Grand Seiko SBGP007 Review
To mark its 60th anniversary, Grand Seiko released four new, limited edition watches to celebrate their diamond jubilee. Among the series of watches that were released is the Grand Seiko SBGP007. With only 2500 pieces produced worldwide, this is a limited-edition watch that you should add to your collection if you are one of the people who appreciate class and expert craftsmanship.
This new release is an iteration of the 9F85 movement that has been redesigned to reduce torque to achieve more accuracy. The SBGP007 also spots a dial that is not like the previous snowflakes or Mt. Iwate styled designs common to Grand Seiko.
The Grand Seiko SBGP007 will be joining other series of watches in the legendary Heritage collection of the Japanese watch giant.
Exterior
Designed in the typical Grand Seiko style, the exterior of the SBGP007 is made from top-notch material and its dimensions are just right to fit snuggly to your wrist. The case of the SBGP007 is made from stainless steel with a dimension of 40mm by 10.8mm and has a modernly executed brushed finish. The fixed bezel of the watch is made from stainless steel while the attached bracelet that has a three-fold clasp with the push-button release is also made from stainless steel. Measured on a weighing scale, the SBGP007 weighs about 150.0 g which is a good weight that wouldn’t cause discomfort to the wearer.
The dial is housed under high-definition, sapphire crystal glass that is scratch resistance and is chemically coated on its inner surface to be anti-reflective. Furthermore, the case back is screwed down and has an appealing 18-carat yellow gold coin decoration in the middle. The gold coin has the signature lion emblem of Grand Seiko, while the back case has engraved on it, the watch’s serial number, the words “LIMITED EDITION”, the number 2500 (the number of pieces produced), etc on its back.
Movement
The movement system of a watch determines it accuracy and a whole lot of other functions it performs, this makes it the most important part of a watch. The Grand Seiko SBGP007 runs of the quartz movement (9F85 caliber) system.
The caliber 9F85 system is newly built to celebrate Grand Seiko’s 6th decade of watchmaking, and it is specially designed to ensure that accuracy and precision remain even if the wearer decides to change the time zone.
Another special thing about the caliber 9F85 quartz movement system is its instant date change mechanism. Utilizing cam and levers with date indicator driving wheel, the 9F85 is designed to change the date in the blink of an eye.
Finally, accuracy is the most important thing when it comes to time – which is what a watch is meant to measure. The new caliber 9F85 quartz movement has an accuracy of ±5 seconds per year which is almost twice as accurate as some of the other movement systems.
Functions
To maintain accuracy while keeping time, some functions stand some watches out from others. The Grand Seiko SBGP007 comes equipped with these functions to ensure that you enjoy your watch to the max.
One of such functions is its water resistance capability. Rated at 10 bars, this watch stays water resistant to about 100 meters. The SBGP007 also comes with a time difference adjustment function that ensures that the second’s hand doesn’t stop when the hour hand is being adjusted. This ensures that the watch continues staying as accurate as possible.
Finally, the watch has a calendar-linked time difference adjustment function. So, if the time is being adjusted, the date adjusts itself automatically.
Display
The display of the Grand Seiko SBGP007 is exquisite. The blue dial has one of the most exotic finishing ever made by the Japanese watchmakers, and when viewing up close, one can see the ‘2020’ patterned design that the dial is adorned with.
The hour and minute hand are faceted and polished, and the red colored seconds hand blend perfectly with the blue color of the dial to enhance visibility. At the 3:00 position is a small but visible rectangular date window, while the GS logo of Grand Seiko is just below the 12 o’clock mark. A 5-pointed gold star is just above the 6:00 position to signify the accuracy of the watch.
Although there are no Arabic numerals, the indexes used to represent hours and seconds are bold enough to help the carrier of the Grand Seiko SBGP007 read their watch accurately without any problem.
Price
You can get the Grand Seiko SBGP007 at our store for a price of $3,900
