In celebration of the 20th anniversary of Spring Drive, Grand Seiko presents a new design in its Sport Collection. The design draws its inspiration from the strength and power of the Grand Seiko lion, the mark that has long been the symbol of Grand Seiko. Available in three limited editions, this new design series features two different and specially adjusted Spring Drive calibers.
The thing you quickly learn once you start getting into Grand Seiko is this: Whether or not you can get past the Seiko branding, the quality & attention to detail they put into their watches is unmatched. They put so much care into their watches over at the house of Grand Seiko, which is what gives us the comfort of knowing that we have a flawless watch.
I wasn't even able to find a single flaw under extreme macro and that says it all. Allow me to share with you what makes this watch extremely cool. It may or may not be obvious but the dial is inspired by the Lions Mane. It’s typical for Grand Seiko to have a reason behind every design which is why many love the brand. They captured the Lions Mane perfectly with this brown color & asymmetrical brushing on the dial. The Lion’s mark was born together with the first Grand Seiko in 1960, which symbolizes Grand Seiko's goal to make the King of watches. Now the watch doesn't only have a pretty face, as you can see it also packs a ton of complications. It's definitely a busy watch but with good reason. You get a chronograph, a date, a power reserve indicator, a running seconds with the beautiful sweep the spring drive movement provides and last but not least you also get a GMT function with a 24-hour bezel.
While it is a bit busy for my taste, I have to admit having all these complications alongside the Spring Drive movement makes it more appealing to me. Now there's no getting around it, to make a watch this complicated obviously will come with a bigger case size. In this case, it has a 44.5mm case and a thickness of 16mm. However, in typical Grand Seiko fashion, the lug to lug makes it quite wearable. The watch is also fully hardened titanium despite it looking like its stainless steel which helps aid the wearability of the bigger size. I think what will divide many with this watch is the case shape.
While it is an acquired taste no doubt, the one thing I enjoy is how modern the design of this case is. The sharp angles and unique styling is a good thing because it means the company isn't relying on past designs like many brands tend to do. Rather than constant vintage reissues, they designed a bold modern case which people will either love or hate. That said, similar to Bvlgari Octo Finisimo, Grand Seiko designed a futuristic design. The mirror-like Zaratsu polishing mixed with the brushed surfaces elevates the watch to a whole other level.
Now the final thing of this beast is the bracelet. It is a fully brushed lightweight titanium bracelet with a diver's extension which is always great for adjusting throughout the day.
