Grand Seiko Mount Iwate Autumn Dusk SBGW303 Watch Review
The Grand Seiko Mount Iwate Autumn Dusk SBGW303 is a limited-edition watch produced exclusively for the European market. Inspired by mother nature, its Mount Iwate pattern dial is dressed in verdant hues. Angus Davies explores the composition of this model while also looking closely at what makes Grand Seiko very different from its European rivals.
Grand Seiko Watch Review
An increasing number of watch aficionados have succumbed to the charms of Grand Seiko. To understand the reasons why the brand now enjoys a cult following, it is worth taking a brief look at the history of the Japanese company as well as exploring the many characteristics synonymous with GS timepieces.
Grand Seiko history
The precursor of Grand Seiko’s initial reference was a horological trio of Seiko models: the Marvel (1956); the Lord Marvel (1958); and the Crown (1959). These watches were the epitome of accuracy and durability.
Image – Seiko Marvel (1956)
Image – Seiko Lord Marvel (1958)
Image – Seiko Crown (1959)
In 1960, the inaugural Grand Seiko model was unveiled. It subscribed to three ideals the company continues to hold dear, namely, accuracy, legibility and beauty. It also shared many design features with its aforementioned antecedents. Most notably, the watch was equipped with facetted hands and indexes. The hands, often termed dauphine-style, have since appeared on numerous Grand Seiko models.
These days, Grand Seiko enjoys extraordinary brand awareness around the globe; however, what some horophiles may not know is that prior to 2010, the brand’s watches were not sold outside of Japan. Furthermore, Grand Seiko was a sub-brand of Seiko until 2017 when it ‘became an entirely separate brand’. This strategic move, coupled with some very effective marketing, has led to the widespread reverence for GS-branded products.
What makes Grand Seiko special?
Like many devotees of the GS brand, I find there is much to like. The firm has become known for its diverse array of movements, including quartz, Spring Drive and mechanical calibres. Furthermore, the brand has expanded its portfolio of mechanical movements over time and it now offers calibres featuring Swiss lever escapements, in both 4 Hz and 5 Hz variants. In 2020, the Japanese company released a groundbreaking movement, the Calibre 9SA5, endued with a dual-impulse escapement with a frequency of 5 Hz.
Image – Grand Seiko Calibre 9SA5
Beyond the brand’s mastery of movements, it has become known for the impressive execution of its cases. Indeed, the supremely smooth surfaces of the company’s Zaratsu-polished cases are the stuff of legend. The gleaming surfaces confer distortion-free reflections and cosset the wrist with their silk-like tactility. However, consistent with the Japanese quest for continuous improvement (Kaizen), Grand Seiko has since juxtaposed the highly polished surfaces with hairline finished facets. These contrasting finishes play with ‘light and shadow’, delivering a nuanced aesthetic and sumptuous appearance.
Moreover, and again consistent with the brand’s objectives formulated back in 1960, Grand Seiko watches deliver peerless legibility. Not only do the hands and indexes contribute to this impressive lucidity, details such as the date display, with its optimally sized numerals and clean font, as well as the firm’s sophisticated dials, play their part too.
The list of Grand Seiko attributes is lengthy. Indeed, I could talk about the impressive ergonomic relationship between a GS watch and its wearer. Likewise, I could wax lyrical about the brand’s reputation for incredible precision. For example, did you know that the Grand Seiko Ushio Tide Spring Drive SLGA015 has a stated accuracy of ± 10 seconds per month? This degree of chronometric excellence would shame some of the costliest exemplars of Haute Horlogerie.
However, on this occasion, I wish to focus on Grand Seiko’s penchant for creating dials inspired by nature.
Dials inspired by nature
I suspect if you ask most GS fans, they will enthuse about the ‘Snowflake’ dial. Designed to emulate the granular appearance of icy snow with its pronounced, crystalline texture, the Snowflake has become a GS signature. First released in Japan in 2005, the Snowflake, SBGA211 only appeared on the international scene in 2010. This inaugural Snowflake was fitted with a Spring Drive movement and featured both the ‘Seiko’ and ‘Grand Seiko’ names on its dial.
