As far as I know Seiko does not manufacture watches here in the Philippines. Their factories are in China, Singapore, Malaysia and Japan. Any watch coming from the first three countries are the "K" models. Japan made watches are the "J" models. This has been the topic of numerous threads already, "J" and "K" models are virtually identical save for some additional text ("Made in Japan") and/or language differences in the date wheel.
Some swear that "J" models are superior, but for the most part, the differences are negligible.
As for quality control of the new turtles, it would seem that the first production run of black/gold turtles almost all have the slight misalignment at 12 o'clock. Not sure if all blue turtles have QC issues. From what I have seen, the 777/779 black and pepsi versions are relatively issue-free.
This (QC issues) has no bearing on the price as far as the Philippines is concerned, as all Seiko watches (except JDM ones) have been historically inexpensive here, possibly due it being a major trading hub, lower SRPs set by the local arm of Seiko given existing market conditions, and lesser customs duties when trading with fellow South East Asian countries.
Ironically, compared to watches which make it all the way to the west, there are less QC issues here as a whole since traditionally watches are sold in brick and mortar ADs, with only a minority being sold online. Chances are defective units have less of a chance to circulate here than in other countries, since you often get to see or test the watches before buying.
