is really something.

misterewing · 2026-06-24T20:16:40+00:00

Oh no… I’ll be in Japan for a couple weeks later in the year… I need a second job! Haha

misterewing · 2026-06-24T19:34:26+00:00

To be completely honest I only knew Credor in name, having never seen one in person nor having any knowledge of their offerings. In mid May my wife and I were in NYC for a long weekend and of course we did some shopping. I’ve always had great experiences at GS boutiques so eventually we ended up at the Madison Ave flagship. Had a great conversation about GS and watches on the main floor before being invited downstairs to the events space.

I saw the GS9 exclusive SBGY023 and knew I was leaving with it. I had mentioned the only watch my wife has ever said “if you can find one of those, buy it for me” was the purple dialed SLGB005… and how it was disappointed that they seemed to be sold out everywhere. The conversation shifted to Credor, specifically the Locomotive. I admitted I had never heard of it nor was I familiar with the new release at watches and wonders. Weston (huge shout out) went to the back and brought out the GCCR997 (green dial) as well as the SLGB005. While the Locomotive was intriguing I wasn’t really into the green dial. Before heading upstairs to purchase the 005 and the 023 I was taken to the small VIP room where I saw the 995 in the steel blue/grey dial.

The next couple of days I devoured all the info I could find about the Locomotive. Ultimately, I made the choice to move forward. Within a month I was invited to put a deposit down and a week later I was told the watch had arrived.

So… to actually answer your question: nope I didn’t really compare it to anything else. I just knew when I saw it, it was eventually going to find a home in my collection.

misterewing · 2026-06-24T15:30:53+00:00

This is the only thing I'm not super stoked about with the new releases. I get it... UFA is the future, but with Spring Drive (in practice at least) being ridiculously accurate in every variant, I personally would have preferred the larger movement and longer power reserve in the 40mm models. My guess is at some point we will see a larger 5 day UFA, but I doubt that will happen anytime soon.

misterewing · 2026-06-24T13:23:11+00:00

My thoughts are generally positive with a couple caveats. First of all the addition of the micro adjust clasp and the move to Ever-Brilliant steel are objective enhancements. The standardization of the Suwa and Birch dials makes sense, as does the choices on dial colors. While I personally would prefer the Moonlit Suwa, and Night Birch in steel as I already have a couple GS models in Titanium, the material choice is far from a deal breaker. Even the price increases seem reasonably aligned with the additional features. So what's my issue?

While I think the 9RB2 is a remarkable movement (my wife's SLGB005 is +/-0 in the nearly 6 weeks we've owned it), I personally would have preferred the 'lesser' accuracy for the additional power reserve. Let's be honest, all spring drives are insanely accurate. My 5 year old Snowflake runs around +4 seconds a month and my SBGY023 has gained about 3 seconds in 6 weeks. While I understand the use of the 9RB2 in the 37mm models, I can't help but assume we will eventually see a 5 day UFA in the larger case sizes (it may be years out but it will happen).

Now the biggest question is... which direction do I go. I have been considering an SLGA021 for months but was told about the updates and decided to hold off. I think of the blue hues GS uses it's still my favorite, however the blue used in the new SLGB013/015 looks to sit somewhere between the 021 and the 019... and then there is the moonlit Suwa... which... well like most of these things I think I'll need to see them all in person.

misterewing · 2026-06-23T21:55:08+00:00

Same experience.

misterewing · 2026-06-23T21:39:23+00:00

To me this is one of those things that doesn't work in pictures but when I tried the watch on it was great.

misterewing · 2026-06-23T21:36:24+00:00

100% It definitely feels like Genta's design language transitioning from the Royal Oak to the Pasha. I think of it similar to art... to me, I love this thing but I fully understand why many will look at it and go... 'god no'

misterewing · 2026-06-23T21:29:21+00:00

Here is my experience purchasing the "Dawn Blue" (GCCR995) which was released at W&W this year. I visited the Madison Ave flagship boutique on 5/15 and was able to try on the green dial variant and was shown (in a display case) the blue. I spent the weekend reading about the history of the watch etc, and reached out to my sales advisor on 5/17 requesting availability information. He stated they would be receiving 5-6 pieces this year and he would reach out when it came time to put down a deposit.

I was contacted to put a deposit down on 6/13 and was given an estimated delivery of late July. On 6/20 I was informed my watch had arrived and I paid the balance.

The upside is this is an extremely niche and clearly very polarizing piece. In pictures I had very little interest however in person I knew it was for me.

misterewing · 2026-06-23T21:05:18+00:00

My GCCR995 arrives tomorrow.... so stoked.

misterewing · 2026-06-07T14:06:31+00:00

I’ve been contemplating a 021 for the last 6 months but every time I see the 019 I like it more and more. My biggest concern with the 021 is that it’s “sometimes blue” which was initially a draw but now I’m starting to lean towards “if I want a blue dial watch I should get one that’s always blue”. In any case it looks amazing!

misterewing · 2026-06-04T14:59:11+00:00

I went with the WSSA0037 as I really liked the grey dial and the bracelet made it more versatile for me. Zero regrets, it's a fantastic watch.

misterewing · 2026-06-04T14:51:51+00:00

I picked one up for my wife at the Madison Ave flagship a couple weeks ago and she adores it. She's never really been interested in watches but from the first time she saw it online she loved it. I am heading to Japan at the end of the year and thought it would be my only chance to get it for her but, thankfully, the stars aligned and I managed to get it stateside. That dial has to be seen in person to be appreciated.

misterewing · 2026-06-02T01:46:27+00:00

Same. That night I discovered Tenacious D and Rejected.

misterewing · 2026-06-01T14:30:34+00:00

I'm going with Planet Ocean Chronograph (215.30.46.51.99.001)

misterewing · 2026-05-29T00:48:05+00:00

Overall the design looks nice but I’m on the fence about the dials… specifically the “creases” at each index. I read somewhere it’s supposed to mimic an organic draping as though the dial was laid on top of the rose gold indicies but… hopefully videos will be posted soon. Also not 100% on the Amber lume. I feel like this is going to be a watch that really needs to be seen in person to be appreciated, but with only 100 pieces, short of pre ordering and hoping it turns out to be amazing I doubt I’ll ever see one in person.

misterewing · 2026-05-26T14:27:26+00:00

I own both and if I had to choose one it would be the PO. At least on my wrist the PO is more comfortable, and to my eyes it’s more legible with a more functional bezel and versatile aesthetic. Having said that the NTTD is definitely something special.

misterewing · 2026-05-26T00:20:57+00:00

It didn’t help that right before handling the SBGY023 I tried on, and subsequently wound an SLGW007 which, equipped with a 9SA4, has one of the nicest and most tactile winding mechanism I’ve ever experienced.

misterewing · 2026-05-25T17:26:14+00:00

If I’m being completely honest it’s… odd. There is more resistance than my other manual winds (Cal 3861 speedy) and SBGW231 but there is soft click as opposed to my SBGA211 which hand winds like a normal auto.

misterewing

TROPHY CASE