Grand Seiko 50th Anniversary watches

Seiko Watch Corporation will be releasing a new collection in the 50th Anniversary of Grand Seiko collection of watches. This is to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Grand Seiko. The collection will consists of six watches and all the watches will be fitted with Seiko enhanced movements, which are exclusive to the Grand Seiko watches. The 50th Anniversary comprises of watches powered by the Spring Drive, quartz and mechanical movements.

All the watches in the collection will feature the famous Grand Seiko lion emblem on the dial and in the case of the Spring Drive and mechanical driven watches; it will also be on the movement. The lion emblem, in 18 carat gold with be on the rotor. All the watches will carry the inscription '50th Anniversary 1960 - 2010' and the limited edition serial number on the case back.

The Spring Drive models.

There will be two Spring Drive models in the collection. Both watches will be powered by the new enhanced Seiko calibre 9R15. The movement is accurate to 10 seconds a month. The movement features the following functions: hours, minutes, seconds, date and power reserve complications at the 7 o'clock position. The 9R15 is an automatic movement with 30 jewels. It has a power reserve of 72 hours. The movement is 30 mm in diameter and 5.1 mm thin.

Reference SBGA055.

The SBGA055 features a stainless steel case, 41 mm in diameter and 12.5 mm thick. It is fitted with a dual-domed sapphire crystal on the front and flat sapphire crystal on the display back. It is water resistant to 10 ATM and is anti-magnetic to 4,800 A/m (60 gauss). It is a limited edition run of 300 pieces. Retail price expected to be about USD6,900 (NTD 220,000).

The display back where you can view the beautiful movement.

Reference SBGA065.

The SBGA065 features a Platinum case, 40.2 mm in diameter and 12.8 mm thick. It is fitted with a domed sapphire crystal on the front and flat sapphire on the case back. It is also water resistant to 10 ATM and anti-magnetic to 4,800 A/m (60 gauss). The SBGA065 is limited to only 30 pieces and will retail for USD 25,000. It is unclear if this model will be available in Taiwan.

The Quartz model.

The quartz model will be powered by Seiko calibre 9F62. This quartz movement is also exclusive to the Grand Seiko collection. This movement is accurate to 5 seconds a year. The movement is a basic three-hand movement with date complication (with quick set). It has an End of Life (EOL) indicator, offering a 3-year battery life and is a 9 jewel movement. The movement measures 26 X 26.8 mm and is 3.1 mm thin.

Reference SBGX075.

The SBGX075 is cased in a stainless steel case, 37 mm diameter and 10 mm thin. It is fitted with a high definition dual-curved sapphire crystal. It is water resistant to 10 ATM and is also magnetic resistant to 4,800 A/m or 60 gauss. To indicate that it is fitted with a high accuracy movement, the dial is adorned with a pentagram at the 6 o'clock position. The SBGX075 is a limited edition of 500 pieces and will retail for about USD 3,750 (NTD 120,000).

The Mechanical models.

There are three watches issued under the Grand Seiko Mechanical collection. These watches are powered by either the Seiko calibre 9S65 or 9S85. Both these movements are very accurate and are built to exceed the C.O.S.C. chronometer standards. They offer an accuracy of -1 to +5 seconds a day.

Reference SBGR065 White Dial and SBGR075 Blue Dial.

Both these watches are fitted with Seiko calibre 9S65. Again this is a basic 3-hand movement with date complication. It is an automatic movement but it can be hand-wound. It has 35 jewels and beats at 28,800 A/h offering a power reserve of 72 hours. The movement measures 28.4 mm in diameter and 6 mm thick. 

The watches are encased in a stainless steel case measuring 37 mm in diameter and 13.3 mm thick. As with other watches in the collection, it uses a dual-dome sapphire crystal on the front and flat sapphire on the display back. It is water resistant to 10 ATM and has a higher anti-magnetic rating at 10,000 A/m (125 gauss). It is interesting to find out how Seiko achieves this rating with a display back.

The reference SBGR065 is limited to 500 pieces while the SBGR075 is limited to only 300 pieces. Both watches will retail for about USD 5,650. 

The other watch in the collection is the reference SBGH015. This watch is fitted with Seiko calibre 9S85. This is a 'Hi-BEAT 36000' calibre. This movement delivers even better accuracy. It has a mean daily rate of between -2 to +4 seconds a day. This is an automatic movement with manual-wind capabilities. Calibre 9S85 is a basic 3-hand movement with date complication. It has 37 jewels and a power reserve of about 55 hours. The movement is the same size as the calibre 9S65.

Reference SBGH015.

This watch takes its design cues from the 'Special' version Seiko issued in the 70s. The SBGH015 will have the 'Special' logo (in gold) and 'HI-BEAT 36000' on the dial at the 6 o'clock position. The watch is a stainless steel watch measuring in at 40.2 mm in diameter and is 13 mm thick. It has a sapphire crystal display back and a high definition dual-curved sapphire crystal (with anti-reflection coating) on the front. It is water resistant to 100 meters and is magnetic resistant to 10,000 A/m or 125 gauss. The SBGH015 is limited to 300 pieces and will retail for about USD 8,150 (NTD 258,000).

The beautiful 9S85 movement seen through the display back.

Photographs: Seiko