# Seiko JDM what does it mean



## jsud2002 (Nov 7, 2015)

I have been looking for another seiko to add to my collection and have read a few times online that a few of the watches are JDM , after a little research I have found out that JDM mean Japanese Domestic Market .

My question is what exactly does JDM really mean ie does it make it a better Seiko , or are the JDM a limitied edition ? any info would be greatly appreciated . Cheers John


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## gimli (Mar 24, 2016)

Off the internet "parts designed to conform to Japanese regulations and to suit Japanese buyers". 

And yes, it just might mean that they are better quality. Japanese made Seikos are better, usually, than those made in Malaysa and wherever else they make Seikos and Seiko components.


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## deano1956 (Jan 27, 2016)

yep

as with everything keep the best for yourselves and punt the rest out to the foreigners , :laugh: , but I think it make a watch a little bit more spcialsi if you cant walk into a local AD and buy it off the self?

deano


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## jsud2002 (Nov 7, 2015)

Cheers guys lets hope this watch I have seen turns out to be a JDM one :thumbsup:


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## Faze (Mar 1, 2013)

May sound silly, but if you are buying JDM, make sure you know the wrist size, as they can be smaller than what we call the norm.


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## jsud2002 (Nov 7, 2015)

Faze said:


> May sound silly, but if you are buying JDM, make sure you know the wrist size, as they can be smaller than what we call the norm.


 Stop trying to put me off lol

cheers for the heads up though


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## jsud2002 (Nov 7, 2015)

damn I didnt win the auction :thumbdown:


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## Faze (Mar 1, 2013)

jsud2002 said:


> damn I didnt win the auction :thumbdown:


 It went cheap enough, you should have snagged that.


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## jsud2002 (Nov 7, 2015)

Faze said:


> It went cheap enough, you should have snagged that.


 What can I say but I am tight with money :laugh:

not to worry though I am watching three more but they are standard and not JDM


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## reggie747 (Sep 10, 2013)

Which model was it ?


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## jsud2002 (Nov 7, 2015)

It was a 7548-700B


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## Rotundus (May 7, 2012)

yet more marketing bollocks - seiko budget veblen nonsense !


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## Jeremy Fisher (Jan 28, 2012)

JDM isn't a term used by Seiko but by collectors. It just means that it comes from a line seiko doesn't officially market outside Japan or that the watch is a partiuclar version of a model only sold in Japan.

Seiko has tended to only sell their cheaper quartz/seiko 5 watches in the west, and are seen largely as a "budget" brand by the mainstream consumer. Seiko is much better regarded in Japan and sells at the entire spectrum of watch prices, ranging from super cheap watches to lines costing as much as a high end Patek (high end Credor models). Interest in better/higher end Japanese watches began with collectors, and JDM carried the connotation of better quality and/or rarity. It doesn't really mean much anymore, recognition of Japanese watches' quality has skyrocketed amongst collectors and even the mainstream consumer and there are now a lot of importers online selling "JDM" lines online and it's the particular model and product line that really indicates quality. Seiko has also made an effort to market outside the budget lines, so a lot of ranges once considered JDM by collectors can be found in Seiko boutiques and a few watchmakers stocking the higher end stuff (mostly Grand Seikos).

As mentioned, they fall into two groups:

(1) Japan only product range: It used to be that only cheap mechanical and relatively cheap quartz watches were sold outside Japan and certain Asian markets (such as Singapore). Overall, JDM ranges tend to be better than the Seikos you find it watch shops in the UK, but this is changing as Seiko is pushing hard to market their better watches in the west. Right now, Grand Seiko and Ananta lines are no longer Japan only lines, but most of the mid range lines are still only sold in Japan. This includes lines such as the presage, brightz and most of the prospex models.

(2) Japan only versions of models sold internationally: these are not really any better than their pretty much identical counterparts, aside from using more Japanese parts. With many seiko 5s, JDM versions use Japanese made movements whereas international models use identical but made in Korea movements.


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