Grand Seiko Spring Drive GMT Diver (SBGE001)

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yrh0413

Grand Seiko Spring Drive GMT Diver (SBGE001)

Post by yrh0413 » 18 Dec 2014 11:57

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[Prequel: a first Seiko leads to the next]

It was 4 years ago I got my first Seiko, when my Timex digital watch tendered her resignation.
My first "expensive" watch... aka the Seiko Spork (SRP043K), bought it naively from City Chain outlet and paid a premium for it.
And why I decided on the Spork? Seriously no idea, that was the hottest thing on almost every thread in WUS that time and was discontinued a short while after its release. And for the past 4 years (2011-2014) it has served me well without fail. Its hardlex crystal got scratched pretty bad, some very minor battle scars on the bezel, still keeps near-perfect time after 4 years of service. I sent the watch to Yobokies and swapped with a sapphire crystal, never been happier to wave goodbye to those ugly scratches!

However it gets rather annoying when my watch stops working on Monday after I left it on the table over the weekend. It doesn't have handwind capability, and there are no power reserve indicator. When it stops I get pretty mad because I need to set the time, and check if the date whether is before or after 12pm. Frustrations eventually lead me to get something... better.

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yrh0413

Re: Grand Seiko Spring Drive GMT Diver (SBGE001)

Post by yrh0413 » 18 Dec 2014 11:57

[How I end up with another... Seiko]

This year was a remarkable year for my company, record sales generated a pretty handsome sum of commission in my bank account. It is end of the year again, butt-itchy season is here and I told myself: I need to get a nice present for myself.

Did months of research and read-ups on the Internet, end up short-listing a few models from NOMOS, Ball, Omega, Maurice Lacroix. These are mostly dress watches as I thought a dress watch will be nice addition to my collection. In the end decided to get a NOMOS, quickly checked my schedule and booked a flight to BKK in Jan 2015. I visit NOMOS website and WUS very frequently and somehow something odd happened: My interest in Bauhaus design slowly faded when I saw more brands offering similar designs eg Stowa, Daniel Wellington, and even some b*tards from Kickstarter campaigns! Heck even my fiancee told me "wow, this watch looks nice... how much is it? $3.50?" when I show her the NOMOS on my iPad. Yeah to a non-WIS a NOMOS does look the same as those cheap watch you can find at shopping malls. I argued with her this is full in-house movement, and look at the back of the watch! She replied sensibly... "so my dear, you gonna wear the watch face down huh?" :lol:

In Nov/Dec there are more and more Grand Seiko reviews and threads emerged in WUS forum, I made a trip to Seiko Boutique at JEM to check on their GS offering. When I saw the display cabinet there, the first model that caught my eye was this particular model shining bright at me... the SBGE001 Spring Drive GMT. Why was it shining? Read on...

I played with the GMT Diver, together with a SBGA029 (Spring Drive Diver). The 029 looks too plain... very similar to other MarineMaster divers. I just cannot let go the GMT, with permission from the sales lady I removed the plastic film, twisted the bezel, unscrewed the crown... basically molested the watch for almost an hour at the boutique, then casually asked her for the best price. BAM! She lifted my interest high up and smashed it to the ground. $9-fking-thousand for this? I returned the watch to her and left. There is no way I am going to spend $9,000 on my next watch.

Reached home... the GMT Diver still lingers in my mind calling at me "buy me buy me". OK, since I have decided to fork out $4,000 to get a watch probably I can double my budget. Told my fiancee that I am getting a $9,000 watch, she said "oh you are getting your first Rolex". "Huh? Rolex? never cross my mind as Rolex to me is an ah-pek watch". Made a trip to Hour Glass with her and tried some of the models there. Sub... too small, Sub GMT... nice but small also, Deep Sea... quite thick. In the end decided on the Deep Sea but price is just way too high for me to swallow.

My interest fall back to the GS and that lead me to drop an email to Seiya and Higuchi. Within a day I received their response and due to falling Yen the GMT Diver can be had for much lesser than local Seiko boutique (hint: almost 50% cheaper). Within 30 minutes I paid through Paypal and got a confirmation from Higuchi. My months of research finally ended. And a week later my admin staff passed me a parcel... there were Japanese characters written on the box, I knew this is it.

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Last edited by yrh0413 on 18 Dec 2014 12:28, edited 1 time in total.
yrh0413

Re: Grand Seiko Spring Drive GMT Diver (SBGE001)

Post by yrh0413 » 18 Dec 2014 11:58

[Unboxing... yes I need to show you the box whether you like it or not :lol: ]

the original box. Higuchi why you didn't remove the sleeve as requested on the box? :lol:
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Sliding out the box from its sleeve. Nice, Grand Seiko
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Inner box opened. Warranty card and instruction manual on the left, another box wrapped in Japanese paper at the right.
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Lift up the box, Grand Seiko wordings made another appearance...
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Manuals and booklet, well like most of us we just put them back into the plastic sleeve
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And finally pop open the box... Tada! She's sitting there. OK I lied, Higuchi packed the watch separately from its pillow to prevent the watch from knocking around during transit. I inserted the watch back into the slot.
Plastic protective film still intact.
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Special mention here is that Higuchi also included a nice gift from Japan... some sort of handmade souvenir, thanks Higuchi-san! ;)
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Last edited by yrh0413 on 18 Dec 2014 12:48, edited 2 times in total.
yrh0413

Re: Grand Seiko Spring Drive GMT Diver (SBGE001)

Post by yrh0413 » 18 Dec 2014 11:58

[Grand Seiko SBGE001 - The Review]

Since I received the watch in the morning, I decided to make a trip to Thongsia at Kallang to resize my bracelet during lunch time.
TS was very kind to waive off the service charge, truly appreciate that but too bad local pricing is terrible if not I would have gotten locally.
I sucks in writing reviews, so let's start with the dial and slowly work to the back.

