Seiko Presage Automatic "Baby GS Snowflake 2" Limited Edition International Ref. SJE073 or JDM Ref. SARA015, The Best Reinterpretation of an Icon - A Review (plus Video)

When the Seiko Presage Automatic "Baby GS Snowflake 2" Limited Edition Ref. SJE073 (International reference)/SARA015 (JDM reference) was showcased at Baselworld 2018, I was hooked. It immediately became another 'grail' watch for me. Why a 'grail' watch you might ask? The likelihood of me snaring one of the only 1,881 examples made is slim considering how beautiful it is.

In many reviews, the SJE073/SARA015 has been given the nickname "Baby GS Snowflake". This nickname was already given to the SARX055 last year. It is not fair to strip it from the incumbent just because this looks closer to the GS Snowflake. I prefer to give the nickname "Baby GS Snowflake 2" to the SJE073/SARA015. I will provide a justification on this later.

This new Presage introduced an all new Seiko caliber, the 6L35. The new caliber is thinner and more accurate compared to the commonly used base caliber for Presage, the 6R15. The dimensions of the watch also took advantage of the thinner movement to make for a much thinner watch casing.

The photos of the watch taken at Baselworld 2018 and via the press kit provided by Seiko wetted my appetite even more. When Gnomon Watches sent me a product update newsletter with the SJE073/SARA015 available at the store, I jumped at the opportunity to get one.

The MSRP in Japan is listed at YEN240,000 (before taxes). Gnomon Watches listed it at USD2,100 which is equivalent to RM8,994.75 at the point of purchase. The purchasing experience is smooth as silk and the watch was on my desk in 48 hours.



The Watch

Seiko was founded in 1881. To commemorate the auspicious year, the production of the SJE073/SARA015 was limited to just 1,881 examples. The unit I got was designated the SJE073 i.e. the international reference. I was allocated the number 1093 out of 1,881 examples. I am not sure if the 1,881 examples are unique to SJE073 and SARA015 separately or does it mean only 1,881 examples in total. If anyone can confirm, appreciate it if you could put a note in the comment section below.



The SJE073 is made in Japan and has a classic design to it. Made out of stainless steel, the watch has a dial surface reminiscent of the Grand Seiko "Snowflake". Coupled with the high level of finishing to the surfaces, its resemblance in uncanny. Due to this, I have dubbed it the Baby GS Snowflake 2 instead of just simply Baby GS Snowflake by many reviewers. Last year, the Seiko Presage SARX055 Titanium was dubbed the Baby GS Snowflake. Although some would argue that the SJE073 is the 'true' Baby GS Snowflake, I disagree (more about this later). 

Anyway,  I like white dial watches from Seiko and the SJE073 fits in nicely with what I have collected thus far.



The case of the SJE073 is a piece of art. The 40.7 mm case is finished in multiple finishing, polished on the faceted side and fine satin brushed on the top of the lugs. What makes it unique compared to the previous Presages is that it has a whole new style of construction. The case has been designed as a front loader where the movement is inserted from the front of the case instead of through the case-back even though a screw-down case-back is provided with the watch. This change allows the thinness of the case to be amplified significantly by angling the sides inwards. The watch casing now becomes more slender and attractive. The height of the watch due to the new case construction as well as the new movement is just 9.8 mm.



The SJE073 is traditional in design with the placement of the crown, markers and date aperture like any other contemporary dress watches. What makes it awesome is the texture used on the dial. It takes its cue from the famous Grand Seiko “Snowflake” (I got the SBGA011. Read the review here). The randomness of the “Snowflake” texture reflects light amazingly.

The watch has a two-stage chapter ring. The first is a vertical wall of polished stainless steel halfway down. From that point, the chapter ring morphed to an angled white surface with minute and sub-minute line markers in black.

The dial surface has a coarse handmade high-end parchment paper quality to it. On it, the applied hour markers with multiple faceted surfaces and polished mirror-like are adorned. The Seiko brand is also applied in similar fashion like the hour markers. Apart from the brand, the words "PRESAGE" and "AUTOMATIC" can be clearly seen at the bottom half of the dial, printed in blue.



The SJE073 comes with a date complication located in an aperture at 3 o'clock. The aperture is surrounded by an applied polished steel frame which bites into half of the 3 o'clock hour marker. Meanwhile, at the extreme bottom of the dial surface are the texts "JAPAN 6L35-" and "00A0 R 2" in a very small font size. For the first set of texts it signifies that the watch is made in Japan and uses the 6L35 movement while the second set of texts are manufacturing codes only known by the manufacturer.

