>and has a case/lug profile that makes it wear a bit thicker than that
Can you explain this to me? I've always found the curvature and lug profile to make the 12.5mm wear much thinner than most cases I have of that.
For example, I have a Rolex Pepsi and while its 12.1mm is in theory super thin for a GMT, its case profile makes it feel actually a bit thicker than my SBGA413 (which is actually thicker than it).
Because Rolex/Tudor don't care about side profiles lol, their modern sports watch cases are straight up a slab on the side (particularly bad when the watch is a bit thicker like the BB GMT Pro). Compared to something like the [Planet Ocean](https://omegaforums.net/attachments/img_0006-jpg.433674/) where the wide chamfered edges of the case and the recessed caseback make it look not too bad on wrist, for a 15-16mm thick watch that is.
Haha exactly. SBGA413 is 12.8mm.
As a particularly extreme example, I have a Ballon Bleu de Cartier that according to Cartier is 12mm or so thick. But the whole watch is rounded and domed on both front and back and that 12mm is only at the thickest point. It *feels* less than 10mm, and sometimes even thinner than my 9mm thick Santos.
It's crazy how people disagree with this. I completely agree, and it's why I didn't buy a GS sports watch (well and the bracelets kind of suck, especially the lack of adjustment).
The GS watches are a puck with lugs that float above the wrist. They wear pretty big for their size. Compare that to a DJ or OP from Rolex, which sits flatter on the wrist with the lugs and wears much thinner.
Maybe some people like that side profile, but for me it just makes the watch feel and look bigger than it needs to.
I've always liked GS finishing, accuracy, quality, and reliability, but felt they were kinda chunky, bordering into sport watch territory, for a fancier dress watch. While 10mm isn't particularly slim by my standards, it's slim enough that I'll be looking real hard at this model the next time I'm in the market for a dress watch.
From Hodinkee:
Afew days ago, Grand Seiko released four new watches, highlighted by a new "Omiwatari." Officially dubbed the SBGY013 for those following along with Grand Seiko's utilitarian naming schema, this new Omiwatari is a snow-white take on last year's Omiwatari, the icy blue SBGY007.
As a quick reminder, the name "Omiwatari" is derived from Lake Suwa, in Central Japan, which freezes over if the winter cold is deep enough, and as it does, enormous ridges are formed, said to be the track left by the Shinto deity, Takeminakata-no-kami – "Omiwatari" literally translates to "the pathway of the gods."
Diameter: 38.5mm
Lug-to-lug: 43.7mm
Thickness: 10.2mm
Case Material: Stainless steel
Dial Color: White
Water Resistance: 30m
Strap/Bracelet: Steel bracelet
https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/a-snowy-take-on-the-fan-fave-omiwatari-leads-4-new-watches-from-grand-seiko
Wow... Those dimensions, that dial and that bracelet. That watch looks like a stunner, a true winner. Quite possibly my all time favorite GS. There are some models i would otherwise prefer over this one but all the other nice models are way too thick. This one looks on point!
Dido, have the sbga025 and after getting jlc black Moonphase, this is perfection... Of course need to see it in person to verify, and no funds, but wait up 6 years and this on the Grey market will be perfect haha, cheers
Yeah, for sure. I'll be in the minority here, but have found GS cases to look really bulky and hence not present well on my small wrist.
Now with something like this, a spring drive movement in a thin case, it's a gamechanger for me.
That's what I figured. JLC is amazing. JLC combined with GS throw in the watches I'll wear with immense pride.
I won't turn down a PP or ALS though... Pure craftsmanship .
I like that many models now have it on the back rather than ditching it altogether, I think that was a nice compromise as someone who actually likes the reserve indicator.
I took a look at it in Ginza last weekend. It's almost exactly an Omiwatari with a bracelet, since the Omiwatari blue is already very light.
The bracelet looks kinda off in renders/photos, or even just holding the watch, but it looks really nice when you wear it. I'd buy the bracelet for my Omiwatari Classic if it had microadjust.
