Reply With QuoteI'd be all over one of these if I didn't have an Explorer 2! Sadly they look far too similar, although it would be a different matter if it had a rotating bezel.
Just saw this:
https://www.grand-seiko.com/us-en/ne...ease/20180830/
...some very handsome Grand Seiko quartz GMT watches with bezels straight off a Rolex Explorer II!
simon
I'd be all over one of these if I didn't have an Explorer 2! Sadly they look far too similar, although it would be a different matter if it had a rotating bezel.
"A man of little significance"
Grand Seiko are spot-on with their traditional, conservative, designs. But once they try 'sports' things can get a bit 'strange'. As if they have no natural feel for such watches. Does anyone really want a yellow streak on their watch?
oh dear, and i am a seiko fanboy !
i mean yuck, if i wanted a rolex i'd buy a rolex
could be worse I suppose, at least there is no cyclops
Quite small (39mm) for today's standards but they do look lovely and I'm sure the quality will be the usual GS level. (I don't like the Yellow LE but the "standard" black face with Red GMT hand looks nice)
The comment re: Explorer bezel is spot on though.......
It's an SBGM001 with a quartz movement?
Not my cup of tea this one, I don't really picture these types of sports watches when I think about Grand Seikos.
I think the main off point for me is they have used a very detailed dial, and then took all the attention away from it and put a huge yellow streak around it.
Not for me but luckily everyone has different tastes.
I like the yellow and black combination but I think I wouldn't buy it.
Originally Posted by paskinner
No. It has messed up a good looking watch.
Finally! I've been waiting for this watch to be announced. Hopefully it's easy to get hold of..
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Exactly this. It would have worked with the yellow GMT hand and perhaps the markers, but the swoosh/streak thing is not for me.
That's just the angle isn't it? It's the entirety of the 6:00-18:00 chapter ring that's yellow to show day and night. Not that that makes it better, but at least it's not just a pointless colour splurge
Right, it's the whole bottom half of the chapter ring.
I think these will be nice, but I don't see the need for the Rolex homage (the lugs are also similar to an Aqua Terra). It's one thing on a £300 Kinetic, but at GS level I don't get it.
Last edited by Joe O'Brien; 30th August 2018 at 17:16.
I see. Still not a great look.
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Maybe the SBGN005 is more acceptable to people here.
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I’ve heard these limited edition retail at £6K. Ouch!
That yellow looks excellent, very nice accent!
Really nice watches and perfect dimensions but I like automatic movements. I personally don’t get expensive quartz watches.
From what I've seen the limited edition is around £3200 (€3600, ¥370k) available from Oct 12th, while the standard ones are around £2700 (€3200) and available from January 2019.
Expensive for a quartz for sure. But it's the top end version from the manufacturer that invented it, and you could say perfected the movement.
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Like a cheap fake Rolex.
No thanks.
I don't like the yellow on this, but GS and Seiko have been doing steel fixed 24 hour bezels for many years.
Me neither ... oh. Hang on...
A good watch is a good watch.
BTW - I like both the SBGN003 & SBGN005 ... FWIW
z
Last edited by zelig; 30th August 2018 at 20:46.
I like these a lot. Especially that fixed bezel :)
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As indicated by the movement number 9F86 they have used the slightly slimmer 9F8* as base and not added much height at all for the 24 hour hand. Case size is 46.0 mm × 39.0 mm × 12.1mm thick, not bad at all.
From the outside, the movement looks identical to the 9F8*
The hour hand is independently adjustable, linked to the date, and without stopping the second hand. So a proper, and highly accurate, GMT.
This is all good in my opinion. Proven mechanics and no perpetual calendar, thankfully. Screw-down crown. Lugs are drilled, too.
The blue dial will be popular I suspect:
But the limited edition with the 5s/year movement won't hang around long either. I quite like it, even from Seiko's typically flat photos. The dial looks promising.
Well a cheaper, better finished Rolex perhaps.
Don't like the yellow, and very odd how the bezel is literally lifted off the Exp2!!
Other than being more accurate, reliable, durable and having less frequent and cheaper servicing costs, me neither ;)
I understand not getting expensive watches (eminently sensible!) but I don't understand why any distinction should be drawn between quartz and mechanical. When you fork out 5k+ on your typical luxury brand, the price has very little to do with the quality/cost of the movement.
Yep, I think their attempts at sports watches all have a slightly uneasy hybrid feel to them. The cases remain dressy in the traditional GS style, while they tack on a dial with a few token nods to 'sports' elements. As for their GMTs, they're always killed for me by the excessively prominent GMT hands.
wow - I like that blue one :)
Grand seiko are putting out some of the best value, quality watches on the market right now. That being said, I can't get on with a bezel that literally looks like it was picked up from the Rolex parts bin.
I like the blue version but I’ve just noticed that the bottom half of the chapter ring is grey - that spoils the watch for me.
Always those small things though isn't it, it's all those choices!
Ah finally! These got leaked a while ago, I was wondering what had happened to them. Fair enough to make a 39mm Explorer II style watch if Rolex only want to make them in plus size these days. However, given that the price is close to a pre-owned Rolex 16570, I can only imagine many would take the original.
On the plus side, while the design is arguably too derivative for the current brand, it does open the door to 9Fs with adjustable hour hands, and perhaps even other complications.
Have to say I like this release.
I do a bit of travelling and have been looking for an ‘under the radar’ watch with a GMT function and this could be just the piece - although it would have to be black or blue for me.
I agree, it's like they are trying to figure out what to do and how, but it just doesn't work...
They've matched the colour of that ring in the LE edition with the GMT hand, but with the other 2 it matches the hour/min hand
Also there is no design team that could come up with a different GMT bezel? Why not match the colour of the GMT hand with the bezel and forget that ring...
I really like the chapter ring. Probably not in the yellow, but the others are perfect. I'm just thankful they didn't do anything as gaudy as a two-tone bezel. Blech.I agree, it's like they are trying to figure out what to do and how, but it just doesn't work...
They've matched the colour of that ring in the LE edition with the GMT hand, but with the other 2 it matches the hour/min hand
Also there is no design team that could come up with a different GMT bezel? Why not match the colour of the GMT hand with the bezel and forget that ring...
If we're doing original bezel designs...:
1950s
1960s
1970s
Last edited by Tokyo Tokei; 1st September 2018 at 15:01.
The Airman looks by far the best
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Let me know when you are flipping lol!
LOL, I know right! I'm come full circle with a GMT watch. Probably wishful thinking I'll stop at this watch but I will try!
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Second dibs on the flip. :)
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How long is the battery likely to last ?
Love this one out of the three
1960s
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That is lovely!
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My goodness! I've got a list of 2 buyers for a watch I haven't even bought yet!
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Best get a move on then
Saw the yellow tonight and loved it.
Where, how??!
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On the internet.
Electrons and stuff.
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