Grand Seiko Hi Beat GMT SBGJ005 Review

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TimelessLuxWatches
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Grand Seiko Hi Beat GMT SBGJ005 Review

Post by TimelessLuxWatches » 25 Sep 2014 05:27

Grand Seiko Hi Beat GMT SBGJ005 Review

(For a low-bandwidth version, check out our site here: http://timelessluxwatches.com/reviews/g ... 005-review)
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2014 marked a momentous year for Grand Seiko. On the one hand, our favorite Japanese brand was busy celebrating the 50th anniversary of their famous model, the 1964 Self Dater. But on the other, GS was looking to the future, specifically with this model, the SBGJ005. It's the first Grand Seiko of its kind.

The Introduction

While GMT watches are hardly novel, even within Grand Seiko, the SBGJ line is something quite special. High frequency watches, of which the most famous members are the Grand Seiko Hi-Beat and Zenith El Primero, are quite legendary for their accuracy and are rare designs today. This year Grand Seiko added their very first Hi-Beat GMT model, and one of the only high frequency GMT watches ever made.

As a result, this is also the beginning of a new movement for Grand Seiko, the 9S86, and this is the first new Hi Beat movement from Grand Seiko since 2009 and only the second new movement since 2010. Why is the Hi Beat so respected? Well, it all goes back to 1968 when Grand Seiko beat the world in the Neuchatel and Geneva observatory chronometer trials. Not only is the movement an excellent performer, it has a very real pedigree.

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The Face

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Few, if any, dials got as much attention as the SBGJ005 did at 2014's Basel World, the biggest show in the watch industry. This wasn't without reason--just look at it.

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The most intriguing part of the face is, of course, the green dial. Grand Seiko is often quite invested in symbolism and this one is no exception. The green is apparently inspired by the verdant green fields surrounding the Shizuku-Ishi watch studio in Morioka. I'm curious if this is a response to the competing Grand Seiko studio's Snowflake, which was inspired by the snow outside their respective windows. In a very direct way, it's Morioka's Snowflake and this watch, as much as any other, represents the absolute best that this legendary shop can create.

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Look closer, ideally under magnification, and the SBGJ005's dial rewards you with every increasing detail. This beautiful and elaborate "sunburst flake," as I'm calling it, extends from the center of the dial and has a tremendous 3 dimensional effect. In fact, this has the strong appearance of actually being just under the surface as, in the presence of an intense light, the dial appears to be perfectly flat and smooth.

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Although this green dial is a limited edition and already incredibly hard to find, the good news is that this amazing dial work is also available on the white SBGJ001 and black SBGJ003, so for 2014, there are a few colors to choose from. Soon there will only be two colors left, white with blue accents and black with red accents, but you do have some options.

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But we're part of the lucky few and we do have a green one. The green model, like past special edition Grand Seiko GMTs, has gold accents. This is most obvious in the gold GMT hand, but the numbers on the chapter ring and the GMT writing under the GS logo are also in gold writing.

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In most of the stock photos and some of the hasty shots that arise out of poor lighting at trade shows like Basel World and JCK the GMT hand appears to be orange. But in fact, it is gold, and it's much better looking in real life. It has that dull sheen to it--not polished, not sandblasted, yet clearly metallic. It's very similar to the special edition blue dialed SBGM029 and 031 if you were lucky enough to see one of those. That similarity continues onto the rotor, but we'll get to that later.

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While the GMT hand adds a dash of color, the other three hands stick to Grand Seiko tradition. The massive and flat dauphine hands have a brushed top surface, which Grand Seiko typically saves for its black dials, but I suppose the color of this dial is a dark enough green to warrant it. The sides of the hands are beveled to catch many different angles of light and act as almost a glowing border to the less reflective top surface. It's extremely easy to read. The seconds hand appears to be ordinary as well, but that appearance is deceiving.

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Because the seconds hand is now raised far off the dial thanks to having an additional hand beneath it, reading the seconds hand precisely can be difficult at an angle. To remedy this, Grand Seiko actually slightly bends the end of the seconds hand down so that it's closer to the dial, decreasing the possibility of error.