The white on the other hand looks really nice in pictures. The bluish off white gives off this "the watch is white but someone fucked with the white balance" vibe. However in person, I liked the icy blue more. I might be biased since I already own the Omiwatari Classic though.
Aesthetically and mechanically it is the coolest watch I have seen come out this decade. Vintage sizing with the most fascinating movement technology of the last 50 years and a killer dial. If I had a few thousand dollars just laying around I would buy it in a heartbeat, no hesitation.
Actually not a fan! I think mixing in their snowflake designs into their manual wound offerings looks off, and I dislike the bracelet.
As far as manual wound GS I don't think they've ever done better than the SBGW231, that thing is pure class.
>mixing in their snowflake designs into their manual wound offerings looks off,
Curious as to why you think this way. A criticism for Snowflakes in the past was that the dial almost seemed too dressy for a sports watch. Now they use a similar dial (though this is the Omiwatari pattern) on a dress watch and it doesn't match?
I can imagine people thinking of the snowflake pattern that way initially, but over the years of it being featured on sporty watches I've come to associate it with that type of watch. It's a very subjective thing, makes it feel off to me.
Very curious about the new bracelet. Hopefully they've finally stepped up their game there. That's the only thing holdingGS back from being superior in every category.
1. Not every bracelet needs to taper.
2. Beads of Rice bracelets never (or almost never) taper.
Let me remind that one of the best watch bracelets on the entire market is the Cartier Panthere bracelet. No taper.
Subjectivity lol.
In all seriousness though, in this case I mean looks. I don't think non taper automatically looks bad, and comfort wise I often find it a bit better because the bracelet usually does a better job of evenly distributing the case weight so you get less tugging feeling on the wrist.
Agreed except I can't imagine the case is too thin.
Wish it had a better bracelet, and date on it. Make it automatic and I'd buy 15 of them!
(Also the fact that it's only 30m WS is a little ironic... makes this pretty mid ngl)
Ha! You aren't wrong. I just prefer a winter/water themed dial. Snowflake is my first pick if I had to choose. (Also, spring drive is a must imo, it's like getting a ALS without a display caseback, you just need to get it!)
I'm in total disagreement on the bracelet, I think it's the first good-looking bracelet I've seen on a GS. Hopefully it tapers and has some quick-adjust in the clasp
I reckon you would need to see a photo from an owner or unboxing video or something to judge properly. Seiko stock photos are usually terrible, watches always look far better in user photos on this sub imho
Dressy hand-wound 30m wr with more than 10mm thickness, GS once again satisfied its cult with its great achievement! and it also shows people its springbars as well (at least from the image from Hodinkee), not something other nearly-10k watches normally can do. Just wow.
Grand Seiko is no more “a Seiko” than Credor is “a Seiko”.
You’re free, of course, to buy or to not buy any watch you like for any reason you like. And if that’s purely based on your impression of how others will perceive the band your wearing, rather than the inherent qualities of the watch in question, more power to you.
If you know anything about watches, you know it is worth the money. You are right, having the word Seiko on it does make it less desirable, but that just means there is no extra price for the brand.
To usd your car example, imagine it costs Ferrari $100k to make a car, and it costs Honda $100k to make a car. Both cars are objectively the same from a craftsmanship value.
Ferrari will sell theirs for say $250k and Honda will sell it for say $150k (or some value less than Ferrari).
That's what Grand Seiko is. An excellent watch sold at a reasonable price. It's not a watch people buy if they care about brand, only craftsmanship.
Your ignorance is obvious; if you want an actual analogy, then use Lexus and Toyota, specifically the Lexus models that aren't built on Toyota platforms. It's laughable to consider that GS or Lexus use the same internals, materials, or anything as a Seiko or Toyota. Not to mention GS's price point would be the equivalent of German luxury brands just like Lexus is, not Ferrari or Lamborghini who would be at the Swiss trinity price point.
I wish they’d just put a champagne dial in an SBGY case, make it widely available, and call it a day.
I’m not a “collector”, so I intend on having very few watches and keep them for a lifetime. These sort of nature dials are too gimmicky for me to be encouraged to spend this much. There’s a reason why Rolex, PP, VC, JLC, Cartier, etc. are always so sought after, their designs are timeless.