However, what may come as a surprise is that the ‘Mount Iwate pattern’ dial is only a few months younger than its famous ‘Snowflake’ sibling. Released in 2006, the dial captures the ridged façade of Mount Iwate, the snow-capped volcano that overlooks the surrounding landscape, including Grand Seiko Studio Shizukuiski. The textured canvas is adorned with contours emanating from the fulcrum of the dial. Over the years the dial has been executed in an array of colours, each selected to depict a particular season.
Image – Grand Seiko Hi-Beat 36000 GMT, the SBGJ005
Back in 2014, a version of the Grand Seiko Hi-Beat 36000 GMT, the SBGJ005, won the ‘Petite Aiguille’ watch prize at GPHG. The watch sported a green Mount Iwate dial, a shade that is often associated with the early part of summer. In winning this award, GS came to the attention of more horophiles, culminating in notable sales growth.
Grand Seiko Mount Iwate Autumn Dusk SBGW303 dial
The Grand Seiko Mount Iwate Autumn Dusk SBGW303 is a model, exclusive to the European market. Endowed with a sage green dial, the hour and minute hands are presented in the same dauphine-style first seen on the initial GS of 1960, save for one small detail. Instead of the counterweights on the hour and minute hands meeting at a point, they are truncated, a detail that now forms part of the firm’s present-day design language. Since 2017, the branding adorning the dial has been more restrained with the letters ‘GS’, executed in a golden hue on this model, positioned above the company’s moniker in crisp white.
Grand Seiko Mount Iwate Autumn Dusk SBGW303 case
The stainless steel case encompasses both Zaratsu and hairline finishing. Measuring 36.5 mm in diameter, the scale of the SBGW303 shares much in common with former Grand Seiko models of the 1960s. With a number of people seeking smaller case sizes, GS should have no problem finding willing buyers for this limited-edition timepiece. Measuring 11.6 mm in height, the SBGW303 will readily slip beneath a shirt cuff as watch-wearing etiquette dictates.
The box-shaped sapphire crystal, positioned front of house, imbues the SBGW303 with a retro-vibe. In addition, this form of glazing entices light to flood the dial plane while also affording lateral views of the dial epidermis. The watch is presented on a stainless steel bracelet fitted with a three-fold clasp that incorporates a push button release. Unusually, the watch is supplied with ‘an extra strap for a different look’.
Limited to 400 pieces, the caseback is engraved with its own unique number. Unlike many contemporary watches equipped with an exhibition caseback, this model shuns glazing in favour of a solid dorsal flank embellished with the Grand Seiko Lion emblem, another detail found on GS models of the 1960s.
Grand Seiko Manufacture
While some watch brands talk of being a ‘Manufacture’, none of their movements surpass the in-house content of a Grand Seiko calibre. Baseplates, bridges, screws, pinions, pivots and wheels are all produced by the Japanese firm to exacting tolerances.
Image – Grand Seiko Studio Shizukuishi
Grand Seiko SPRON
Unusually, Grand Seiko has much expertise in the making of mainsprings and balance springs, components that most Manufacture’s typically source from third-party specialists. In the case of the Calibre 9S64, the mainspring is made of SPRON 510, Seiko’s proprietary material first released in 1997. SPRONG 510 is an alloy of cobalt, nickel, chromium, molybdenum and other chemical components. It is strong, elastic and not liable to corrosion and is highly resistant to magnetic fields or changes in temperature.
Grand Seiko also produces its own balance springs. This know-how is rare and for commercial reasons it is shrouded in secrecy. Unlike a mainspring which is designed to store vast amounts of energy, a balance spring is lightly tensioned and is a far more delicate creature, hence an alternative type of SPRON alloy is used, SPRON 610 (launched in 2008). Each balance spring needs to be of uniform thickness and remain insensitive to magnetism and changes in temperature.
