SEIKO is an important player in the market for the people who want tradition, robustness and affordable. But it’s not just that, some people have a special thing for Seiko, maybe emotional or maybe practical. For instance, my father wears a Seiko on his job every day and seems to be more attached to his Seiko than to his Omega Seamaster Chrono. It’s a strange relation: like he doesn’t care about it but at the same time loves it very much.
The SBGJ019 has a stainless steel case with 4800 A/m (60 gauss) magnetic resistance, box-shaped sapphire crystal with anti-reflection coating on the inner surface, a crocodile strap with three-fold clasp with push-button release. The case dimensions are: diameter 39.5mm, thickness 13.9mm, has 3 bar water resistance and the weight is only 90g.
The dial is sunburst black with faceted indices, multifaceted and polished hours and minutes hands, the GMT hand is red tipped, the date window is discreetly placed at 3 o’clock.
The watch hides the 9S86 calibre and the GMT function was introduced in 2014: an automatic wound with 55 hours of power reserve, 37 jewels and a given accuracy of +5 to -3 seconds per day, under a static use (6 position with temperature adjusted). The heart of this movement beats with 36000 vph (5Hz). Overall satin brush finish, precise forms, GS Grand Seiko golden logo on the rotor. It’s a good example of Japanese engineering.
ABlogToWatch has a very nice review of the SBGJ021 (a limited edition of SBGJ019) with nice pictures: Grand Seiko Hi-Beat 36000 GMT Limited Edition SBGJ021 Watch