Grand Seiko is introducing four new Spring Drive GMTs that will surely win the heart of collectors. When collectors think of Grand Seiko, a couple of things come to mind immediately. The iconic spring drive & the use of nature as inspiration for their designs. As we have seen with the previous USA limited seasons collection, when you put all the things that make Grand Seiko great into one… well you get something like this.
The SBGE269 is one that stood out to me immediately. This reference is what they call Tōji (Winter). Unlike the iconic snowflake, here you get a textured dial that reminds you of fresh ice on the ground. While the snowflake has a softer look to it, this has a rougher & sharper look. The rose gold hand gives a beautiful contrast to the dial. This watch is powered by the Spring drive 9R66 & has a case size of 40.2mm & 14mm thickness.
Out of the 4 in this collection, we get two Spring drive & two high beat watches. In typical Grand Seiko fashion, they know that some collectors prefer fully mechanical watches. So the next piece we are looking at is the SBGJ251 – Shunbun (Spring). Inspired by the cherry trees in the mountains that start to bloom during the Spring. You get a very beautiful dark green textured dial, Hi- beat 9s86 caliber & unlike the Spring driver version you get a smaller case. This watch comes in at 39.5mm with a thickness of 14.1mm.
Sticking with the hi-beat versions. Lets talk about the most striking piece in the collection. SBGJ249 – Shōsho (Summer). Inspired by the blue lakes & shimmer of the waves. You get the exact same specs of the Spring but this time you get this incredible blue dial.
Finally we get the last watch in the collection. SBGE271 – Kanro (Autumn). We have seen this same textured dial with the SBGA415 & SBGA413. This time though the dial is black. According to Grand Seiko, the glide motion of the Spring Drive powered second’s hand moves silently, like the moon across the night sky.
Approximate recommended retail prices in Europe:
€7,600 (SBGJ249, 251), €6,800 (SBGE269, 271). We should expect to see these in boutiques around August.