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The chapter ring subtly carries the 24 hour counter for the GMT hand in matching gold writing. This is a much dressier way to go about it, as opposed to say the SBGM027, which puts large numbers on the actual bezel.

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The date, like most Grand Seikos, has a nice frame around it which serves to take up the space where an applied marker would go. Like almost all "true" GMT watches, the SBGJ005 doesn't quickset, the date is changed backwards and forwards by moving the independent hour hand.

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The applied hour markers are a bit different than an ordinary Grand Seiko mechanical. It uses the shorter and broader markers from the 1964 Self Dater model which have inspired so much this year as opposed to the more ordinary long and slender markers from famous models like the SBGH001. This is very interesting because while this SBGJ005 is a limited edition, the SBGJ001 and 003 are "limited production" and will have a small run every year--none of these models were obviously designed to be an homage to the 1964 GS, lacking its distinctive case.

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All of these details culminate in one of the best looking Grand Seikos ever and certainly one of the most unique. Green dials are an underserved market in the watch world, and the gold accents contrast really well with it. I would suggest that the dials they are using for the SBGJ001/003/005 are possibly the best they've ever done, certainly up there with the heavy hitters like the Hi-Beat SBGH001 and Snowflake.

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The Movement

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Grand Seiko is primarily known for two things: dials and movements. This is the latter, and it's very special--it's the first, and only, high frequency GMT watch Seiko has ever made.

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Before we get to the tech, however, we must first address the elephant in the room: the special rotor that comes only on this SBGJ005 (not the SBGJ001 and SBGJ003).

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This special rotor, at least the parts you can see, is made primarily of anodized titanium. Titanium is both strong and light, making it a great material to connect the automatic winding system to the heavy rotating weight at the end. In the case of Grand Seiko, tungsten is used for its high degree of density which ultimately increases automatic winding efficiency. The full rotor design is also inherently more shock resistant than the semi-circular one we're used to. This again goes back to other special edition GMTs, like the SBGM029, although its unique rotor was blue.

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An interesting visual effect of this design is that the Grand Seiko lion is always at 12:00 relative to the earth. This has the same sort of visual impact as Rolls Royce wheels where the RR logo is always correctly aligned with the earth.

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Aesthetics aside, let's look into why this new movement got so much attention at its debut. The first modern Hi-Beat movement was the 9S85, released in 2009. This, unsurprisingly, is called the 9S86. Usually in Grand Seiko movement speak, a 6 at the end denotes a GMT complication (where a 4 denotes a handwound). This, therefore, is a 9S85 with a GMT complication. But Grand Seiko doesn't just throw a 4th hand onto the watch and call it a day. It receives the full GMT treatment.

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So what exactly is a GMT complication and what makes this a "true" one? Well, a GMT complication shows a second time zone (or Greenwich Mean Time), most often using a 4th hand, like here. As a result, they are the favorite complication of the frequent traveler. Typically, the GMT hand is synced to the main hour hand while the owner is in his home time zone. When he travels to another country, for instance, he changes the hour hand of the main time (leaving the GMT hand alone) and now he can easily see his local time, but also see his home time, and whether it's AM or PM (it's on a 24 hour scale). But that is merely one use. If, for instance, you live in Dallas but frequently do business with Japan, as we do, you might set the GMT hand to Tokyo's time zone. Ultimately, how it's used is up to the convenience of its owner.

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That's all well and good, but what makes this a so-called "true" GMT? The main difference is how the hands are set. The 9S86, like a true GMT complication, has an independent hour hand, a crucial ingredient. This means the hour hand is disconnected from the rest of the movement when you are setting the watch. Pull the crown out to the first position and the hour hand is "unlocked" while the seconds and minutes keep on running. The hour hand jumps an hour forward or backwards to just the right spot. This means you can change your time zone (or daylight savings time) without interrupting your accuracy. Of course, the watch does hack, and if you pull the crown out all the way, the seconds hand stops and the watch is set normally. As you advance the minutes hand, the 4th hand (GMT hand) advances or retreats. Like almost all true GMT watches, there is no quickset date. The date is instead set forwards or backwards by moving the hour hand 24 hours, a task that is surprisingly quick because the hour hand "moves" faster than a minutes hand.

