Grand Seiko is finally starting to really hit its stride with watch collectors around the world. I recall some years ago wondering, “When are more people going to simply love Grand Seiko for its value and quality?” Then, a few years ago, Grand Seiko officially came to the US (and other parts of the world outside of Japan and select parts of Asia), and what many educated watch lovers knew about Japan’s high-end timepieces became known to a lot more people. I can’t say that Grand Seiko sales have really impacted the sale of Swiss watches, but many collectors formerly interested in only European watches have been adding Seiko’s top timepieces to their collections. For 2015, there are some very attractive new Grand Seiko 62GS watches that are inspired by Seiko’s first Grand Seiko automatic watch from 1967 that included the caliber 62GS automatic movement.
The Grand Seiko 62GS collection of watches for 2015 includes a total of eight different models and all of them are limited editions. In this article, I am going to focus on the models that have 40mm-wide cases. This includes the reference SBGH037 and SBGH037 Grand Seiko 62GS models in steel with a “Hi-Beat” 36,000 bph automatic movement as well as the caliber SBGA125 and SBGA127 models in titanium with Spring Drive movements. One of the most notable features is the case design which features wider lugs and a series of pleasantly angular surfaces which play with contrast polishing. These are directly inspired by the cases of the 1967 classic models, which translates very well to modern sizes with these excellent dial executions.
By the way, even though the focus of this article is to discus the 40mm-wide Grand Seiko 62GS models, four of the pieces in the fuller collection come in smaller 37.6mm-wide cases, and they are the ref. SBGR091, SBGR092, SBGR094, and SBGR095. Each of those comes on a strap and are actually quite lovely, but for my tastes, 37.6mm wide is just too small. 40mm wide isn’t huge, but these wear on the slightly bigger side, given the thickness of the lugs. Paired to that immaculate and classy Grand Seiko dress watch dial, these new Grand Seiko 62GS timepieces looks really sharp.
Even though these Grand Seiko 62GS watches with the 40mm-wide cases fit more into the dress side of Grand Seiko on the metal bracelets, they very much have a casual sportiness to them. This is especially true given the design of the bracelets themselves. I also like the blue and brownish-red dial colors which are available.
Not a lot of companies produce 5Hz (36,000 bph) mechanical movements. The most popular is Zenith with their El Primero collection. Back when mechanical watch companies would seriously fight with each other for which brand offered the best accuracy, increasingly the frequency of a movement was a big step in doing that. Today, while it is true that high-beat movements can be more accurate, what people are buying is really technique and exclusivity.
The “Hi-Beat” Grand Seiko 62GS watches come in 40mm-wide steel cases with the in-house made caliber 9S85 automatic movements with 55 hours of power reserve and visible through the sapphire crystal caseback. The super-meticulously detailed dials have the industry’s best dauphine-style hands and precision diamond-cut and polished hour markers. For these steel Grand Seiko 62GS watches, we have the SBGH037 with a silver dial and blue seconds hand as well as the SBGH039 with the lovely brownish red dial that I am very fond of.
If you like the look of the 2015 limited edition Grand Seiko 62GS case and want something a bit more interesting (or light weight), then you can opt for the Grand Seiko 62GS models with caliber 9R65 Spring Drive movements (mechanical watch with a special quartz regulation system for enhanced accuracy) with 72 hours of power reserve. These are extremely pleasant on the wrist in the 40mm-wide titanium cases and add a power reserve indicator to the dial, thanks to the movement. Accuracy goes up to a deviation of about one second or less per day. For these Grand Seiko 62GS Spring Drive watches, you can opt for the SBGA125 with textured cream dial or the SBGA127 with the metallic blue dial.
As a limited edition watch, I have a feeling these models will do well, with the excellent case design inspired by the 1967 classic. Price for the Grand Seiko 62GS Hi-Beat SBGH037 (limited to 1000 pieces) and the SBGH039 (limited to 700 pieces) is $5,900. Price for the Grand Seiko 62GS Spring Drive SBGA125 in white (limited to 1000 pieces) and SBGA127 in blue (limited to 700 pieces) is also $5,900 – which is pretty cool. grand-seiko.com
Keep up with our pre-, post-, and live Baselworld 2015 coverage here.
Grand Seiko 62GS collection technical specifications from Grand Seiko
SBGH037, SBGH039
• Caliber 9S85
Driving system: Automatic with manual winding mechanism
Vibrations: 36,000 vibrations per hour (10 beats per second)
Loss/gain (mean daily rate): +5 to -3 seconds (when static)
Power reserve: 55 hours (when fully wound)
Number of jewels: 37 jewels
Outer diameter: 28.4mm, Thickness: 5.9mm
• Case
Stainless steel
High definition dual-curved box shaped sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating
Screw see-through case back, Screw-down crown
Water resistance 10 Bar. Magnetic resistance 4,800 A/m
Diameter: 40.0mm, Thickness: 12.9mm
• Band
Stainless steel with three-fold clasp with push button release
• Approximate recommended retail price in USD: $5,900
• Limited Edition: 1,000 pcs (SBGH037), 700 pcs (SBGH039)
SBGA125, SBGA127
• Caliber 9R65 Spring Drive
Driving system: Automatic with manual winding mechanism
Power reserve: 72 hours
Number of jewels: 30 jewels
Accuracy: ±1 second per day (±15 seconds per month)
Outer diameter: 30.0mm, Thickness: 5.8mm
• Case
High-intensity titanium
High definition dual-curved box shaped sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating
Screw see-through case back, Screw-down crown
Water resistance 10 Bar. Magnetic resistance 4,800 A/m
Diameter: 40.0mm, Thickness: 12.8mm
• Band: High-intensity titanium with three-fold clasp with push button release
• Approximate recommended retail price in USD: $5,900
• Limited Edition: 1,000 pcs (SBGA125), 700 pcs (SBGA127)
