Three years ago, my significant other turned 50 and for this milestone birthday she absolutely wanted a Tesla automobile. As the wonderful husband I am and knowing my 50th birthday was three years away, I knew this could open the door to a significant watch purchase, so of course, we made it happen. Luckily, we were very fortunate to take possession of her new cherry red car just weeks before the pandemic turned the entire world upside down.
From that day forward, I had to figure out what would make the perfect 50th birthday watch, however, before we get to this process, you have to understand something about me. I call myself a serial monogamist when it comes to watch collecting. I am one of those people that can only have one “good” watch at a time. I cannot seem to have more than one, as there is always a preferred one and that one always gets the wrist time.
As a result, since 1997, I have gone through hundreds of watches, always looking for watch next. My preference is for sport, dive and pilot watches and I have owned, photographed and reviewed some of the very finest in the world. I have done this by frequently trading, or selling and buying, but always with the same pool of watch funds. Oh, I have added a little bit here and there, and I have also gotten lucky a few times and come out favorably on some trades. All that said, it has been years since the wifely unit permitted a large watch purchase.
You see, we have two adult kids in college and despite what you may think, college in Canada is not free. Cheaper than in the U.S., for sure, but still not free. We also have a pet that was recently diagnosed with diabetes, after very expensive testing. So, this purchase was going to be a big deal for us, and now I had an even bigger decision to make. After owning so many watches over the years, how was I going to nail it down?
Oh boy, I almost forgot! Because this was going to be a milestone birthday gift, I will need to hang onto this one and resist the urge to trade or sell it. That may seem insignificant to some of you, but after going from watch to watch for over 25 years, with my longest watch relationship rarely going over 6 months, this was going to be a huge challenge! The watch I was going to pick had to be *gulp* a keeper. A word I have never used before. Even now, having typed it out, with the watch on my wrist, I got chills.
Three years sounded like a long time and honestly, perhaps it was too much time. I flip flopped from a Tudor Black Bay GMT to another Seamaster 300m. Like many of you, I have spent countless hours combing the interwebs and watching YouTube videos. Between all the W&W content, Bruce Williams, Random Rob, Jody from JOMW and Tim Masso, I now feel like I am friends with all of them.
Enter Grand Seiko. I once owned a 9F Grand Seiko in 2001 (you guys remember Higuchi?), but it was 37mm and I am somewhat of a larger dude, so it did not last that long. In 2002 I had a Credor Phoenix GCBR997, which was simply outstanding, but again at 38mm, too small for me. You have to remember, back then Panerai was breaking onto the scene, and everything was getting larger and larger. However, the introduction was made, and I knew I loved this brand.
More recently, in 2017, I managed to get my hands on a Grand Seiko SBGH001, a Hi-Beat GMT in a 44GS case, in exchange for my Breitling Heritage 42mm. My love for the brand was renewed, but this particular model was a little too dressy for me. Not too long after that I had an opportunity to trade for a Grand Seiko Sport GMT, the SBGE201, but the new Seamaster 300m caught my eye and I jumped on that one instead. (Squirrel!)
Since then, prices for Grand Seikos have been climbing and I did not think I could get into that price bracket for this purchase. So, I continued to mull over Tudors, pre-owned Seamasters, maybe a Norqain Neverest or perhaps one of those new Fortis with the Kenissi movements. I was starting to run out of racetrack and still had not made up my mind. Then, 2 days before my birthday, a brand-new Grand Seiko Sport GMT model SBGE557 in green popped up on a local Canadian watch forum. Posted by a friend I have dealt with numerous times and he just happened to live nearby.
It was still a lot more than my budget would permit, but I knew he took in trades, so I offered him my Breitling SuperOcean + cash and he accepted! The day before my birthday, I was off to meet him for the exchange. I was so excited, as I had completely dismissed getting a new Grand Seiko since they had scaled up above my budget. Furthermore, a couple of years ago, I would never have considered a green watch, but I took a chance on a green Formex REEF when they first came out and absolutely adored it. Perhaps the Formex was my gateway to green watches?
Not only was the timing serendipitous, and this is going to sound silly, but my birthday happens to fall on Earth Day, April 22nd. How fitting is a green watch for this occasion? Sure, I am likely reading too much into this, in fact I know I am, but it just felt so right and so far, I am very happy with my decision.