Grand Seiko SBGE001, an in-production GS and the only GS that has a sapphire bezel.
Movement is the 9R66, 43mm diameter, 14.7mm thickness.
Want to know more? Go read up here: http://www.grand-seiko.com/collection/9 ... GE001.html

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One striking difference with other GS is the sapphire bezel. From what I read... sapphire bezel supposed to replace the usual steel bezel but sapphire bezels were quickly superseded by ceramic bezel. Not sure how durable and practical to have a sapphire bezel, time will tell.
Sapphire bezel, then a polished stainless steel ring, then the sapphire crystal (slightly domed). The whole top surface of the watch consist of only reflective materials. PR needle points up means PR depleted. Nice.

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Numerics on the chapter ring. The numbers are upside-down from "7" to "17", which is practical as when lifts his arm and check his watch, the chapter ring shows the right orientation.

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Remember in my prequel I hate my Spork for not having a power indicator? Now it has one... a sexy one.

One thing I like about the GS, and this is not available on their lower-end Seiko watches is the finishing. All elements on this watch is nothing short of perfection. This is one of the indices shot with a macro lens at 1:0.8 magnification.
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Last edited by yrh0413 on 18 Dec 2014 13:08, edited 2 times in total.
yrh0413

Re: Grand Seiko Spring Drive GMT Diver (SBGE001)

Post by yrh0413 » 18 Dec 2014 11:59

[Up, Down, Left, Right]

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Screwed-links on the bracelet.

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GS Clasp.

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Signed crown, not available on my Spork. It screws down too.
Not sure if it is pure coincidence that the crown is in upright position once it is screwed down completely.

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Rolex has green stickers, GS has blue! If your GS doesn't have one you better send it to TS for verification! :lol:

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Sticker removed to show the GS dancing lion logo. Serial number 4200005: Feb 2014 production, number 5 watch from the production line.

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Not sure what does "A3" means, but the logo with an inverted "U" with a bar at the bottom means the watch is magnetic resistance up to 4,800A/m.

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One last look at the 5-link bracelet and the signed-clasp. I like how the 2nd and 4th links are polished and the rest are matte.
Last edited by yrh0413 on 18 Dec 2014 13:23, edited 1 time in total.
yrh0413

Re: Grand Seiko Spring Drive GMT Diver (SBGE001)

Post by yrh0413 » 18 Dec 2014 12:44

[Everyone's all-time favorite... Lume Shots!]

Shower it with my flashlight and see her shine!
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Lume on the bezel came from under the sapphire layer

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0.5s exposure, SBGE001 on the left, my Spork on the right

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7s exposure and my camera captured them as blue (green is the right color). As you can see the SBGE001 has the same lume brightness as the Spork even though the Spork has more lume applied to it.
Last edited by yrh0413 on 18 Dec 2014 13:36, edited 1 time in total.
yrh0413

Re: Grand Seiko Spring Drive GMT Diver (SBGE001)

Post by yrh0413 » 18 Dec 2014 12:44

[Final Words]

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The SBGE001 looks big but wear small, probably due to its smaller indices as opposed to the huge numbers on the spork.

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Comfort wise, I love the GS as it is lighter than my Spork thus when I take off my watch I see less marks on my wrist.

Accuracy wise, the GS has been proven to be super accurate... today marks the 2nd day I have my GS on my wrist and it marks the same time as those atomic clock timers on the net. Sadly I also realize my Spork has been magnetized slightly thus it has been running like 5 minutes late per week.

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Looks balanced on my 6.5" wrist.

Overall I am extremely pleased with my first GS. Very decent finishing, keeps accurate time... in many ways it is a more refined watch than its expensive peers like the Rolex. Is the GS $5,000 better than my $500 Spork? Probably not. Laws of diminishing returns... but I certainly will keep and treasure my first GS. Well probably not getting another watch anytime soon until my GS fails on me.

Oh ya one last thing: remember at the earlier part I was attracted by this shiny watch? Here's a short clip when I brought her out on our first date. Seiko did a great job on the AR coating.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OOsIEEjGWg
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balzebub71
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Re: Grand Seiko Spring Drive GMT Diver (SBGE001)

Post by balzebub71 » 18 Dec 2014 14:08

Congrats!! Great looking watch. I almost got this as well but went with more ah pek explorer 2 as I preferred a polar dial. The lumed bezel is swee in the dark! So envious..


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david.tan
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Re: Grand Seiko Spring Drive GMT Diver (SBGE001)

Post by david.tan » 18 Dec 2014 14:37

welcome to the club la bro :D
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rojakman
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Re: Grand Seiko Spring Drive GMT Diver (SBGE001)

Post by rojakman » 18 Dec 2014 19:48

Very nice watch u have acquired! Great write up too :)
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lunarin79
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Re: Grand Seiko Spring Drive GMT Diver (SBGE001)

Post by lunarin79 » 18 Dec 2014 20:01

an awesome review bro.

wear it in the best of health!
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