If you’re a fan of Japanese watchmaking living in California (or anywhere in North America, for that matter), this past weekend was about as good as it gets. Grand Seiko arrived in Los Angeles to host the 2023 GS9 Experience, the annual gathering for the official Grand Seiko collectors’ club. After two years of hosting the event in New York City, Grand Seiko brought the GS9 Club to Hollywood, taking over the lobby of the historic Roosevelt Hotel for a day filled with horological delights.

I’ve been lucky enough to attend all three iterations of the GS9 Experience here in the United States, and they only get bigger and better each year. A few hundred collectors came through on Saturday to hang out with each other, listen to panel discussions featuring the likes of author Gary Shteyngart and investor and TV personality Kevin O’Leary (who you likely know as Mr. Wonderful from Shark Tank), check out a massive collection of Grand Seiko watches, including hard-to-find Masterpiece collection watches such as the GPHG-winning Kodo and the Credor minute repeater, and compare their own Grand Seiko watches. The day concluded with the release of a trio of special edition watches – one exclusive to GS9 Club members and only available at GS9 events – as well as a party with taiko drums and a jazz band.

I could write thousands of words about how much fun the event was and the vibrant energy present from the moment the doors opened in the morning until guests filtered out onto neon-lit Hollywood Boulevard well after dark, but I think these pictures do a better job of showing just how passionate Grand Seiko collectors are and why GS9 Club is such a special thing in the broader watch world. Just walking around the Roosevelt’s lobby, I was hard-pressed to find someone without a smile on their face and a great watch on their wrist.

Here’s hoping this west coast blow-out becomes a new annual tradition.

For more on the GS9 Club’s USA chapter and to join, visit grandseikogs9club.com.