My Eastern Watch Collection: Grand Seiko Sport Collection Automatic GMT SBGM247G (similar to SBGM245G)

I love GMT watches. The practicality of that specific complication is very useful to me especially when travelling (which I do a lot). At last count, I have 19 analogue GMT watches in the collection. Out of those, three are from Grand Seiko and all powered by Spring Drive movements (SBGC201, SBGE033 and SBGE001).

When Grand Seiko announced a few months ago that they are planning to launch a GMT powered by a traditional automatic movement, I became interested. I was intrigue to know what kind of design philosophy that Grand Seiko will use as an inspiration for this new timepiece. Will it be similar to the previous Spring Drive models or will it be totally different?

Thankfully, the design for the SBGM247G (for ease of reference, in this review we shall just call this watch the SBGM247 minus the 'G') is different than what came previously. Surprisingly, the size is more representative of the Heritage Collection i.e. in the 40-ish mm width range instead of the typical 44-ish mm range of the Sport Collection. A lot of Grand Seiko owners have commented that the current batch of models under the Sport Collection is a tad to big. It is good to know that Grand Seiko took note of the comments and acted upon it.

The immediate first impression is that Grand Seiko took a lot of cue from the famous Rolex Explorer II. Nevertheless, it is not a deal-breaker for me as many watches from many brands have some sort of visual similarities with iconic watches. For me, what is important is whether the design chosen is able to deliver what it supposed to deliver.

The Series

There are two model under this series. The sunray brushed in blue dial is the SBGM245 (below on the left) and the sunray brushed in green dial is the SBGM247 (below on the right). Both are standard models.

The series are powered by a traditional automatic movement, the Caliber 9S66 with the GMT mechanism. Apart from the GMT hand, it also comes with a date complication. It is also interesting to note that at this moment, Grand Seiko has in its Sport Collection catalogue, GMTs powered by the following movements: Standard automatic (2), Hi-Beat automatic (5), Spring Drive (15) and Quartz (5).

The Watch

It must be said the design specification for the SBGM247 appears to be influenced by the iconic Rolex Explorer II especially with the fixed stainless steel bezel. Size-wise, it also closely resembles the Explorer II of the first pattern (the newer version, generally refers to as the second pattern is bigger). I personally don't care. In truth, the Seiko Group have been using this styling for many years under their Seiko 5 and Seiko 5 Sports lines. It is about time Grand Seiko uses it.

There are a number of things that makes this model a better value proposition in my opinion.

The first is size. With a width of 40.5 mm and a lug-to-lug length of 48.6 mm, the SBGM247 sits in a sweet spot for many watch enthusiasts, both male and female. It is not to big nor it is too small; just nice.
The second is practicality. The dial is simple and clear, very easy to quickly refer to the time and date. There is no distracting aspects on the watch, say a magnifying glass, to disrupt the visual symmetry of the dial.
The third is its impeccable provenance. The family of the founder still remained as a substantial shareholder in the company which has more than a century of continuous operations. The brand design and makes every part of its watch in-house with factories in Japan and across the globe. Its engineers and watchmakers are deemed to be national treasures and recognised as such by the Japanese Government. Where can you find another brand with this many milestones?
The fourth is manufacturing quality. From the polishing to the intricate designs of the various calibers over the years, the Seiko Group is in the forefront of watch design and manufacturing.
The fifth and final is value. Compared to other premium brands, the Grand Seiko is relatively more affordable. It also does not get affected by 'value chain disruptions' that has affected the stocks of a number of Swiss brands.

The stainless steel based watch is sized properly. With a lug-to-lug length of 48.6 mm, the watch sits perfectly on my wrist without any wrist overhang. Although it is relatively tall at 14.4 mm, to enable it to have a 20 bar water rating as well as space for the screw-down crown, coupled with a dome crystal, the height does appear justifiable. Even so, visually you would not even notices the tallness as the highly polished sides and the wrist hugging lugs make it look shorter. The location of the crown at 4:00 also helps in 'compacting' the watch to cover less space on the wrist.

The dial has the sunray brushed in green painted on its surface. On Grand Seiko's main website, it only mentioned the colour to be green but I think it is more 'seaweed' or 'kelp' green. Some reviewers called it 'hunter' green but I think 'seaweed' green to be more apt. At certain angles the dial looks dark while at other angles you can see the shade of green. One of the reviewer mentioned that the colour was lacquered to the dial surface. The official website is rather vague on the details but I don't think it is lacquered. For Seiko, the type of painting is an important acknowledgment as it is done by the hands of experts. If it is lacquered, it will be highlighted as such.

