Grand Seiko SBGH289 Review – Tough and Reliable Divers Watch

Most watch collectors, myself included, own a dive watch but have never actually dived with it. It’s more of a style statement than a piece of actual dive gear, and there’s something reassuring knowing your timepiece can withstand high pressures of water – just in case you spontaneously decide to dive headfirst into a pool. 

Alternatively, you might actually be one of those rare collectors who does dive, or maybe you’re not even a collector at all—just a real, seasoned diver looking for something reliable. If so, then the Grand Seiko Sport Hi-Beat Diver SBGH289 I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing this past week might just be the perfect watch for you. It’s not just about looking good (although if you’re like me and you do just enjoy a timeless dive watch aesthetic, it nails that, too), but this has a list of specs that promises a watch that performs.

Grand Seiko’s Background in Dive Watches

Grand Seiko has been around for over half a century, founded in 1960, and yet it wasn’t until 2008 that the Japanese watchmaker debuted their first dive watch. It included reference SBGA029, a stainless steel model, and reference SBGA031, done in titanium. 

Both were powered by the company’s legendary 9R65 Spring Drive movement, perfectly combining the ruggedness of a serious dive watch with the unprecedented precision of their Spring Drive technology. This unique movement, combining mechanical precision with quartz accuracy, gave their dive watches an edge in both reliability and performance, letting them contend in a saturated and highly competitive market.

In more recent years, Grand Seiko has also impressed with its Hi-Beat Diver models, which specifically target wearers who appreciate a higher frequency mechanical movement, offering greater accuracy and a more responsive feel. The brand has long been a strong contender in the sports watch market, so it’s no surprise that their dive watch collection is packed with high-performing, top-tier models.

One of their standout recent releases of recent years is the Grand Seiko Hi-Beat 200m Diver SBGH289, launched in 2021 alongside its black-dialed counterpart, the SBGH291. These models lean more toward recreational diving, offering a slightly less rugged and oversized design, perfect for both underwater performance and casual weekend wear. 

They’re versatile and stylish, and still maintain the Grand Seiko reputation for excellence in craftsmanship and functionality. After wearing the Grand Seiko Sport Hi-Beat Diver SBGH289 for the past week, here are my thoughts…

A Solid, Water Resistant Case

No matter how hard I try, I can’t help but have preconceptions about a watch before it even lands on my desk for review. With the Grand Seiko Sport Hi-Beat Diver SBGH289, despite the relatively compact dimensions listed on the GS website (at least, for a dive watch), I was convinced it was going to feel big—maybe even too big for my wrist. But, as usual, my assumptions were quickly proven wrong. 

Once I had it on, the watch felt perfectly balanced, with the sleek case design and smart proportions making it surprisingly comfortable. It manages to strike that rare balance between being substantial enough to feel like a true dive watch without overwhelming the wrist. It’s a perfect reminder that you can’t always judge a watch by its specs alone. 

Dimensions are made up of a 43.8mm width and a lug-to-lug of 51mm. It also has a thickness of 14.7mm which again feels much lower on the wrist than the numbers suggest. It should, as long as your shirt cuff isn’t too tight, slip easily under most dress shirts. The short but broad lugs that sloped downwards help to keep the case compact on the wrist while the bezel and sapphire crystal glass add to its height. 

The case of the Grand Seiko Sport Hi-Beat Diver SBGH289 watch is engineered from stainless steel and, in typical Grand Seiko style, features a nice combination of finishes. The case sides feature a black polish, also known as Zaratsu polishing in GS’s dictionary. 

It’s a process that is done completely by hand and requires several years of training to master. The metal is held against a spinning tinplate to create a breathtaking mirror polish. It looks incredibly good on a dress watch, and in this case, a sports watch.  There’s also a small bit of bevelling along the side of the case, adding to its sleek architecture and satin-brushed finishing applied on the lug hoods. 

Up top, the bezel has its own stainless steel ring with knurled detailing for easy grip, even with wet hands or while wearing thick diving gloves. Sadly, the bezel is not ceramic, which is something you’d expect at this price point. In fact, Grand Seiko doesn’t specify exactly what the material is, but to me, it appears to be ADLC, aka Amorphous Diamond-Like Carbon. 

It’s still a super scratch-resistant and glossy material that won’t shatter like a ceramic will. Grand Seiko has also suggested it’s been treated with a special hard coating so that durability is increased further. What I really love about the bezel is how silky and smooth it feels to turn. It’s a pleasure to set with an accurate 120-click action. The insert is a glossy black and has a 60-minute diver’s scale engraved in white around the circumference. A luminous pip is also added at 12 o’clock. 

At 3 o’clock, there’s a screw down crown nicely recessed into the case and protected by prominent crown guards. The case back is also screwed down, allowing for a healthy water-resistant rating of 200 meters. It’s the perfect level of water pressure protection for most recreational diving, whether you’re snorkeling, swimming, or going for a shallow dive. 

Even if you’re not planning on deep-sea adventures, 200 meters of water resistance means you never have to worry about everyday splashes, rain, or even taking it in the shower. It’s more than enough for casual divers or anyone who simply enjoys the peace of mind that comes with a robust, well-engineered dive watch. 

A Deep Navy Dial 

Like the pip on the bezel at 12 o’clock, much of the hardware on the Grand Seiko Sport Hi-Beat Diver SBGH289 watch glows bright green in the dark. I’ve always loved the unusual combination of hands-on Grand Seiko’s dive watches, and the unique setup is made all the more obvious when the hands glow brilliantly at night. 

