In a sense, I feel that the secret is out on this neo-vintage oddball. I first came across the Credor Phoenix on an old blog post on musingsofawatchaddict. The watch lived rent-free in my mind for years, but unfortunately, I was unable to source one for several years. Once Thor Svaboe wrote it up on Fratello in April 2022, I knew the clock was ticking.
Several months later, in November 2022, Erik from Hairspring wrote a beautiful piece highlighting the watch and a then unknown to me vintage watch dealer, Maximiliano at Relojes Vintage México. With so few of this model available, it’s somewhat difficult to assess a fair market price. This particular reference, the GCBR993, was produced for a short time, 1999-2000(ish). The original retail price was ¥150,000 (approximately $1146, based on an average closing price of ¥130.81 per the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank). Anyway, despite the seemingly perfect and untouched quality of Maximiliano’s offering, I felt the original asking price was somewhat high. That didn’t stop me from watching his website frequently in case of price drops. It also led to me searching out vintage watch dealers on Instagram, particularly in Japan and Southeast Asia.
My search led me to a vintage watch dealer on Instagram with beautiful and seemingly original photos of the watch. Following several weeks of back-and-forth hemming, hawing, and negotiating, I sent this individual approximately $1500 via wire transfer. Then...radio silence. What started as frequent, clear communication turned to delays, excuses, and ghosting. Not to be taken for a fool, I utilized all of the resources at my disposal, including the FBI Cyber Division, to recover my money and shut down that individual’s account.
With that experience behind me, I resumed my search for the watch. I came across Toby Takahashi (@jdm_horoligist) on Instagram. In clear contrast to the previous scammer, Toby is a consummate professional with access to stunning watches with a penchant for JDM models. He’s clearly a longtime collector with excellent taste. Once he let me know he had one available, I didn’t waste any time to pull the trigger. The watch arrived safely from Japan seven days later.
Immediately upon opening, the Phoenix’s dynamism was apparent. It offers enough features that, though somewhat discordant, come together to create an interesting package. The dial is adored with lumed, shark-tooth-shaped indices reminiscent of the Seiko Monster. The hands bring to mind the assegai hands of Laurent Ferrier. Of course, the date magnifier and black cabochon crown evoke Rolex and Cartier, respectfully. Somehow, amidst all of these mashed-up features, the Credor Phoenix gracefully avoids any comparisons to the H. Moser Swiss Icons watch.
Back to the topic at hand, the lacquered black dial, housed in a stout 38mm case and under a highly reflective crystal, shines beautifully. Thin, elegant crosshairs reinforce the dial symmetry. Moving outward past the indices, the rehaut is clearly marked with numerals at each of the five minute marks. The Credor caliber 8L75 is housed behind a closed caseback with a deeply engraved image of the namesake phoenix. After a brief stint back in with Credor Japan for a service, my example is wonderfully accurate.
To call the Credor Phoenix a pure field watch feels like a mistake. To view it as anything less than an eminently capable tool watch is a mistake. Unfortunately, not much else in the model range captures the same vibe. Grand Seiko has released several watches that come close: the SBGM221 GMT is more refined, the SBGN003 GMT is sportier, and the SBGR253 is a reasonable comparison, but none of them quite match the Phoenix’s quirky charm. The Credor Phoenix has me in a bit of a bind--while it’s a watch that deserves to be known, some things are better left flying under the radar.
