Grand Seiko Presents Four New US-Exclusive Editions

Here we go again, Grand Seiko has once again introduced not one, not two, not three but four new exclusive watches for the North American market. And no, we are not going to return to the debate of a topic that has already been largely debated and on which you already know our opinion, however, we cannot help but say that it is at these times that we regret not having been born on the other side of the Atlantic, because it seems that the Grand Seiko reserved some of her pearls for that continent.

SBGJ261 and SBGJ259

Let’s start with the two new releases in the Heritage collection, two new GMTs are presented with the heritage-inspired 44GS stainless steel case with Zaratsu polished on the surfaces, and on the dial, 24-hour inner scale, faceted rhodium-plated hour markers and hands and date window.

And starting with the limited edition SBGJ261 that has its roots in the model launched in 2017, the SBGJ227 “Peacock” that featured a green intricate press pattern dial that was presented with a radial layout, now appears in shades of blue.

The other novelty is the SBGJ259 which comes with a green and yellow gradient dial with a vertical striated pattern, inspired by the bamboo grove at Tokyo’s Nezu Museum and Garden. Both watches are powered by the Hi-beat movement 9S86 which offers up to 55 hours of power reserve. Lastly, the watches are offered with a three-link steel bracelet.

Grand Seiko, SBGJ261 and SBGJ259. Blue (SBGJ261) and green dial SBGJ259, stainless steel case, 40 mm diameter x 14 mm thickness, sapphire crystal, 100 meters water resistance, stainless steel bracelet. Caliber 9S86, self-winding movement, hour, minutes, seconds, date, gmt, 5 Hz (36,000 Vph), 37 jewels, 55 hours of power reserve. Price USD 6,800, Limited Edition: Yes, 500 pieces (SBGJ261), No (SBGJ259).

SBGK015 and SBGK017

The other two novelties found within the Elegance collection, come with a 39mm diameter and 11.6mm thick stainless steel case that alternate between the Zaratsu polishing on the front surfaces and the brushing finish on the sides and double-domed sapphire crystal.

As with the Heritage collection novelties, there is a limited edition here, the SBGK015 “Ryūsendō”, which features a light blue dynamic guilloche pattern, inspired by the lakes of the Ryūsendō Cave, and which also comes with polished indexes, a gold power reserve indicator and a small seconds with blue navy details. The watch is offered with a dark blue crocodile leather strap.

The other addition to the collection is the SBGk017 which comes with a black radial pattern that pays homage to Nanbu tekki ironware, while also featuring brushed indexes and white accents, which is offered with a steel bracelet. Both watches inside are powered by the manual movement 9S63 which offers 72 hours of power reserve.

Grand Seiko, SBGK015 and SBGK017. Blue (SBGK015) and black dial (SBGK017), stainless steel case, 39 mm diameter x 11.6 mm thickness, sapphire crystal, 30 meters water resistance, blue corcodile leather strap (SBGK015) or stainless steel bracelet (SBGK017). Caliber 9S63, manual-winding movement, hour, minutes, small seconds, power reserve indicator, 4 Hz (28,800 Vph), 33 jewels, 72 hours of power reserve. Price USD 7,500 (SBGK015), USD 8,900 (SBGK017), Limited Edition: Yes, 250 pieces (SBGK015), No (SBGK017).

Our Opinion

If we say that the two limited editions with a blue dial and one of them still remember the Tiffany blue dial “syndrome” didn’t win our hearts, the same cannot be said of the SBGJ259 and SBGK017, with green gradient and black monochrome dials respectively. We loved both, and we consider that for a minimalist collector (if they exist) these two watches, a sportier one with a green/yellow dial depending on exposure to light with a GMT complication and a more elegant one with an interesting textured black pattern, would complete a balanced collection and would certainly leave many other collectors jealous.

Read more here.