Grand Seiko Calibre 9S64 – MEMS technology
The hand-wound Calibre 9S64 features the ubiquitous Swiss-lever escapement and typical of Grand Seiko, the execution of various parts brims with ingenuity. The Japanese marque looked to the electronics industry and used MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical System), a technology employed in the making of semi-conductors when making the Calibre 9S64.
Image – Grand Seiko escape wheel and pallet fork made using MEMS. The parts shown are from the Calibre 9S85; but closely resemble those used within the Calibre 9S64
More specifically, Grand Seiko has used MEMS to make the pallet fork and escape wheel. The technique has allowed GS to form intricately shaped components, not possible using CNC (Computer Numerical Control) or wire-erosion machines. MEMS technology confers the following benefits:
- The resultant parts are incredibly smooth mitigating friction, thereby reducing energy consumption and lessening wear. The Calibre 9S64 will run autonomously for 72 hours.
- The openworked design of the parts, as well as the use of nickel, makes them very light, again reducing energy consumption.
- The teeth of the escape wheel feature ‘L’ shaped tips that retain lubricant more effectively, reducing oil consumption and thereby extending service intervals.
Grand Seiko Calibre 9S64 – other comments
The movement, sadly hidden behind the solid caseback, is attractively finished. The bridges are adorned with a striped pattern, similar in concept to Côtes de Genève motif found on Swiss watches. Likewise, the baseplate is embellished with circular graining, similar in appearance to perlage.
Image – Grand Seiko Calibre 9S64
As stated earlier, precision sits at the heart of the brand’s DNA. Needless to say, the Calibre 9S64, a movement with a frequency of 28,800 vph (4 Hz), is highly accurate with a stated ‘mean daily rate of +5 to -3 seconds per day’.
Grand Seiko Mount Iwate Autumn Dusk SBGW303 – closing thoughts
Over the years, Grand Seiko has gained a cult following. The firm has created a body of work that proffers readability, wearer comfort, precision and handsome aesthetics. These qualities are much in evidence with the Mount Iwate Autumn Dusk SBGW303.
Grand Seiko doesn’t seek to emulate German or Swiss watch brands, but has repeatedly followed its own course to horological greatness. Just for a moment, consider the Spring Drive movement; it took its inventor, Yoshikazu Akahane, approximately 28 years to realise his idea. Furthermore, reflect on Grand Seiko’s adoption of MEMS technology and the notable wearer benefits this confers.
Image – Grand Seiko Spring Drive Calibre 9RA2
But beyond the mechanical virtues of GS products, there is also the matter of aesthetics. The cases exhibit a smooth and sumptuous appearance. Moreover, the design of each case shows the brand has given due consideration to wearer comfort. The blend of Zaratsu and hairline finishing is extraordinary and upholds Japan’s reputation for artisanal skills.
And then, there is the matter of nature. Grand Seiko is located in a country where the population is fascinated with the changing seasons. Indeed, this is a place where legions of people embrace the thulian charms of the Sakura, enjoying a picnic beneath trees dressed in cherry blossom. It is this empathy for the natural world, along with the dedication of its citizens, that provides the unique terroir necessary for the creation of Grand Seiko watches. With its individual approach to making fine timepieces, it is not surprising that growing numbers of discerning individuals are drawn to the charms of Grand Seiko.
Further reading
https://www.grandseikoboutique.uk/
Technical specification
- Model: Grand Seiko Mount Iwate Autumn Dusk SBGW303
- Case: steel, diameter 36.5 mm, height 11.6 mm, water resistance 10 ATM (100 m), sapphire crystal to the front and solid case back.
- Functions: hours, minutes, centre seconds
- Movement: Calibre 9S64, hand-wound movement, frequency 28,800 vph (4 Hz), power reserve 72 hours
- Strap: steel bracelet with three-fold clasp with push button release. Also supplied with an additional strap
- Price: £5,500 (RRP as of 1.11.2023)
- Limited Edition: 400 pieces