It has been a little over a month since this purchase and there are many things I have learned to really appreciate about this Grand Seiko. First being the spring-drive movement. Would you believe that in 42 days it has only gained 9 seconds? That is insanely accurate, and this has helped curtail my accuracy OCD, which had been getting a little out of hand as of late. And how about that continuously sweeping seconds hand? Totally mesmerizing.
I will not speak of the Zaratsu polishing, as this has been covered to death everywhere online, but I will say that despite not being an overly thick watch, the case design makes it very compact and supremely comfortable on wrist. Likewise, there is so much talk about Grand Seiko bracelets not being up to snuff. I would like to offer the opinion that they are apart from the snuff.
Please allow me to explain. As we all know, Grand Seiko marches to the beat of their own drum. From movements, to dials, to cases, etc… Why do we think the same is not true for their bracelets? Why do we expect them to be made the same way or have the same feel as Swiss bracelets? Are the end links not solid? Are the links themselves not held together with screws and pins?
So, the clasps do not have “on the fly” micro-adjustments and most do not have micro-adjustments at all, but with 2 half links, most should be able to get the right fit. Fortunately for me, the SBGE557 has micro-adjustment holes on the larger clasp, so I have mine dialed in perfectly and since it is sans extra mechanisms, it is super slim. Furthermore, each link is smooth to the touch all around, with no sharp edges, unlike new Omega and Breitling bracelets. My last Breitling Avenger GMT was literally hurting me, as the edges would dig into my wrist.
What some would say are lower tolerances in its construction, I would say, these are spaces to give the bracelet a little more side to side give. Allowing for the bracelet to conform to one’s wrist, should it not be perfectly flat, which mine are not. Say what you will about them, they are perfectly serviceable, extremely comfortable, and if Grand Seiko is making them this way, you must assume they have a reason to do so. They do not cut corners. I mean, they diamond polish tiny hour markers by hand for crying out loud! Why else would they have this bracelet or very similarly designed bracelets on nearly all their models?
Now, it is not all roses and sunshine, as no product is perfect. I would have loved some more lume on the dial. Do not get me wrong, the lume that is there is fantastic, but as I mentioned earlier, I just turned 50 and my eyesight is not what it used to be. Lume at all the hour markers would really help. However, if there is even the faintest of light sources, the diamond polishing I just pointed out makes the indices twinkle. It really is remarkable, but completely useless at 3am when I am trying to figure out how much more sleep I have ahead of me.
One more thing I miss is…. The sound, and the lack thereof. The watch is completely and utterly silent. Oh, you can hear the rotor swing and some whirring when you move the watch, but there is no heartbeat. This is somewhat eerie, as for years, when trying to fall asleep, I would put my arm to my ear and listen to the beating mechanism inside my watch and I found it very soothing. Mind you, anything over 28,000 BPH sounds frantic to me and has the opposite effect. I know, I know, I am weird. I had a Topper Edition Laco pilot’s watch not too long ago and its slow beat was just magical.
The silence of this Grand Seiko is disheartening, but I will get used to it. I remember watching an episode of Top Gear, where Jeremy Clarkson was driving an electric Mercedes SLS AMG that could pipe in some engine noise through the speakers, so the driver could hear something instead of silence. Maybe this could be another Grand Seiko first? Think of it, what if they could produce the sound of their constant force tourbillon through a microscopic speaker hidden under the case back? Would that not be ultra-cool? What if you could choose the sound you want to hear? Grand Seiko engineers, call me, we can talk…
Other than these little picked nits, I am so very pleased with my birthday watch. Funny how three years of planning, mulling over, flip flopping and visiting ADs, turned into a last minute somewhat impulsive and completely lucky watch acquisition. Go figure. I could have gone without spending any time thinking of what watch to get and still have wound up with this Grand Seiko, but what fun would that have been? I have found, over the decades, the best part of this hobby is not watch ownership, it is the hunt for watch next. Though this one is not going anywhere anytime soon. Grand Seiko
Editor’s note: Marc joins us directly from our Worn & Wound+ Slack channel, where he regularly shares his insights and knowledge. We look forward to hosting his voice on the site more often, and welcome you to join our slack community so that more of your voices can be heard here on the main site. Join Worn & Wound+ for free right here.
