The V.F.A. 6185-8000 is a $90,000 Grand Seiko you’ve never heard of, but should know about

Borna Bošnjak

Grand Seiko has become well-established as the go-to watch enthusiast brand, whether it’s for their nature-inspired dials, degree of finishing, perceived value proposition, or all three. And though the brand’s prices have risen in tune with the rest of the market, Grand Seiko continues to retain a dedicated fanbase, which yours truly is certainly part of. Thankfully, it seems like there is no bottom to the creative well from which Grand Seiko’s design team pulls new releases and iterations, at times potentially to their detriment. There is never a shortage of new stuff to discover, but what about those that want to go deeper? Once you’ve trawled the current catalogue and scrolled your way past the Snowflakes, Omiwataris, and Cherry Blossoms, the vintage market is the natural next step, as there’s both incredible value for money and rarity to be found. The Grand Seiko V.F.A. rabbit hole is one of the most intriguing ones you can dive down, as you’ll be met with all sorts of weird and wonderful, the palladium V.F.A. 6185-8000 perhaps being the weirdest and most wonderful of all.

What is the palladium V.F.A. 6185-8000?

Regardless of how the 6185-8000 looks, let’s start with its movement, as it has a common throughline that can connect it with the rest of Grand Seiko’s offering at the time, though, funnily enough, this particular reference never made mention of it. I’m talking about V.F.A., of course, which was the pinnacle of Grand Seiko’s mechanical watchmaking during its initial 15-year span between 1960 and 1975. In an unexpected turn, we actually have the Swiss to thank for this development, as it was the decision of the Bureaux Officiels de Contrôle de la Marche des Montres that only Swiss-tested watches can be bestowed the title of a chronometer. Seiko countered by developing the Grand Seiko Standard in 1966, which introduced more stringent accuracy requirement than the Swiss ones (-3/+5 seconds per day), only to introduce the “Very Fine Adjusted” standard to the market in 1969. These pieces improved on the Grand Seiko Standard and Special Standard requirements by also guaranteeing watches to be accurate within a minute per month for the first two years after purchase, and the 6185-8000 was the first V.F.A. reference ever.

So, it’s a historically significant Grand Seiko for its ultra-high accuracy and ushering in a market-leading standard in its time period. That’s already enough to make it desirable, but what makes the 6185-8000 stand out from all other Grand Seiko references is its case material. Both the 8000 and 8010 came with 37mm, faceted cases made from a palladium-silver alloy (the casebacks stamped “Palladium 400 Silver 300”), with the former extending the use of this unique material to an integrated bracelet that must’ve made it look ultra-futuristic back in the day. Not to be outdone, Grand Seiko’s Suwa boffins dressed up the 8010 with a stunning hammered finish to its flanks.

Why is it important?

Grand Seiko’s existence today is something we take for granted, but its history throughout the 1970s and 1980s is spotty at best. The GS name folded completely in 1975, only to be reintroduced in 1988 – but as a line of quartz watches. Now, there’s nothing wrong with quartz, especially when the 95GS was accurate to 10 seconds per year, but it was missing the bleeding-edge mechanical performers of the ’70s, and it would take until 1998 for that to change with the SBGR001. And yet, even today, Grand Seiko’s Special Standard is listed as expecting -2/+4 seconds per day, which the vintage V.F.A.s still exceed.

The 6185-8000 in particular brought the fight to the Swiss when the Swiss made it impossible to fight on equal terms, laying the foundations for the modern brand introducing Spring Drive, which basically negates the need for a modern V.F.A. mechanical watch.

With these vintage Grand Seiko references, the first four numbers indicate the movement, and the last four the case, though this is not always consistent. Even though there were other 8000-designated pieces like the last-ever V.F.A. – the 6186-8000 – they never quite reached the heights of the 6185 for me. Any V.F.A. is a fantastic collector’s piece, but the cases lost their concept-like shape and adopted 44GS-like lines, while the dials started designating their VFA-ness and complicated things with a day-date.

Most of all, however, watches like the palladium 6185, and this niche section of GS in general, shows that  vintage (Grand) Seiko is not just an opportunity to score bargains. Don’t get me wrong – I’ve bought and still own numerous vintage Seiko watches from multiple sub-brands that were absolute bargains – but their existence shouldn’t negate the fact that Seiko deserves a rightful spot alongside other giants of horological history. When researching this article, the always-helpful and incredible resource that Gerald Donovan and his site The Grand Seiko Guy, describes how ignorant people can be, even when in positions that would indicate they should know better. Talking about a Christie’s auctioneer introducing a V.F.A. Grand Seiko, he says: “Here’s how the auctioneer at Christie’s introduced lot 193. ‘Lot 193… [pause] … uhhh … [pause] … [almost sotto voce] …Seiko.’ It was palpable that the auctioneer considered it beneath themselves to be auctioning a mere ‘Seiko’.”

Three other grailworthy vintage Grand Seikos you should know about

There is any number of grail-level Grand Seikos once could list, but there’s a reason why the ref. 4580-7000 is my first choice. And speaking of that Christie’s auction, one (in less-than-stellar condition) sold for CHF 43,750, smashing its high estimate of CHF 30,000 – and that was in 2021. Not only is it as rare (or rarer) than the other two I’ll mention in a moment, but this particular V.F.A. is a bit of an oddball, just like the palladium-cased hero of today’s story. It just doesn’t look like a Grand Seiko – keep in mind, this was after the Grammar of Design was already established. Where are the mirror-polished, flat surfaces? Instead, the V.F.A. 4580-7000 always struck me as a prototype that somehow made it to final production, with its flat dial and two-dimensional hands. Produced by Daini Seikosha, it was introduced in 1969, and its production run lasting potentially less than a year, with its ultra-accurate 4580 movement guaranteeing +/-2 seconds per day – in line or better than whatever the Swiss were making at the time.

The 4580-7010 was surprisingly one of the most affordable V.F.A. models at the time, but along with the 4580-7000 and 6185-8000, I don’t think many would complain if I called them the Holy Trinity of V.F.A collecting, while the next entrant on the list would complete a Holy Quartet. As Donovan will be happy to tell you “it is, to [him] at least, quite simply the perfect watch.” And I can’t say I really disagree with him. The 4580 calibre was famous for making the trip to Switzerland and participating in chronometry trials, and the toned-down design makes it the perfect sleeper.

Last, but certainly not least, is the platinum First from the early 1960s when Seiko was making a push upmarket. These turn up pretty rarely, though they were supposedly regularly available during the production run of the gold-capped Firsts that are well-known. All three dial variants we see in gold GS First models are present – AD, raised SD, and carved SD – though none ever appeared in catalogues, making them the rarest variant, as none of the steel cases have ever been confirmed as genuine.

I will shout out one more reference that I think is worth mentioning, but as it’s technically not a Grand Seiko, it doesn’t qualify – and that’s the Imperial V.F.A. 4580-7020. Essentially, it’s most similar to the Grand Seiko 4580-7010, but branded as a Seiko and with the Imperial chrysanthemum of Japan. It was never for sale, and only given as a gift by Emperor Hirohito to foreign dignitaries – but that’s a story for another day.