Grand Seiko Gets Sports Watches Right With Their New GMTs
Two New Drops Take GS Up A Notch
Seiko is one of the best watch companies, period. Their level of innovation and commitment to quality means even at the low end ($200 or so) you can expect a watch that’s as good or better than some luxury brands. So one can also bet that their high-end Grand Seiko line can run with the best of ‘em.
In a lot of ways, this is true.
Problem is, some of the older GS sports watches just don’t look very cool. A lot of them try and do too much; they have one dial or one colour or one function too many. Other models are lacking a unique personality- they’re a mix of Rolex and Omega styles and end up being a bit forgettable.
It’s a shame, because the overall build quality of Grand Seiko pieces is amazing. The movements are works of art. And to their credit, they figured out how to make great dress watches basically from the beginning. The design flaws only seem to be concentrated in their high-end sports watches.
But if you’re going to buy a five- or ten-thousand dollar diving watch that you will probably never take diving, it needs to look nice. Honestly, that’s really its only primary function besides actually telling the time, and in this arena Grand Seiko’s sports offerings have long suffered. (Apologies if you enjoy asymmetrically-placed power meters on watch dials; if so, Grand Seiko is your manufacture!)
What’s a bit ironic is that Seiko’s main-line design language is very unique, very cool, and has a lot of fans. It’s colourful, it’s bold, it’s modern, it can be either restrained or sporty. The SKX sport watches have sold in huge numbers around the world for decades, and are recognized as icons. So lots of watch fans have been waiting for the day when the Seiko SKX design cues would line up with the high-level finishes of GS.
Well my friends, that day is today!
Today Grand Seiko released images and information for two new watches, models SBGJ237 and SBGJ239. The 239 will drop in July, and is a bit of a limited release as it can only be purchased through their own boutiques. The 237 will follow in August, and will be available not just in GS shops but in all stores where Grand Seiko is found.
And man, do they look cool.
They’re clean. They’re restrained. They don’t have too much stuff going on with them. Seiko’s always been a master of edges and textures, but sometimes they take it too far if the endgame is elegance. Not in this case! The faceted lugs have both brushed and polished points, and both surfaces interact well with each other and with the case as a whole.
Both colorways look splendid.
The 237 is a dominated by a deep ocean blue that’s a shade lighter than navy, and the green of the 239 is a little lighter than British Racing Green. Maybe we should just call it ‘money green.’ That’s what it looks like, at least in the pictures.
The stick markers are well proportioned, the fonts and spacing on the dials is right, and the bezel numbers look clean. A date window on a watch dial for many is a love-hate thing, but at least here it’s well-integrated at the ‘4’ position and balances nicely with the heft of the hour markers.
Speaking again of the hour markers, they’re faceted and blend well with the rest of the dial and watch. They’re lumed at the corners, and because this is Seiko the finishing of these parts and the brightness of the lume will surely be as good as anything available in the marketplace at any price.
There’s a couple little design quirks on these watches which give them a bit of an individual touch. Unlike the Rolex GMT which ‘splits’ the numbers on the bezel at the ‘3’ and ‘9’ positions, here the Seiko designers chose to split the colours ‘under’ the number. This creates an uneven or unbalanced look, but to these eyes it’s rather pleasing!
Surely some will disagree, but it’s a clean and harmonious blend of colour. The ‘cut’ of the colour change is at an angle, so it suits the perspective of the watch very well. The other little touch of individuality lives in the rehaut, the little flange of metal that surrounds the watch dial. Here the Seiko people decided to place an interior ring of painted numbers that actually increases legibility of the second time zone.
It also just looks cool.
Basically these have the design language of the legendary Seiko divers, just distilled and polished into something a bit more elegant.
Well done, Seiko.
Big shout-out to the GS design department, who we’re guessing finally convinced the engineers that a Spring Drive power meter sitting off in a corner somewhere doesn’t make a dial look good! Keep feeding drinks to those guys or whatever you gentlemen are doing; it’s working.
Seriously, this is a lovely pair of watches from Seiko and maybe the first really nice GS sports watch designs. Recommended.
One caveat: like many Seiko sports watches, this is a large timepiece. 44mm. This is a bit of a change for the Grand Seiko line; most of the GS watches are more formally-styled and therefore a bit smaller in size. Sadly for a lot of vintage enthusiasts, this is a deal-breaker. But if a modern-sized sports watch is for you, check these out when they drop at your local Seiko purveyor.
We will do so for sure.
Both of these beat at 36k per minute and retail for around 6800 USD.