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Aside from the not insignificant addition of the GMT complication, the 9S86 is almost identical to the 9S85. They're both 37 jewel movements with exceptionally long power reserves for their frequency, 55 hours, about 15 more than the industry average and about 5 more than its nearest competitor, the Zenith El Primero. Most noteworthy, however, is that it runs at 36000 BPH. This is very important as high frequency movements were what took Grand Seiko to be the #1 movement maker in the world in 1968 and this design pays homage to it.

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The 36000 BPH isn't just a historical reference, however. Like all Grand Seikos, the accuracy exceeds that required for a Swiss chronometer at +5/-3 seconds per day. Internally, the 9S85 and 9S86 are actually held to a slightly higher standard than the 28000 BPH 9S65, although those movements do have a better power reserve.

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It's all very traditionally made, entirely in house, by Grand Seiko's literal master watchmakers. Unlike the competition, the movements are adjusted for all 6 positions instead of 5 and 3 temperatures instead of 2. Of course, performance was never a weakness of the high beat design, it was longevity. Grand Seiko solved this problem by using special oil retaining grooves in the escapement, preventing the "slinging" associated with the high frequency movements of the 1960s. Consequently, it has the same service interval as its lower frequency 9S65 brother. It also hosts quite a bit of high-tech materials and manufacturing processes. For instance, the escape wheel is both hollow and skeletonized, reducing the energy needed to drive it and ultimately reducing wear. The hairspring and mainspring alloys are made in house and have superior performance attributes. MEMS means that the parts are actually finished to a literal molecular level. In short, it cannot be disputed that the new 9S86 is a world class movement that can compete with virtually any maker in the business.

The Case

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The case of the SBGJ001/003/005 is reminiscent of the special edition cases from 2013. Those cases were created to honor the legendary 44GS but it appears that Seiko liked the design so much that it's become a normal part of the lineup.

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Most contemporary Grand Seikos use the sporty case that was developed by the brand in 1966 with long and smooth lugs. This model, although very similar, has much edgier lugs with an almost crystalline look.

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Where the SBGH001's lugs are relatively smoothed out at the end, there are a number of bold and flat facets here. It gives it a slightly edgier, slightly sportier look, which is definitely coherent with a GMT watch.

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Like all Grand Seikos, the polishing is absolutely flawless and has an impressive mirror finish.

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The crown, like the SBGH001 and SBGH005, screws down, again befitting its sporty nature. Like those watches it's certified for 100 meters of water resistance, so you could definitely take it swimming although I wouldn't say it was intended for it.

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Although quite dressy, the SBGJ005 is still ultimately a sports watch and it's moderately thick. It's by no means fat in today's standards of automatic watches, but neither can it be said to be thin. I would love to see Grand Seiko produce a 9S84, a hand wound hi-beat movement.

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Like the SBGH001 Hi-Beat, the case is, for me at least, the perfect size at 40mm, although the addition of the GMT complication takes it from about 13mm thick to 14mm. Ultimately, the case is slightly thicker and slightly sportier, but if you like the SBGH001/005's case, you'll like the SBGJ005s. It's really got the right attitude--the slightly busier dial and just ever so slightly sportier elements throughout really come together in a coherent way. Just holding one you know it's sportier than the SBGH001, but you can't really pick out any single element to explain why, and it's because of this nuanced execution.

The Video

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Check out our high-definition video of the amazing SBGJ005 here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HV5ULR7_VAI. It's the only way to really appreciate the amazing dial without seeing it in person.

The Conclusion

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The SBGJ005 is an awesome watch and really shows Grand Seiko's continued dedication to developing the line. They already make a far greater variety of movements than most other companies, and it's only been 4 years since they released their last one, yet they aren't slowing down at all.

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The dial work is excellent even by Grand Seiko's standards. I would say that it's their best, up there with the Snowflake and the SBGH001. The gold accents really set it off. The dial is so hard to describe because at a glance you want to say it has a sunburst texture, but that's not really the case--it's perfectly smooth, the texture is somehow underneath the surface. Quite impressive.

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The enthusiast for this model is obvious as well--if you wanted a Hi-Beat, but loved or needed a GMT complication, this is your watch. They basically just doubled the Hi-Beat lineup and now watch collectors who love the legendary movement have a lot more options.