There’s a modern and broad arrow-tipped minute hand, a lollipop seconds hand, and a vintage-inspired cathedral hour hand. It might not be a combination of hardware suited to every taste, but I love it, and it really highlights Grand Seiko’s proficiency in bringing together traditional watchmaking techniques with modern ones. 

The dial has a gorgeous glossy blue finish that appears a deep royal blue in some lights and almost black in others. The rounded and baton-shaped hour markers are also generously decorated in Lumibrite for glow-in-the-dark capability and are hand-finished and brightly polished for an upscale look. 

It’s a relatively simple and standard dial layout, but the finishing of the hardware makes the dial look and feel more luxurious than any other standard dive watch. The date window at 3 o’clock, which replaces the hour marker here, also has its own polished border and a black-on-white date disc.

The only other notes of reference on the Grand Seiko Sport Hi-Beat Diver SBGH289 watch’s dial are the sloped navy seconds scale around the furthest edge and the applied Grand Seiko logo at 12 o’clock. 

There’s also some lettering printed for Grand Seiko below the applied logo and several lines of text to denote the watch’s water resistance and movement at 6 o’clock. You could argue the text here could be reduced by a line or two to make the dial feel less cluttered, but since this is a time-and-date watch, after all, it doesn’t feel excessive.

A Hi-Beat Movement

Housed inside the Grand Seiko Sport Hi-Beat Diver SBGH289 watch is the Caliber 9S86 Hi-Beat movement. It’s automatic winding with manual winding capacity and is best characterized – and named after – by its high frequency of 5Hz or 36,000 vibrations per hour. It also has a 55-hour power reserve, a quick set date, and hacking seconds. It’s also one of Grand Seiko’s most finely regulated movements, claiming an accuracy of -3 to +5 seconds a day. That’s an accuracy well within chronometer standards (-4 to +6 seconds a day).

Thanks to its higher frequency, the seconds hand glides with a noticeably smoother sweep compared to standard mechanical watches running at 28,800 vph. While it may not achieve the ultra-smooth flow of Grand Seiko’s Spring Drive movements, it still offers a wonderfully fluid motion and a subtle, satisfying tick that’s a pleasure to see and hear.

A Solid Metal Bracelet

The bracelet of the Grand Seiko Sport Hi-Beat Diver SBGH289 watch is really nice and has a lot going for it. It has a lovely conforming end link which sits flush to the bracelet. There’s nothing worse than a metal bracelet that leaves a gap, even one small, between the bracelet and the case. 

That’s not a problem here, though. It has a modern look with a three-link architecture and wide spacing between the lugs. The bracelet does have a slight taper, decreasing ever so slightly the closer it gets to the folding buckle.

Like the case, the bracelet’s stainless steel surface has a combination of polished and satin-brushed finishing. The edges of the links have beautiful, rolled bevels with polishing, while the central links are tipped by edges that are also polished.

Annoyingly, the links are fixed with pins instead of screws, which is unusual for a Grand Seiko’s stainless steel model – we’ve seen this with some of their titanium models, but rarely those made from classic steel. It would have been better to have seen screws here, but changing out links is still easy and requires few tools.

That said, there likely won’t be many links to remove since there are plenty of micro-adjustment options on the buckle. There are four micro-adjust holes equipped on the buckle and a diver’s extension, so you can make super accurate amendments. 

The dive extension is particularly useful, as it can be done on the go while the watch is on the wrist. You just lift the two tabs on the buckle to adjust the sizing. It means you can adjust the length even while around marine environments without the worry you’ll drop it in the water! 

The buckle itself has a twin trigger release for added security and is nicely embossed with the Grand Seiko logo in relief. If you’d rather wear – or dive – in a water-resistant strap like a rubber watch band, then the 22mm lug width and drilled lugs make shopping and changing out the strap a breeze.

On-Wrist Experience

Despite its seemingly large dimensions, I’m thoroughly impressed with how the Grand Seiko Sport Hi-Beat Diver SBGH289 wears. The short, angled lugs are thoughtfully designed to hug the wrist, giving it a surprisingly comfortable fit. In fact, I think it could work on wrists as small as six inches, as long as you don’t mind the oversized look. 

That said, I’d recommend it for wrists between six-and-a-half and eight inches for the best balance of size and proportion. The only drawback is the use of stainless steel, which adds a bit of heft and makes it feel slightly heavier than you might expect. However, the extra weight doesn’t make it too cumbersome; it still wears well and feels solid without being overbearing, making it a good choice for those who appreciate a more substantial dive watch.

Price & Availability

The Grand Seiko Sport Hi-Beat Diver SBGH289 watch is a permanent addition to the Japanese watchmaker’s portfolio, meaning that it’s a non-limited edition and doesn’t appear to be leaving the collection anytime soon. It retails for $7,300 brand new when ordered from authorized retailers like Exquisite Timepieces. 

It’s always worth purchasing your watches through authorized retailers like this, as you’ll have the reassurance that you’re getting a genuine watch with all the official paperwork and warranty. You can also find the Grand Seiko Sport Hi-Beat Diver SBGH289 on the second-hand market, averaging between $4,000 and $5,000.

Conclusion

The Grand Seiko Sport Hi-Beat Diver SBGH289 is a fantastic dive watch that feels robust, reliable, and built to last. The case is surprisingly compact despite its listed dimensions, and it’s impressive how well Grand Seiko has managed to pull off a watch that’s both functional and attractive – especially at this price. The bezel and deep blue dial are also well executed and feel right at home alongside much more expensive dive watches. I will always love the unique combination of hand styles, too. In my opinion, you’ll not find a comparable Swiss-made dive watch with this level of hand-finishing and technology. I’m happy to recommend it to anyone who loves the look of a dive watch or genuinely wants something robust and reliable that can join you under the waves.