Review: Grand Seiko Elegance GMT Ref. SBGM221

Grand Seiko is a true independent manufacture without an obfuscated history. The line was founded in 1960, and it was the start of Seiko’s efforts to produce high-end watches that could compete against those of the Swiss. In 1962, legendary Seiko designer Taro Tanaka developed a series of rules dubbed the Grammar of Design, and his holistic approach to what watches should look like would inform Grand Seiko’s design language for years to come. In 1972, Grand Seiko ceased production for a period of 16 years, until the brand was brought back in 1988 with Grand Seiko’s first quartz-powered watch — the 95GS. But it wasn’t until 1998 that Grand Seiko released the 9S5 mechanical series featuring Grand Seiko’s first new mechanical caliber in 20 years.

My love for Grand Seiko was cemented when I visited the brand’s facilities late last year. Seeing the watches come together, that wonderful mix of hand craft and industrial production, was really something to behold, and I ended the experience more in love with the Grand Seiko on my wrist.

Grand Seiko is a true innovator. The brand’s pioneering Spring Drive movements continue to impressive even 21 years after they were first introduced to the world, and I personally believe Spring Drive to be one of a handful genuinely interesting developments in timekeeping mechanics of the last several decades. And, of course, there’s Grand Seiko’s 9F quartz line, which is arguably the crème de la crème as far as quartz is concerned.

The watch we’re looking at today is one of my favorites in Grand Seiko’s current catalog; in fact, it’s a watch that I own. The Ref. SBGM221 sits in Grand Seiko’s Elegance range, which is home to Grand Seiko’s dress(ier) timepieces. At $4,600, it’s also priced on the lower end for a Grand Seiko mechanical watch, but despite the lower price, it’s still a Grand Seiko through and through and one hell of a value for what you get. Let’s jump right in.

Measuring 39.5mm wide, 14.5mm thick, and 46.3mm lug-to-lug, the watch hits a sort of sweet spot. Being that it’s a touch dressier given the overall dial and case finishing, it’s nice that the case comes in just under 40mm. That said, I wouldn’t classify this as a straightforward dress watch, so the fact the case isn’t a svelte 37mm doesn’t bother me.

While 14.5mm reads somewhat thick on paper, the case itself doesn’t look too thick, nor does it wear especially tall on the wrist. First, the mid-case isn’t a giant slab. Second, the thickness is distributed among the case back, mid-case, and sapphire box crystal. And third, the case back dips into the wrist when worn, and the lugs curve down, which ultimately allows for a really nice fit that should accommodate a variety of wrist sizes and shapes.

Unlike the watches making up Grand Seiko’s Heritage and Sport lines, the watches of the Elegance collection feature softer cases. When I say soft, I’m not commenting on the quality of finish; in fact, everything here is as crisp and precise as can be. By “soft” I mean that the cases aren’t as harsh and angular as some of those inspired by Tanaka’s Grammar of Design. While I admire those watches in the abstract — and I’m a huge fan of many of the vintage counterparts — I haven’t fully warmed up to some of the more popular modern takes on the aesthetic. Personally, I find that many of them tend to dominate my 7-inch wrist. I completely understand that this is my preference and nothing more, and that there are many Grand Seiko devotees without this issue, but I wanted to offer context for why I’m particularly drawn to Grand Seiko’s Elegance range.

Now, one knock that I do have against this watch — and to be more specific, the case — is the water resistance rating of just 3 atm, which Grand Seiko categorizes as “splash resistant.” As I wrote above, these are obviously meant to be dressier watches from Grand Seiko (and 3 atm is common for dress watches), but they’re not dress watches in the truest sense — not to me, anyway, though I realize that’s a matter of perspective. I’d argue that this watch can be a perfect one-watch contender given how it wears and its built-in functionality. So, with that said, 3 atm is bit disappointing (though by no means a dealbreaker, obviously, since I own this watch). To make it clear, I’m not expecting dive watch specs here, but I’d like prefer something a touch more robust.

