Economic crisis? What crisis? At least Seiko thinks there is still a global customer segment that can afford its high-end models. In August, the company will become Japan’s first watchmaker to offer high-end wristwatches outside its home market.

The major move is the start of sales of mechanical watches costing between $2,000 and $7,000 in August this year. Ananta, a line of high-quality watches for men, will even be offered outside Japan first before making it available in Nippon on September 19. The picture above shows the SBGC001/SBGC003/SBGC004, Japanese models with price tags between $8,000 and $30,000.

Currently, Seiko only offers its watches in around 150 stores around the world. The company is planning to triple this number by the middle of next year through expanding to new markets such as India.

Via Nikkei [registration required, paid subscription]