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Choosing between these new GMTs and the older 3 handers is difficult. The new models are slightly busier and slightly sportier, so if you want to veer towards the side of sports watches, these are probably the way to go. The dial work is also more eye catching, and the more colorful GMT hand, whether it be gold, blue or red, will certainly get more attention than a simple blued seconds hand on an SBGH001. Conversely, if you wanted your watch to double duty between dress and casual, the SBGH001 and SBGH005 may have more appeal.

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Another difficult question is choosing between this special edition SBGJ005 and the more widely available SBGJ001 and SBGJ003, the white and black models respectively. While I didn't have those here for comparative purposes, I did see the prototypes several months ago, so I have an idea. The green dial definitely got the most attention of the three, but I actually found myself falling more for the 001 and 003. I love the flake texture of the black dial, where it breaks into little white rays, not unlike the SBGH005. I'm also a sucker for blue hands and white dials, so the SBGJ001 was my favorite. Furthermore, while the rotor on the SBGJ005 is very cool and special, I wish it didn't cover up so much of the very pretty 9S86 movement. So while I would absolutely love to have this SBGJ005, I actually think I might prefer the SBGJ001 and SBGJ003 to it, if only slightly.

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Of course, 50 years from now, owners of these SBGJ005s can look forward to a new model honoring the watch they're already wearing. With Grand Seiko, we sometimes get caught up in the legendary models of the 1960s and are unable to see that the new models are future legends. I have no doubt that this, the first Hi-Beat GMT, will be among them--and perhaps that alone is worth going for the special edition version.

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balzebub71
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Re: Grand Seiko Hi Beat GMT SBGJ005 Review

Post by balzebub71 » 25 Sep 2014 09:30

Thanks for the review. That's a beautiful watch. The dial is just gorgeous. If only I could get my SO to approve of a GS purchase in this price range...
I want to be a one watch guy!!
maxxevv

Re: Grand Seiko Hi Beat GMT SBGJ005 Review

Post by maxxevv » 25 Sep 2014 10:20

Awesome watch, awesome review.

Thanks, makes one lust after one indeed! And as someone did mention over at WUS forums, wish Seiko would make a Hi-Beat, GS pared down, 36kbpm movement into a Marinemaster 300 or similar case !
That would really be a design classic too!
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Trident
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Re: Grand Seiko Hi Beat GMT SBGJ005 Review

Post by Trident » 25 Sep 2014 18:39

Great review. Such a beautiful watch. Luv the black dial
Anfarky

Re: Grand Seiko Hi Beat GMT SBGJ005 Review

Post by Anfarky » 01 Oct 2014 02:41

The cream version reminds me of the Snowflake SBGA011's textured dial.
oncleoliver
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Re: Grand Seiko Hi Beat GMT SBGJ005 Review

Post by oncleoliver » 01 Oct 2014 10:57

Great review.... great poison.

Unfortunately CFO said "no way"
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roo7
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Re: Grand Seiko Hi Beat GMT SBGJ005 Review

Post by roo7 » 01 Oct 2014 20:07

It's a beautiful piece. I wonder what's the retail price on this.
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TimelessLuxWatches
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Re: Grand Seiko Hi Beat GMT SBGJ005 Review

Post by TimelessLuxWatches » 02 Oct 2014 00:16

roo7 wrote:It's a beautiful piece. I wonder what's the retail price on this.
Hey roo7! Our (American) MSRP is $7250 USD for the SBGJ005 and $7000 for the SBGJ001 and 003. Really not that much more than my Hi-Beat SBGH001, I think it's a pretty solid deal.
_m0r0n_

Re: Grand Seiko Hi Beat GMT SBGJ005 Review

Post by _m0r0n_ » 11 Nov 2014 12:47

I own one, but as for local retail price. It costs around 10K something.
TimelessLuxWatches
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Re: Grand Seiko Hi Beat GMT SBGJ005 Review

Post by TimelessLuxWatches » 14 Nov 2014 05:39

Well we ship to Singapore at our expense, so if you want to take advantage of our pricing, feel free to do so. However, sadly, all SBGJ005s are sold out now.
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