There are multi-faceted hour markers polished to a mirror finish on all locations except for 4:00. At this particular location, the hour marker has been substituted with a date aperture with polished faceted metal frame. Through this aperture you will see the date wheel with a white background. Only four of the hours markers have strips of LumiBrite paint on them. These are at 12;00, 3:00, 6:00 and 9:00. In between the hour markers are line markers for the minutes. Meanwhile, I can see clearly that each hour markers have nine (9) distinctive surfaces which make for a great light show if you happened to be in the sunlight.

There are five (5) lines of texts on the dial. The symbols "GS" and the brand name are located at the upper quadrant while the rest (the words "AUTOMATIC", "GMT" and "Japan xxxx") are located at the lower quadrant. Only the symbol "GS" is applied while the rest are painted on the dial. Only the word "GMT" is painted in reddish orange while the rest are painted in white.

The sloping chapter ring has a 24-hour scale with dots for the even numbers and Arabic for the odd numbers. There is also a two-tone profile on the chapter ring for day-night reference. I just noticed that the two-tone profile is not fairly divided to two equal halves (i.e. between 6:00 to 18:00). Instead it is divided between 6:30 to 17:30.

The handset is laser cut and polished to a mirror finish. Very utilitarian in design, only the hours and minutes hands have strips of LumiBrite paint. As for the GMT hand, it is painted in bright orange which makes it easily recognizable for ease of reference. What I especially like about the handset is that each hands are measured properly to reach their respective markers.

Protecting the dial is a domed sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on the inner surface. Although there is curvature on the crystal, I would like to see it having more curvature.

Surrounding the dial is a fixed stainless steel bezel with laser cut 24-hour scale with dots for the odd numbers and Arabic for the even numbers (the opposite of the scale on the chapter ring). The bezel is brushed polished and the laser cut scale has been filled with black paint.

As highlighted earlier, the signed crown that is located at 4:00 is a screw-down. There are 3 positions for the crown; the first allows it to manually wind the watch; the second allows it to adjust the date and the hours hands; and the third allows it to adjust the minutes and GMT hands.

The screw-down case-back is closed unfortunately. It would have been preferable to be able to see the Caliber 9S66 in action. This is an automatic mechanical movement with a 72-hour power reserve. It beats at 28,800 BPH and has 35 jewels. The movement have a manufacturer's accuracy of +5 seconds pre day to -3 seconds per day. Meanwhile, its GMT function is where the hour hand can be adjusted in hour increments when travelling, while the GMT hand stays at home or reference time.

Attached to the 20.0 mm wide lugs is the 3-link stainless steel bracelets with a three-fold clasp and push-button release. The clasp has four micro adjustment points to facilitate proper sizing of the bracelet. With all the links attached, the watch tip the scale at 180 gm.

In the dark, the key hands and markers are visible. Below is a shot of the watch in the dark.

Overall, the robust construction allows the watch to have a water rating of 20 Bar or 200 meters.

The Wearing Experience

I must say the watch check all the right boxes for me. Although it looks utilitarian, on closer inspection, you will see the premium manufacturing quality that is Grand Seiko.

Size-wise, it is just nice and proportionally correct to my 6.75 inch wrist. Below is a video of the watch on my wrist.

It is also interesting to note that the watch comes standard with a five (5) year warranty. This is the first Grand Seiko I owned that offered a very long warranty.

Specifications:

Reference: SBGM247G
Case/Bracelet Material: Stainless steel

Glass Material: Dual-curved sapphire crystal
Glass Coating: Anti-reflective coating on inner surface

Dial Colour: Sunray brushed in green
Illuminous Paint: Lumibrite on hands and indexes
Case Diameter: 40.5 mm

Lug-To-Lug: 48.6 mm

Lug Width: 20.0 mm

Thickness: 14.4 mm
Bracelet Size: 192 mm
Clasp Type: Three-fold clasp with push button release

Caliber: 9S66

Movement Type: Automatic with manual winding

Operating Frequency: 28,800 BPH (or 4 Hertz)

Jewels: 35

Power Reserve: Approximately 72 hours (3 days)

Accuracy: +5 to -3 seconds per day (mean daily rate)

Water Resistance: 20 bar
Magnetic Resistance: Equipped
Weight: 180.0 gm
Features (1): GMT/24-hour hand (dual time display function)
Features (2): Calendar-linked time difference adjustment function

Features (3): Date display

Features (4): Screw case-back (solid)

Features (5): Screw-down crown

Features (6): Stop seconds hand function
MSRP: RM23,000; USD5,700

Launched Date: 2021

Vendor: Seiko Boutique, Mid Valley

Date Purchased: 11 January 2022

Purchase Price: RM18,860

Warranty: Five (5) years

Serial Number: 160276