Grand Seiko SBGA429 Watch Review
Grand Seiko has introduced two new Spring Drive watches themed after sōkō, the first frost at the end of Japanese autumn, one of which is the shadow-themed SBGA429. This Soko Special Edition watch is defined by the use of the green color, inspired by the Arashiyama bamboo forest in Kyoto, Japan. The Grand Seiko Heritage Collection Spring Drive SBGA429 is encased in 39mm of stainless steel surrounding a grey vertical textured dial on a stainless steel bracelet.
The Grand Seiko Heritage Collection Spring Drive Soko timepiece includes hours, minutes, and seconds, as well as the date and a power reserve indicator. This watch measures 12.9mm in thickness and 46.5mm from lug-to-lug with a 19mm space between them.
Grand Seiko released its inaugural Seasons collection to the U.S. market in the summer of 2019, with four different watches that paid tribute to spring, summer, fall, and winter (The Grand Seiko USA exclusive Four Seasons collection). Like many of Grand Seiko's timepieces, the inspiration for these watches ran deeper than most realized, with the brand stating that each one of the four watches was inspired by different periods of change within the Japanese seasons – those of the 24 sekki, or mini-seasons, which contain six shorter seasons within each of the four main seasons in a Japanese calendar year. This Seasons collection now includes the SBGA429.
The green used for the second hand and power reserve symbolizes the green of the bamboo grove in Arashiyama, Kyoto, which peaks around that time.
The vertical pattern of the dial has a brushed polished texture to enable it to reflect more white light. It also has the image of a magnificent bamboo grove and the grey dial expresses shadow in contrast. The green accents and the grey dial look similar to the color of matcha tea leaves. The handset is completed by a vibrant light green seconds hand and power reserve indicator.
This watch has lug holes on each lug of the watchcase for easy strap changes. It comes with a black leather strap or belt with complimentary green accents in the form of green stitching and a three-fold, push-button clasp. It has a screw-in crown providing it with a ten (10) bar water resistance.
The Grand Seiko SBGA429 uses a Spring Drive movement with caliber number 9R65, which was adjusted and assembled by hand at the Shishu watch studio in Japan. This Spring Drive enables high accuracy equivalent to that of quartz watches while using the same mainspring used for mechanical watches as a power source. This is the most accurate mechanical movement with a smooth, sweeping second hand and is always on time with an accuracy of ±1 second per day / ±15 seconds per month. It also has a 72-hour power reserve. The 9R65 movement can be seen from the sapphire crystal case back.
The SBGA429 Spring Drive watch is exclusive to the U.S and can be found at Exquisite Timepieces.