The dauphine hours and minutes hands are brilliantly polished and faceted. When in combination with the flamed blued seconds hand, it all adds a level of sophistication found generally in high-end watches.

The dial is capped with a flat sapphire crystal treated with a super-clear coating. When added together with the silvery 'white snowflake' texture, the dial glows radiantly in natural light with all the markers and hands appears distinct and elegant at the same time.



Due to the unique case design, the bezel has two parts to it. Since this construction requires the bezel be removed for servicing, the bezel is a screw-down. However, to preserve the perfect lines of the case, a secondary bezel is used to cap it. Meanwhile, the crown is signed prominently with a "S" on the top surface. The crown uses a push-in, pull-out system to access the gears for time and date adjustments.



The lugs are 20 mm wide and attached to a new stainless steel bracelet where each individual links on the bracelet is made up of five sections. Using a combination of polishing techniques, the three main parts are satin brushed while the connecting links are polished to a mirror-like surface. Apart from the polishing, the parts are also shaped differently. The two outer parts are oval while the three center parts are faceted to to showcase Seiko's artistic and manufacturing capabilities. Furthermore, it gives the bracelet an opulence that exceeds its actual price range.



The clasp has a push-button lock with the brand sandblasted on the surface. I truly appreciate the machined bridge between the two halves of the bracelet as it shows quality. Instead of having micro-adjustment points on the clasp, Seiko provides four half-links instead. Meanwhile, the end-links are solid.



The bracelet can support a wrist with a circumference of 200 mm. It tapers from 20 mm at the lugs to 18 mm at the clasp. Both the bracelet as well as the watch casing are treated with a special super hard coating called DiaShield, Seiko's proprietary compound used to minimise scratches of metal surfaces from everyday wear.

The display screw-down case-back is protected by Sapphire crystal. Information about the watch as well as a special "LIMITED EDITION" notification with the serial number can be found here.



Through the display opening, you can see the latest movement introduced by Seiko, the 6L35. The new caliber is thinner and more accurate compared to Seiko's standard caliber, the 6R series which up till now has been the common movement used in the high-end Presage line (excluding the chronograph models). The new movement is 1.3 mm slimmer than the 6R15 at 3.7 mm. Its accuracy has improved to between +15 seconds and -10 seconds per day compared to between +25 seconds and -15 seconds per day of the 6R15.

The 6L35, operating at 28,800 BPH or 4 Hertzs is an automatic movement with a date complication. It has 26 jewels with a power reserve of 45 hours through a Spron 510 mainspring. Like most modern Seiko movement, it has a seconds hand stopping mechanism when adjusting the time as well as hand winding capabilities.

Since the SJE073 is the first Seiko watch to introduce the 6L35, by making it a limited edition as well, Seiko has created a 'scarcity' great for collectors.

The use of stainless steel means this watch has some weight to it. Unlike the GS Snowflake (SBGA011) and the Baby GS Snowflake (SARX055), both of which are made out of titanium, the SJE073 weighs in a whopping 133 gm (relatively speaking). Personally, I prefer the weight as it reminds me there is something on the wrist.


Comparing The Snowflakes

Model	SBGA011	SARX055	SJE073
Nickname	Snowflake	Baby GS Snowflake	Baby GS Snowflake 2
Material	Titanium	Titanium	Stainless steel
Dimensions	Measuring 41.0 mm wide, the watch has a lug width of 20.0 mm and a lug-to-lug length of 48.0 mm. Thickness is 12.5 mm. The overall weight (with all links included) is 100 gm.	Measuring 40.8 mm wide, the watch has a lug width of 20.0 mm and a lug-to-lug length of 45.0 mm. Thickness is 11.0 mm. The overall weight (with all links included) is 106 gm.	Measuring 40.7 mm wide, the watch has a lug width of 20.0 mm and a lug-to-lug length of 43.5 mm. Thickness is 9.8 mm. The overall weight (with all links included) is 133 gm.
Movement	9R65	6R15	6L35
MSRP/Price (RM)	22,048/17,600	5,455/4,624	9,495/8,995

Above is some primary specifications of the three "Snowflakes" for reference. The SJE073 is the smallest of the three in terms of dimensions but the heaviest due to the use of stainless steel. It would also appear that either the 6L35 is an expensive movement or Seiko adds a lot of premium for limited edition timepieces.