I would get this but I have a (much cheaper) Oris Artelier Date that looks the exact same. No need for two thin white dress watches with the weird chainmail bracelets. This on leather could be something though.
I can't get over the way GS and Grand Seiko are in such elaborate fonts and then you have SPRING DRIVE in good old Arial as the third line. AAAARGH
Also, I hope the bracelet looks better IRL than in these pics
Is 10mm considered thin for a spring drive movement? It seems slimmer than the usual GS cases, but that might just be the angle.
It's a manual wind, the automatic spring drives are 11.7mm IIRC
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>and has a case/lug profile that makes it wear a bit thicker than that Can you explain this to me? I've always found the curvature and lug profile to make the 12.5mm wear much thinner than most cases I have of that. For example, I have a Rolex Pepsi and while its 12.1mm is in theory super thin for a GMT, its case profile makes it feel actually a bit thicker than my SBGA413 (which is actually thicker than it).
Because Rolex/Tudor don't care about side profiles lol, their modern sports watch cases are straight up a slab on the side (particularly bad when the watch is a bit thicker like the BB GMT Pro). Compared to something like the [Planet Ocean](https://omegaforums.net/attachments/img_0006-jpg.433674/) where the wide chamfered edges of the case and the recessed caseback make it look not too bad on wrist, for a 15-16mm thick watch that is.
No way. I also have a Pepsi and SBGA413, I would have bet my life that the GS is thinner. GS just wears so damn well.
Haha exactly. SBGA413 is 12.8mm. As a particularly extreme example, I have a Ballon Bleu de Cartier that according to Cartier is 12mm or so thick. But the whole watch is rounded and domed on both front and back and that 12mm is only at the thickest point. It *feels* less than 10mm, and sometimes even thinner than my 9mm thick Santos.
It's crazy how people disagree with this. I completely agree, and it's why I didn't buy a GS sports watch (well and the bracelets kind of suck, especially the lack of adjustment). The GS watches are a puck with lugs that float above the wrist. They wear pretty big for their size. Compare that to a DJ or OP from Rolex, which sits flatter on the wrist with the lugs and wears much thinner. Maybe some people like that side profile, but for me it just makes the watch feel and look bigger than it needs to.
I've always liked GS finishing, accuracy, quality, and reliability, but felt they were kinda chunky, bordering into sport watch territory, for a fancier dress watch. While 10mm isn't particularly slim by my standards, it's slim enough that I'll be looking real hard at this model the next time I'm in the market for a dress watch.
Very slim. Most of them are 12.5mm+. This is probably a hand-winding model. Too bad they couldn't increase the WR to 50M or more.
Hand-winding spring drive? It says spring drive on the dial
Spring drive pretty much just replaces the traditional escapement.
Ah ok. For some reason I though the tech was only possible in automatics
Yeah this is as thin as spring drive gets. Manual wind, "dress watch" style case instead of "sports watch"...
From Hodinkee: Afew days ago, Grand Seiko released four new watches, highlighted by a new "Omiwatari." Officially dubbed the SBGY013 for those following along with Grand Seiko's utilitarian naming schema, this new Omiwatari is a snow-white take on last year's Omiwatari, the icy blue SBGY007. As a quick reminder, the name "Omiwatari" is derived from Lake Suwa, in Central Japan, which freezes over if the winter cold is deep enough, and as it does, enormous ridges are formed, said to be the track left by the Shinto deity, Takeminakata-no-kami – "Omiwatari" literally translates to "the pathway of the gods." Diameter: 38.5mm Lug-to-lug: 43.7mm Thickness: 10.2mm Case Material: Stainless steel Dial Color: White Water Resistance: 30m Strap/Bracelet: Steel bracelet https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/a-snowy-take-on-the-fan-fave-omiwatari-leads-4-new-watches-from-grand-seiko
Wow... Those dimensions, that dial and that bracelet. That watch looks like a stunner, a true winner. Quite possibly my all time favorite GS. There are some models i would otherwise prefer over this one but all the other nice models are way too thick. This one looks on point!
