2023 Grand Seiko Heritage Spring Drive Black SBGA301
Ref: SBGA301 (9R65-0BM0)
Specification
Lugs : 19mm
Condition : Pre-Owned
Box & Papers : Box & Papers
Case Material : Stainless Steel
Warranty : Manufacturers Warranty
Points of Mention
This watch is sold with its original Grand Seiko box, swing tag, and Grand Seiko paperwork. The watch comes paired with its original Grand Seiko 19mm 3-link stainless steel bracelet and signed folding clasp with polished and brushed finishing, all links included. The watch is from June 2023 and is sold in worn condition, however, as you can see from the photos the watch is in excellent condition. The watch comes with its Manufacturer's Warranty.
For more photos see here - https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1PiCFoyLIUEcx4UklNd19iaN6auLogC6n?usp=drive_link
4K YouTube video, skip to 11:49 - https://youtu.be/ko6_7hy3OPs
The Watch
Here we have a 2023 Grand Seiko Heritage Spring Drive Black SBGA301 part of their Heritage collection, the 40mm stainless steel is expertly Zaratsu-polished by a true craftsman, and the case gently curves over your wrist tapering at the drilled lugs with a lug-to-lug length of 48.5mm and a case thickness of 12.5mm giving the watch a striking and impressive wrist presence. The refined polished and brushed surfaces transition with crisp lines, and on the right side is a screw-down signed crown, and a smooth polished bezel holds a flat sapphire crystal above a black dial. Zaratsu polished trapezoid and chamfered-edged baton indexes mark the hours, at 3 o’clock a framed date window, elegant dauphine hands are Zaratsu polished with razor edges complemented by a tapered sweeping second hand, between the 7 and 8 a power reserve. At 12 o’clock an applied “GS” “Grand Seiko”, and at 6 o’clock “Spring Drive” completes this distinctive timepiece. On the reverse, a screw-down case back with an embossed Grand Seiko medallion in the center, inside Spring Drive Grand Seiko Cal. 9R65, the innovative Spring Drive movement is mechanical, but with an electromagnetic escapement regulated by a quartz oscillator, it has 30 jewels and a power reserve of an impressive 72 hours. Its sole power source is a mainspring that drives a series of gears, a rotor connected to the end of these gears then generates a small electrical charge that activates an electronic circuit and quartz oscillator, therefore there is no need for a battery. The watch comes fitted on a Grand Seiko 19mm 3-link stainless steel bracelet and signed folding clasp with polished and brushed finishing and comes with its Grand Seiko presentation box and papers.
Personal Note
This Grand Seiko Heritage Spring Drive Reference SBGA301 feels like the most clean and stripped back example of a Spring Drive that Grand Seiko could do! Featuring a beautiful gloss black dial, power reserve and date, it has all the functionality you'd want. And housed in a sharp 40mm case on a comfortable bracelet, you really can not go wrong! Don't hesitate to add this simple, yet beautifully executed Grand Seiko to your collection.
The Brand
The first Grand Seiko debuted in Tokyo in 1960. The reference 3180 was made by Suwa Seikosha. Rather than sending its 25 Jewels Chronometer movement to the Swiss to be tested, Seiko decided to do the testing themselves. The European Chronometer Official Association believed that a chronometer-rated watch had to be independently tested to be awarded that designation. Seiko watches were not independently tested so therefore they could not be chronometers. The ECOA did what irritated watchmakers do, they wrote a stern letter to Seiko requesting that the designation of Chronometer on Grand and King Seiko watches stop. Seiko obliged and ceased using the "Chronometer" on their watches. In response, the Japanese Chronometer Authorization Association was started in 1968 as an independent group to test timepieces to chronometer standards. The Association was short-lived: due to the rise of quartz watches, it closed in 1983. Today Grand Seiko movements are tested over 17 days in 6 positions compared to COSC testing over 15 days in 5 positions. In 1985 Suwa Seikosha became Seiko Epson Corporation In 2017 Seiko announced that Grand Seiko would become an independent brand.