Above are pictures of the SJE073 with the other "Snowflakes". In the photo on the left is the (L-R) SBGA011 and the SJE073 while the photo on the right is the (L-R) SARX055 and the SJE073. Although I could not get the same lighting in the two photos, as the reference sample SJE073 is present in both photos, you will be able to infer that the dial on the SJE073 is more pronounced as a 'snowflake' compared to the SARX055.


Interesting Backstories

I highlighted earlier in the review that Seiko announced the introduction for the all new 6L35 movement in the SJE073. However, an interesting blog posting by musingsofawatchaddict (see the blog posting here) speculate that the 6L35 is not new but a reworked 4L25 movement introduced back in 2007. This series only lasted until 2013 with the final iteration, the 4L75 movement.

The 4L25 and 4L75 movements operates at 28,800 bph and had a power reserve of 42 hours and 50 hours, respectively. However both 4L movements only had 25 jewels. When launched, they were   Seiko’s slimmest automatic movements at 3.6 mm thick and measured 25.6 mm across.

Seiko also utilise several Swiss designs in the movement architecture such as the reverser wheel design rather than Seiko’s magic lever to wind the mainspring, and also the Incabloc anti-shock suystem rather than its own Diafix anti-shock system.

The 4L25 movement was introduced in 2007 in the SARA 001/3/7/9/11/13 models. At that time, the models were incredibly expensive at YEN189,000 and were discontinued in 2008 due to the lack of demand. Below is a photo of the SARA001 (white) and SARA003 (black).



Meanwhile, the 4L75 movements were introduced by Seiko under the Credor lineage under the GCBW 993/5/7/9 and sold for JPY 260,000 between 2007 and 2013.



From these key observations, the blogger musingsofawatchaddict highlighted the following reasons behind the speculation that the 6L35 is in fact an iteration of an old movement.

1. The JDM reference number of the new Presage is SARA015. The previous SARA series that was discontinued in 2008 ended with the model number SARA013. Hence it made sense for the new model using the same movement to be numbered in order;
2. Dimensions of the 4L and the new 6L match in terms of thickness, diameter, power reserve and beat rates;
3. The 6L35 appears to be a mix of the 4L25 and 4L75. It has the power reserve of the 4L25 (45 hours), but the accuracy of the 4L75 (+15/-10 seconds). This helps answer the high pricing of this Presage which really is more in line with the pricing of the Credors powered previously by the 4L75.

There are more justifications provided in that blog posting and I do encourage you to go there and see the evidence shown.

Depending your own standards of what can be considered new or otherwise, it would be hard to prove that Seiko was not forward with the whole truth. What we know is that the new movement has an extra jewel - doesn't this at least justify the 'newness'?


The Wearing Experience

The thinness of the SJE073 injects a different feeling to wearing it when compared to the other two "Snowflake" siblings. This is the one singular most important factor that makes me vouch for the SJE073 as the best overall "Snowflake". It makes for a great all-rounder dress watch.




I have no issues to bring up about the watch apart from the usual price and availability issues. Overall, an excellent reinterpretation of an existing icon using a new, smaller and more accurate movement. 

Below is a video of the watch on my wrist.





Specifications

Maker: Seiko Japan
Movement: Caliber 6L35
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, date
Thickness: 3.7 mm
Power Reserve: 45 hours
Winding: Automatic and manual with hacking capability
Frequency: 4 Hz (28,800 BPH)
Jewels: 26
Accuracy: +15/-10 sec per day

Dial: Silverish white "snowflake" with faceted applied indexes
Luminous: NA
Date: 3 o'clock
Case: Stainless steel (super hard coating; DiaShield)
Crown: Push-in and signed
Lug: 20 mm

Crystal: Sapphire front with Super-clear coating. Sapphire display back.
Strap: Stainless steel
Water Resistance: 100 m
Dimensions: 40.7 mm in diameter (w/o crown), 43.5 mm in diameter (w. crown), 46.3 mm lug to lug, 9.8 mm thick
Bracelet Length: 200 mm
Bracelet Width: 20.0 mm to 18.0 mm 
Weight: 133 gm
Circulation: 1,881 examples
Serial: 1093/1881
MSRP: YEN240,000


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