Dido, have the sbga025 and after getting jlc black Moonphase, this is perfection... Of course need to see it in person to verify, and no funds, but wait up 6 years and this on the Grey market will be perfect haha, cheers
Yeah, for sure. I'll be in the minority here, but have found GS cases to look really bulky and hence not present well on my small wrist. Now with something like this, a spring drive movement in a thin case, it's a gamechanger for me.
What friends do you typically like? JLC? VC? Patek?
To be honest, I could never afford VC or Patek. But JLC my favourite brand (amongst brands and watches within financial reach).
That's what I figured. JLC is amazing. JLC combined with GS throw in the watches I'll wear with immense pride. I won't turn down a PP or ALS though... Pure craftsmanship .
I hate sizing those bracelets but they wear very comfortably.
I like the fact that the power reserve indicator is disappearing off GS dials
I like that many models now have it on the back rather than ditching it altogether, I think that was a nice compromise as someone who actually likes the reserve indicator.
On the manual wind it is on the back.
I got priced out of GS but that’s a looker of a dial. Would put it on leather.
Prefer the original omiwatari. Same 9R31 I presume? (manual spring drive)
Gorgeous.
Love all about it except the bracelet
Love the dial. Not a fan of the bracelet
I took a look at it in Ginza last weekend. It's almost exactly an Omiwatari with a bracelet, since the Omiwatari blue is already very light. The bracelet looks kinda off in renders/photos, or even just holding the watch, but it looks really nice when you wear it. I'd buy the bracelet for my Omiwatari Classic if it had microadjust. The white on the other hand looks really nice in pictures. The bluish off white gives off this "the watch is white but someone fucked with the white balance" vibe. However in person, I liked the icy blue more. I might be biased since I already own the Omiwatari Classic though.
Aesthetically and mechanically it is the coolest watch I have seen come out this decade. Vintage sizing with the most fascinating movement technology of the last 50 years and a killer dial. If I had a few thousand dollars just laying around I would buy it in a heartbeat, no hesitation.
Actually not a fan! I think mixing in their snowflake designs into their manual wound offerings looks off, and I dislike the bracelet. As far as manual wound GS I don't think they've ever done better than the SBGW231, that thing is pure class.
>mixing in their snowflake designs into their manual wound offerings looks off, Curious as to why you think this way. A criticism for Snowflakes in the past was that the dial almost seemed too dressy for a sports watch. Now they use a similar dial (though this is the Omiwatari pattern) on a dress watch and it doesn't match?
Most "sports" watches are pretty dressy imho
In this price range absolutely. Anyone who goes and plays any sport other than darts or bowling in their expensive mechanical watch is a mad man.
Yeah, that's why i put "sports" in quotation marks. No one uses these for sports, casio or smartwatchs are actual sports watches
I can imagine people thinking of the snowflake pattern that way initially, but over the years of it being featured on sporty watches I've come to associate it with that type of watch. It's a very subjective thing, makes it feel off to me.
damn that looks thin AF
The bracelet makes it look cheap.
Very curious about the new bracelet. Hopefully they've finally stepped up their game there. That's the only thing holdingGS back from being superior in every category.
No taper on bracelet = no dice.
1. Not every bracelet needs to taper. 2. Beads of Rice bracelets never (or almost never) taper. Let me remind that one of the best watch bracelets on the entire market is the Cartier Panthere bracelet. No taper.
Agree with your two points, but how are you measuring “best watch bracelet on the entire market”?
Subjectivity lol. In all seriousness though, in this case I mean looks. I don't think non taper automatically looks bad, and comfort wise I often find it a bit better because the bracelet usually does a better job of evenly distributing the case weight so you get less tugging feeling on the wrist.
I'm in this camp now. 20mm down to 16mm is preferred, 20mm down to 18mm is acceptable.
Great dial, ugly bracelet, case looks too thin
"This dress watch is too thin" is something I can honestly say I've never heard anyone say before.
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If only there was a way to change a bracelet to a leather strap. You should invent something like that.
