Grand Seiko Sport Hi-Beat 36000 GMT "25th Anniversary" blue dial stainless steel bracelet 44,2 mm

The story

The 1988 launch of the calibre 9S marked the beginning of a new era for Grand Seiko's mechanical watchmaking. A new movement, the caliber 9S was designed entirely in-house to deliver the level of precision and durability for which Grand Seiko was already renowned. It has become the platform on which all Grand Seiko mechanical watches are built, leading to the creation of a complete series of movements with different functions, escapements and complex mechanisms. These include the revolutionary caliber 9SA5 with its double-pulse escapement, and Grand Seiko's first mechanical chronograph, the Tentagraph. Not to mention GMT watches, available in a wide selection of models, including several timepieces equipped with Hi-Beat movements.

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the 9S mechanical caliber, Grand Seiko is launching a new GMT watch in its Sport collection, inspired by the sky overlooking Mount Iwate in the prefecture of the same name, where all Grand Seiko mechanical watches are hand-assembled by our skilled craftsmen.

An anniversary model

This new SBGJ275 features a steel case 44.2 mm in diameter and 14.8 mm thick. It features a combination of brushed and polished surfaces à la Zaratsu, the Maison's signature. The "Grammar of Design" style is instantly recognizable, with its angular design capturing the slightest ray of light. The case is topped with a domed sapphire crystal and features a semi-recessed crown allowing water resistance to 200 meters.

This GMT watch is adorned with a dial that evokes the sea of clouds sometimes visible at dawn, when dense clouds form in the still, humid air and overlap in a magnificent tapestry. The blue color is inspired by the sky over Mount Iwate, the peak visible from the Grand Seiko Studio Shizukuishi, when it is shrouded in this sea of clouds. The GMT hand and the GMT and GS logos provide a subtle contrast. A real success for the brand! Finally, the rotating bezel in blue and white sapphire crystal underscores this design, while allowing three time zones to be read simultaneously.

Mechanical side

Grand Seiko has chosen to equip this limited edition watch with a GMT Hi-Beat 36,000 alternations 9S86 manufacture caliber. This choice is not insignificant, as such a frequency allows extreme precision and demonstrates all the know-how and mastery of the Japanese brand in the design of High Frequency movements. Indeed, few watchmakers propose to take up this challenge, as a faster rotation speed can affect the power reserve and even the longevity of the movement itself. Backed by 50 years of experience, and the fruit of many years of development and research, this movement produced at the Shizukuishi Watch Studio offers a precision of -3 to +5 seconds per day, as well as a 55-hour power reserve. Chronometry standards superior to the COSC!

This caliber is visible through the sapphire caseback and offers a little extra: the oscillating weight is a sky-blue color obtained through an anodic oxidation process. Decorated with the Grand Seiko lion emblem, the oscillating weight, like the dial, evokes a magnificent blue sky with a sea of clouds. This is the first time that a 20-bar water-resistant Grand Seiko mechanical watch has featured a transparent caseback.