One of the things that I really love about Grand Seiko is the brand’s commitment to impeccable finishing. I truly believe that for the price you will not find a better finished watch. Hell, even if you tacked on a couple extra grand to the comparison, Grand Seiko would still come out on top when pitted against the competition.

“And that’s what’s cool about Grand Seiko. Getting a perfectly finished watch is the rule and not the exception.”

Turning to the dial now, the dial of the SBGM221 invites you to look at it through a loop. The hands are razor sharp; the sculpted indices, applied Grand Seiko insignia, and date window frame are perfectly finished; and the dial printing is without slop. I have a reputation of being a bit eagle-eyed here at W&W HQ, and I seriously cannot find any fault here. And that’s what’s cool about Grand Seiko. Getting a perfectly finished watch is the rule and not the exception.

Let’s spend some time on the hour markers and hands. A single marker has nine perfectly polished surfaces, except at the cardinal spots where the markers are doubled (here you have twelve distinct surfaces). When you factor in how small these markers are, the degree of sculpting and finishing becomes all the more impressive. Again, I repeat: this is the rule with Grand Seiko and not the exception.

Powering the watch is Grand Seiko’s 9S66 automatic GMT movement. It features a three-day (72 hours) power reserve, a beat rate of 28,800 vbh (or 4 hrz), 35 jewels, it’s regulated to six positions, and it’s rated to +5/-3 seconds per day.

“But it’s not just all looks — the 9S66 is also technically impressive.”

The 9S66 is a “true” GMT. Here’s what that means. The watch features a jumping local-hour hand, which is exactly what it sounds like — via the crown, you can jump the hour hand forward or backward (and bring the date with you when you move past midnight) to set your watch to the new local time after you’ve crossed timezones. The 24-hour hand remains linked to home time or any other timezone you’d like to track. This is by far the preferred implementation for GMTs.

Because the hour hand jumps in both directions via the crown, there’s no traditional quickset date via the crown. To advance the date quickly, you have to jump the hour hand past midnight until you reach your desired date. It sounds more tedious than it really is, and I’d argue that the added GMT functionality as is is worth the small sacrifice here.

The 9S66 is a beautifully finished caliber, visible through the open case back. At certain angles on the crystal, you can see the Grand Seiko lion emblem — a nod to the beautiful medallions that once adorned vintage Grand Seikos.

But it’s not just all looks — the 9S66 is also technically impressive. Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems — otherwise known as MEMS — is a highly advanced semi-conductor manufacturing technology employed by Seiko here to produce lightweight precision parts for their 9S calibers. Using MEMS, Grand Seiko can make escape wheels that are 5% lighter and pallet forks that are 25% lighter. Grand Seiko also uses their own anti-magnetic metallic alloy for their hairsprings. Their latest is Spron 610, and it’s very resilient to shock, magnetism, heat, and corrosion.

The SBGM221 comes on a 19mm alligator strap with a unique folding deployant. Both are well-made and up to par with the quality found on the rest of the watch. Having said that, I’m not a huge fan of deployant claps, nor do I generally like alligator straps, so I opted for something a bit more dressed down. While straps are certainly a matter of preference, I do like the SBGM221 on brown leather. I find that brown works well with the cream dial and the pop of blue on the GMT hand.

I began this review by stating that the SBGM221 is one of the most affordably-priced mechanical Grand Seikos currently on the market. After all that I covered here, you can see that despite its price, it’s by no means a lesser watch. From the movement to the finishing, this is a full-fledged Grand Seiko through and through. At $4,600, you’re getting a level of precision, mastery, and design that blows the competition away. People often talk about Grand Seiko offering amazing bang-for-buck in the luxury segment, and they’re not wrong. This is one hell of a watch, and without a doubt worthy of the moniker “Grand.” Grand Seiko