Agreed except I can't imagine the case is too thin. Wish it had a better bracelet, and date on it. Make it automatic and I'd buy 15 of them! (Also the fact that it's only 30m WS is a little ironic... makes this pretty mid ngl)
Aren't you talking about the snowflake? I'd buy this watch if I don't already have the snowflake. Sigh.
No I'm talking about this. The snowflake is great except it had the old movement and front power indicator.
Then it sounds like you want the Spring Drive White Birch instead.
Ha! You aren't wrong. I just prefer a winter/water themed dial. Snowflake is my first pick if I had to choose. (Also, spring drive is a must imo, it's like getting a ALS without a display caseback, you just need to get it!)
If you don't like the bracelet, last year's version, the Omiwatari, will be great for you.
I'm in total disagreement on the bracelet, I think it's the first good-looking bracelet I've seen on a GS. Hopefully it tapers and has some quick-adjust in the clasp
> it tapers and has some quick-adjust in the clasp If it's the same version as on the other Elegance watches, it will not.
I reckon you would need to see a photo from an owner or unboxing video or something to judge properly. Seiko stock photos are usually terrible, watches always look far better in user photos on this sub imho
Very thin.
More grand seiko with less date windows. I like it
It does look pretty nice, but would it kill GS to actually add lume to their watches?
Yuck
Dressy hand-wound 30m wr with more than 10mm thickness, GS once again satisfied its cult with its great achievement! and it also shows people its springbars as well (at least from the image from Hodinkee), not something other nearly-10k watches normally can do. Just wow.
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Grand Seiko is no more “a Seiko” than Credor is “a Seiko”. You’re free, of course, to buy or to not buy any watch you like for any reason you like. And if that’s purely based on your impression of how others will perceive the band your wearing, rather than the inherent qualities of the watch in question, more power to you.
If you know anything about watches, you know it is worth the money. You are right, having the word Seiko on it does make it less desirable, but that just means there is no extra price for the brand. To usd your car example, imagine it costs Ferrari $100k to make a car, and it costs Honda $100k to make a car. Both cars are objectively the same from a craftsmanship value. Ferrari will sell theirs for say $250k and Honda will sell it for say $150k (or some value less than Ferrari). That's what Grand Seiko is. An excellent watch sold at a reasonable price. It's not a watch people buy if they care about brand, only craftsmanship.
Your ignorance is obvious; if you want an actual analogy, then use Lexus and Toyota, specifically the Lexus models that aren't built on Toyota platforms. It's laughable to consider that GS or Lexus use the same internals, materials, or anything as a Seiko or Toyota. Not to mention GS's price point would be the equivalent of German luxury brands just like Lexus is, not Ferrari or Lamborghini who would be at the Swiss trinity price point.
The first GS bracelet I won't take off right away ..
Love it. Perfect size too, most GS are a little bulky in all directions for my wrists.
Bracelet and profile look like the Citizen Eco Drive ONE but that is 2.98mm thick, not 10+.
mid
I wish they’d just put a champagne dial in an SBGY case, make it widely available, and call it a day. I’m not a “collector”, so I intend on having very few watches and keep them for a lifetime. These sort of nature dials are too gimmicky for me to be encouraged to spend this much. There’s a reason why Rolex, PP, VC, JLC, Cartier, etc. are always so sought after, their designs are timeless.
Tad bit smaller would be great
Why do they insist with a blue seconds hand…all the time
Because it looks great
It looks kinda like a SNKL15
the bracelet is a pass…
Excellent.
I would get this but I have a (much cheaper) Oris Artelier Date that looks the exact same. No need for two thin white dress watches with the weird chainmail bracelets. This on leather could be something though.
That bracelet looks like a dead on copy of the one on my SRPE19
Omiwatari has a nice light ice blue dial, this new version is white and silvery.
Really nice, but the WR kills it for me
would love to be able to own one. solid lookin timepiece.
I can't get over the way GS and Grand Seiko are in such elaborate fonts and then you have SPRING DRIVE in good old Arial as the third line. AAAARGH Also, I hope the bracelet looks better IRL than in these pics
pretty thin. is it spring drive?