Grand Seiko SBGY029 Karesansui Watch Review (2022)
The Grand Seiko SBGY029 Karesansui is a limited edition model, released to commemorate the opening of the new Grand Seiko boutique on New Bond Street, London. Limited to just 50 pieces, it features a dial inspired by a Zen garden which, together with the model’s steel case, beautifully toys with the light. Aside from this new release, Angus Davies provides several reasons to visit Grand Seiko’s new boutique.
Bond Street
As a working class lad growing up in Lancashire, the first time I heard of Bond Street was playing Monopoly. It was ‘one of the greens’, costing £320 and provided a foretaste of luxury at a young age.
It was not until I was in my thirties that I walked along Bond Street’s wide pavements for the first time. Nothing quite prepared me for the abundance of luxury marques, positioned cheek by jowl, operating from imposing glass and marble buildings. It seemed a far cry from the soot-clad streets of my youth.
Today, some of the largest retail emporiums found along this hallowed boulevard are said to swap hands for more than £100M with some shop refits running into eight-figure sums.
Sadly, for an oversized, over the hill chap of modest means, Bond Street serves merely as a voyeuristic experience, where I can press my nose against showroom glass, but my feet seldom stray from the cold side of the threshold. In reality, Bond Street has never had much to offer to a boy with Old Kent Road means.
The Grand Seiko flagship boutique, Bond Street
However, now I have a reason to travel to W1S 1RR, thanks to a new boutique opening, purposely designed for horophiles. Located close to the brand new Bond Street Elizabeth line station, 68 New Bond Street features two floors of delights. On the upper floor, there is a broad selection of Seiko models from the popular Seiko 5 sports models to some of the brand’s impressive Presage and Prospex models.
On the ground floor, temptation comes in many forms with several Grand Seiko models on display, including quartz, 4 Hz mechanical watches, ‘Hi-Beat’ 5 Hz models and the company’s unique ‘Spring Drive’ timepieces. Hand-wound or automatic, time-only watches or models with complications, the choice on offer is extensive. The boutique even has a private lounge where ultra-rare Credor models are on display.
Grand Seiko SBGY029 Karesansui – commemorating the opening of the boutique
To commemorate the opening of the New Bond Street boutique, Grand Seiko has produced a limited edition model, the Grand Seiko SBGY029 Karesansui Bond Street.
Grand Seiko SBGY029 Karesansui – a dial inspired by a Zen garden
The dial of the Grand Seiko SBGY029 Karesansui was inspired by a Zen garden composed of rocks and stylised gravel arranged in a series of curving lines. The gravel, which is considered an intricate work of art, is never walked on, save for maintenance tasks. It conveys a sense of order and serenity. Its various troughs and ridges engage with light to varying degrees, bestowing pockets of brilliance and shade.
Grand Seiko, a company known for creating sumptuously textured dials, has referenced the appearance of the Karesansui Zen gardens with a cream-toned vista, enlivened with a swirling motif. Each curving line emanating from the centre of the dial imbues the display with depths and contrasts.
The dauphine-style hour and minute hands are facetted and evince a brilliant gleam. This design language extends to the tapering indexes, denoting the hours free of ambiguity. By cleverly juxtaposing surfaces arranged at different angles, both the hands and indexes beautifully toy with light, creating fleeting episodes of light and shadow.
A supremely fine central sweep seconds hand completes the inventory of functions. Dressed in black, it is legible yet understated and plays a deferential role to the hour and minute hands. Two letters, ‘GS’, positioned below noon, twinkle in the light. These initials are becoming increasingly familiar to the cognoscenti. A fine track encircling the dial facilitates ease of read-off.
The dial sits beneath a dual-curved sapphire crystal, a form of glazing that will prove very familiar to GS devotees. Once again, Grand Seiko masterfully choreographs available light, suffusing the dial with a helpful quotient of illumination.
The manual-winding Spring Drive Caliber 9R31
Housed in a 38.5mm stainless steel case, Grand Seiko’s artisans have skilfully endued the case with a seemly blend of mirror-polished surfaces. To the rear of the watch, a second pane of sapphire crystal affords sight of the manual-winding Spring Drive Caliber 9R31.
It took Yoshikazu Akahane 22 years of patience and endeavour before the inaugural manual-winding Spring Drive Caliber 7R68 was released in 1999.
In common with a regular hand-wound movement, the manual-winding Spring Drive Caliber 9R31, features a mainspring within a barrel that is tensioned by rotating the crown.
The Swiss lever escapement is a mechanism that is widely used within the watch industry. With this mechanism, power is transmitted from the mainspring via the gear train to the escapement. The escapement fulfils two roles. Firstly, it provides an impulse to the balance wheel, causing it to oscillate. Secondly, it locks/unlocks the gear train, thereby controlling the flow of time.
In contrast, the Spring Drive Caliber diverts some of the energy from the mainspring and sends it to the ‘Tri-Synchro Regulator’, a component that converts mechanical energy into electrical power before sending it to a crystal oscillator (quartz). The oscillator then sends a signal to an electromagnetic brake which in turn controls the rotation of the ‘glide wheel’. This latter wheel rotates eight times per second, controlling the flow of time.
When contrasted with a Swiss lever escapement, the Spring Drive system delivers far superior precision. Indeed, the Spring Drive Caliber 9R31 has a stated accuracy of ±15 seconds per month (±1 second per day). Furthermore, while the central sweep seconds hand on a watch fitted with a Swiss lever escapement has a busy gait, advancing forward in short steps, the hand on a Spring Drive watch advances with a smooth gliding action.
The Spring Drive Caliber 9R31, made in the Shinshu Watch Studio, features a power-reserve indicator, visible to the rear of the watch. The screws are thermally blued and, along with the jewels, sit within polished sinks. The large plate, visible to the rear, provides a more stable form of construction to using multiple bridges. It is adorned with an understated, grained decoration, while the barrel is embellished with a sunray motif.
Assuming the watch is fully wound, it will run autonomously for 72 hours.
Grand Seiko SBGY029 Karesansui Bond Street – closing thoughts
With only 50 pieces available, the Grand Seiko SBGY029 Karesansui Bond Street is likely to sell-out quickly. Its composition is rich with virtue and its bewitching face delivers beauty and function in equal measure.
However, there are many other horological delights to be found at 68 New Bond Street, a haven for watch lovers, where friendly smiles abound and a taste of Japan awaits all visitors.
Further reading
https://www.grandseikoboutique.uk/
Technical specifications
- Model: Grand Seiko SBGY029 Karesansui Bond Street
- Case: stainless steel; diameter 38.5 mm; height 10.2 mm; water resistance 3 ATM (30 metres); dual-curve sapphire crystal to front; sapphire caseback.
- Functions: hours; minutes; central sweep seconds
- Movement: Spring Drive Calibre 9R31; manual-winding movement; power reserve approximately 72 hours.
- Strap: calf leather.
- Price: £7,750 (RRP as of 1.12.2022)