Let me tell you a little secret (at least, a secret in as I write this in 2021). Most watch people think Credor is this unattainable brand, because of the modern day Credor releases such as the Seiko Credor Eichi (see Hodinkee article which says it's $52500). 

What a lot of people seem to not know yet, is that they can get vintage Credor for not a lot of money. For example, I got the Credor 1271-5020 for around $120 dollars from a local watch dealer and I got the Credor 9571 6000 for $300 from a Japan-based seller on ebay.

Disclaimer: Of course, everything I said is my observation and just based on my personal experience. Don't take it as an industry expert's opinion, because I'm not an industry expert.

QUICK HISTORY ON CREDOR

The Credor name came from the French word "crête d'or" which means Crest of Gold. Created in 1974, Credor was a luxury dress watch line by Seiko.

While both Grand Seiko and Credor are considered the luxury lines of Seiko, they both have different philosophies. Grand Seiko's philosophy was to create the best watch in the world, the ultimate everyday watch. Accuracy, legibility, simplicity was top of mind. The case design had to be simple yet elegant. 

Credor on the other hand, was made with the focus on technologies, precious metals, and decorations. Seiko separated their most high-end quartz watches in precious metals to the Credor line, where the designs tend to be dressier and the cases tended to be ultra-thin. There are no specific set of design rules in Credor, like the Grammar of Design.

This might be an oversimplification so if you would like to read more about it, I've included my source links below:


WHY YOU SHOULD GET A VINTAGE CREDOR NOW

First off, here's the catch for those who only buy mechanical. The affordable vintage pieces now tend to have the quartz movement. However, they were the cutting-edge quartz of their time, in a time when quartz was the pinnacle of of watch making. 

The pieces also tend to be very thin, which was made possible by quartz technology. For example, looking at vintage Credor advertisments from the 80's, the price range of those were around 150,000 Japanese Yen (see top left item).

*Source: https://www.plus9time.com/blog/2018/10/22/credor-brand-introduction-and-history

That's 150,000 JPY or around $1371 US dollars (using JPY to USD conversion rate today). That's 1371 USD in the 1980's so factoring for inflation using inflationtool.com, that's $4139 USD in 2021. I'm just illustrating how it was valued in the past, not necessarily how it will be valued in the future. However, comparing this advert to this Credor 8420-5370 ebay listing, that's a huge bargain.

Second, it's still kind of a secret in the broader world. The name is not as well-known right now as Grand Seiko. The vintage Credor seems to be generally lower in price vs. vintage Grand Seiko watches, because I think it's not as in-demand.

Perhaps it's because it's quartz and the pieces tend to be small even for models meant to be for men, as the standards were different back then. My Credor 9571-6000 is 32mm in case diameter but it was labelled as Men's Watch. Lucky for me, it fits my 6.25" wrist well. However, there seems to be a growing trend of men's watches going back to smaller pieces again so I think get one now while they are still relatively under the radar and while small pieces aren't trendy, provided you see one that you like. Don't buy them for the sake of investments.

On the flip side, the name Credor rings a bell among watch enthusiasts. Whenever I post this Credor watch on Instagram, I get a lot of compliments from friends in the watch community. When they think of Credor, they think of these ultra-expensive pieces.  I love how it blows their mind when I reveal how much they were. Well, now you know the secret and you can get it on it too! 

CONVINCED?

If you want to get one, I do suggest looking through eBay. Look for a seller based in Japan and has good reviews. Don't immediately buy one, just buy one when you see a really good deal that you like in the condition that you're satisfied with. If you have friends in Japan and are used to buying from local e-commerce websites, there might be more options. If you see one you really like and are happy with the price, go for it! Get one soon before the rest of the world decides they want one too!

Of course, you have to exercise caution and apply rigor in research as these are vintage watches. Conditions will vary and prices will vary.

Good luck!