Grand Seiko SBGH343G Sakura-Wakaba Watch Review
The Grand Seiko SBGH343G Sakura-Wakaba has just been released along with two additional new models, the Grand Seiko SBGH341G Sakura-Kaskushi and the Grand Seiko SBGH345G Sunrise at Mount Iwate. This horological trio, once again, showcases the brand’s penchant for nature and its extraordinary prowess for watchmaking.
Image – Grand Seiko SBGH341G Sakura-Kaskushi (left) and Grand Seiko SBGH343G Sakura-Wakaba (right)
Grand Seiko founded in 1960
Grand Seiko was founded in 1960. Before its inception, the remit was very clear: produce the ideal watch with due consideration to precision, durability and beauty. The luxury marque achieved this with the release of its first watch, an elegant three-hander. This model featured the hand-wound Calibre 3180, a movement with a stated accuracy of +12 to -3 seconds per day, hence the watch carried the word ‘chronometer’ on its dial.
Grand Seiko brand awareness
A brand characterised by innovation and craftsmanship, Grand Seiko enjoyed much success domestically. However, in 2010, Seiko Watch Corporation announced that it would make Grand Seiko available to a global audience. I remember in those early days, GS was considered somewhat of a niche offering, appealing primarily to so-called ‘watch geeks’, such as myself. Later, in 2017, Grand Seiko became a stand-alone brand, a change that led to the company supplanting the lone ‘Seiko’ name at the top of the dial with ‘Grand Seiko’.
Shrewd marketing, excellent products and many favourable comments in the press and online have seen Grand Seiko enjoy exponential growth. It is no longer a secret shared between fellow brand devotees, the firm’s products are now familiar to most watch aficionados.
Image – Grand Seiko SBGH343G Sakura-Wakaba
What makes Grand Seiko special?
Returning to the aforementioned remit ‘precision, durability and beauty’, as a GS-phile, I would argue that the Japanese marque represents so much more. Allow me to elaborate.
Firstly, the firm has created several different movements: quartz, mechanical calibres fitted with a Swiss-lever escapement (4Hz and 5Hz options), mechanical calibres fitted with a dual impulse escapement and Spring Drive calibres.
Moreover, the dials confer peerless readability, courtesy of faceted, Dauphine-style hands and intricately polished indexes. Japan’s legendary fondness for nature has led to Grand Seiko creating dials such as the now-iconic ‘Mount Iwate’ and ‘Snowflake’ dials. In addition, Grand Seiko frequently plays with ‘light and shadow’, producing cases that juxtapose mirror-polished and ‘hairline’ finished surfaces.
Image – Grand Seiko SBGH341G Sakura-Kaskushi
Another notable attribute of Grand Seiko models is that they are incredibly comfortable to wear, courtesy of smooth case surfaces and near-obsessive attention to ergonomics.
Grand Seiko has just released three new references, each inspired by nature and all fitted with the brand’s Calibre 9S85 movement.
Grand Seiko SBGH343G Sakura-Wakaba
The Grand Seiko SBGH343G Sakura-Wakaba is endowed with a silver-green dial, inspired by ‘cherry blossoms and young leaves’ that appear in spring. The elaborately patterned dial epidermis is combined with Dauphine-style hands and matching silver-hued indexes. A date display resides at 3 o’clock, framed with silver-hued brightwork.
Subscribing to the brand’s 44GS design, the case measures 38 mm and is executed in high-intensity titanium. This latter alloy is light, not liable to corrosion and is hypoallergenic. The Grand Seiko SBGH343G Sakura-Wakaba is fitted with a box sapphire crystal, a form glazing that drinks in light, aiding legibility.
The Japanese company has equipped the SBGH343G Sakura-Wakaba with the tried and tested Grand Seiko Calibre 9S85 movement. This mechanical movement features a Swiss-lever escapement; however, unusually the frequency of the balance is greater than normal, beating 10 times per second, namely 36,000 vph (5Hz). Compared with the ubiquitous 4Hz movement, the cadence of the balance within the Calibre 9S85 movement is less susceptible to positional influence and shocks, thereby augmenting precision.
Grand Seiko SBGH341G Sakura-Kakushi
The second novelty, the Grand Seiko SBGH341G Sakura-Kakushi, shares the same case design as the SBGH343G and is fitted with the same Calibre 9S85 movement. However, where it differs is with the pale blush of the dial. Designed to reproduce the look of the ‘hiding cherry blossom’ when it is partially covered in late snow, the dial has a softly spoken, nuanced appearance suffused with subtle lines that interact with light.
Grand Seiko SBGH345G Sunrise at Mount Iwate
Finally, the third new release, the Grand Seiko SBGH345G Sunrise at Mount Iwate, is equipped with the legendary dial pattern that first appeared back in 2006 (SBGL001). The Mount Iwate pattern dial replicates the numerous ridged contours carved on the eponymous mountain. Consistent with GS’s design philosophy, the dial magically interacts with ambient light. In 2014, Grand Seiko won the ‘Prix de la Petite Aiguille’ at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève with the SBGJ005, a watch sporting a green Mount Iwate pattern dial.
Image – Grand Seiko SBGH345G Sunrise at Mount Iwate
In this instance, the dial of the Grand Seiko SBGH345G Sunrise at Mount Iwate is dressed in bright red hues, referencing the sunrise over Mount Iwate. The dial colour is said to represent ‘a fresh start and a new beginning’.
The Grand Seiko SBGH345G Sunrise at Mount Iwate shares much in common with the aforementioned SBGH343G and SBGH341G. Indeed, the 44GS case design, hands, indexes, date indication and Calibre 9S85 movement make a return appearance on this model. However, there are two distinct differences, save for the dial.
Firstly, this watch eschews the box sapphire crystal in favour of a dual curved sapphire crystal, a feature that will be familiar to longstanding GS-philes.
Secondly, while the case subscribes to the 44GS case design, a feature common to members of the brand’s Heritage Collection, it is larger than its siblings, measuring 40 mm in diameter. Moreover, the case is formed of ‘Ever brilliant steel’ for those would-be wearers who yearn for a few additional grammes on their wrist.
Closing thoughts
Launching three models in one day, Grand Seiko’s work rate is beyond reproach. The brand has delivered new references while respecting its impressive heritage with some of the tried and tested details beloved by longstanding brand devotees and GS newbies. With Watches & Wonders 2024 just a couple of months away, one can’t help wondering what further GS delights await discerning horophiles.
Further reading
https://www.grandseikoboutique.uk/
Pricing
- Grand Seiko SBGH343G Sakura-Wakaba – Price: £6,950 (RRP as of 8.2.2024)
- Grand Seiko SBGH341G Sakura-Kakushi – Price: £6,950 (RRP as of 8.2.2024)
- Grand Seiko SBGH345G Sunrise at Mount Iwate – Price: £6,500 (RRP as of 8.2.2024)