This year marks the 20th anniversary of Grand Seiko's 9R calibre, which features revolutionary Spring Drive technology. Born in the 70s of the 20th century, it took decades for the concept to come to fruition, with the aim of combining the power of a mainspring with electronic watchmaking technology to surpass the precision of traditional mechanical watches. Now, the 9R series movement powers all Grand Seiko Spring Drive watches. The brand commemorates its significance with the launch of a limited-edition 9R anniversary collection. One of the watches to celebrate is the Grand Seiko Sport Spring Drive GMT model SBGE305, which boasts a striking crimson dial.
The Grand Seiko Sport SBGE305 isn't an all-new watch; It is a brand new watch. It shares technical and design features with other references in the Sport series, notably the SBGE and 257. Its 40The 5 mm stainless steel case has wide, long lugs and a large black ceramic bezel. The thickness is 147 mm, lug-to-lug thickness of 485 mm. The case has a beautifully brushed surface on the top of the lugs, a zaratsu polished bevel with sharp edges along the outer top edge, and fully polished sides. The fluted screw-down crown with GS logo is located at 4 o'clock. The sturdy screw-down case back ensures 200m water resistance.
*The crimson dial of the Grand Seiko Sport Spring Drive GMT draws inspiration from nature and is reminiscent of "a vibrant sunrise bathed in the steep slopes of the Hotaka Mountains in summer". Although there is no texture, its hue perfectly captures this natural wonder. The dial is adorned with appliquéd hour markers with polished edges, delicate grooves for each hour, and white minute markers. It is worth noting that the more important hour markers are located at 3 o'clock, 6 o'clock, 9 o'clock and 12 o'clock, highlighted by a luminous bar with an elongated mark in the middle, with the exception of the four o'clock position, where there is a hole for a white date dial with black numerals. Around the dial is an almost vertical scale ring with a 24-hour index showing odd numbers and is divided into two parts - one is dark red with silver numerals and dots, and the other is silver with black markings. The black bezel also features a 24-hour scale with even numerals, which complements the function of the scale ring.
The silver-toned hour and minute hands present an extremely complex design that harmonizes with the aesthetics of the hour markers. In contrast, the smooth-running seconds and power-reserve hands are relatively simple, well-polished, and each hand comes with a pinion cap. The GMT pointer features a large glow-in-the-dark arrow at the tip and matches the color scheme of the rest of the phone. The power reserve is indicated by a printed arc in three colors, transitioning from black to white to indicate the energy level, in a regular position near 8 o'clock.
The Grand Seiko Sport Calibre 9R 20th Anniversary Limited Edition SBGE305 is equipped with the 9R66 Spring Drive GMT movement. For an in-depth look at Spring Drive technology, Grand Seiko's ** provides detailed information, which we explored extensively.
Notably, the 9R66 movement introduces the Traveler's GMT function, as it allows the local hour hand to be adjusted by jumping forward and backward in one-hour increments. Importantly, this adjustment can be made without stopping the movement, without the need to adjust the minute hand, guaranteeing the watch's precision. The date setting is also achieved by advancing the local hour hand. The 9R66 calibre is precise to less than one second per day and boasts an impressive 72-hour power reserve.
The Grand Seiko Sport Spring Drive GMT Model SBGE305 features a stainless steel bracelet that closes with a tri-fold clasp and push-button release. The new Grand Seiko GMT is limited to 1,300 pieces and is priced at €6,600.