Grand Seiko Evolution 9 Spring Drive U.F.A. Ushio 300 Diver SLGB023 (similar to SLGB025) - Precision Meets the Depths, A Review (plus Video)

I was given the opportunity to travel to Sapporo Japan in July 2026 to attend a conference. I took the opportunity to arrive four days earlier to experience Sapporo and I brought my family with me.

It was a schedule packed, my wife planned it as such that I got immersed with the island going up mountains and visiting farmlands. What she forgot to incorporate into the schedule is shopping time. I would liked to visit ADs of Japanese brands while I am in Japan. At that point of time I was resigned to the fact, that I may not be able to see any of the fine watches Japan has to offer.

With the conference running full steam, The days were full of presentations and bilateral meetings at the end of each day. Most of the ADs in Sapporo closes either at 5:00 pm or 8:00 pm (the latest) which does not leave me ample time to go shopping. 

Luckily, on the second day, no meetings were scheduled after the forum and I was able to start my hunt. The first stop is the Daimaru Sapporo Department Store which happens to be the AD for Credor, Grand Seiko, Citizen's Campanola and other brands as well. 

The first thing I noticed about the AD was the availability of some of the last models. Without needing to ask the sales person, I saw the Ushio 300 on display. Only the blue was available as the green version was sold earlier. After just holding on to the watch for a few seconds, I decided to get it. This watch was only made available since June 2026. What a find. Even then, I am almost certain an example will only be available to Malaysia in a few months time.

Grand Seiko Sport Collection Spring Drive SBGA481 “Tokyo Lion” - Legacy Perfected, A Review (plus Video)

 

I am keen on the Grand Seiko Tentagraph Tokyo Lion Chronograph SLGC009. However, the price for the timepiece is beyond my financial capacity.

 

At a Grand Seiko event a few weeks ago, I was able to express my interest to get a few of their models into the collection. Luck has it that it was heard and I was offered two watches for a special price. What makes the deal sweet is that both watches have two elements that are missing in the collection: The Tokyo Lion watch design and the brand's mechanical manual winding movement. 

 

The Tokyo Lion in question is the Sport Collection Spring Drive SBGA481 which will be the watch being reviewed in this report.

 

There are three styles of Tokyo Lion currently available for fans using the Spring Drive series of movements. There is a chronograph version, a GMT version and the standard 3-hand version. I did not have a free choice but the option that was given to me, the standard 3-hand version is good enough for a start.   

  

Grand Seiko Sport Collection Spring Drive Air Diver SBGA229G - A Handsome Watch and Due to its Flexibility, Proves it Value Beyond Doubt, A Review (plus Video)

Out of the blue, my dealer sent me a short message that he got allocated one unit of the Grand Seiko Sports Collection Spring Drive Diver SBGA229G (let’s just called it SBGA229 for short). I have been looking at something similar for some time now. The original model I was interested in was the SBGA029. That model was first launched in the market in 2008.

The SBGA229 is essentially similar to the SBGA029. In 2017, Seiko decided to make Grand Seiko an independent brand. Hence, before 2017, the model was called the SBGA029 where the generic ‘Seiko’ tag was still prominent, sharing space with the ‘Grand Seiko’ tag on the dial. From 2017 onwards, only the tag ‘Grand Seiko’ is provided thus the change in reference to the SBGA229. 

I quickly took delivery as I heard from the grapevine that Grand Seiko has stopped production for this particular model (can anyone confirm?).

The Series

For the longest time since the Grand Seiko brand was reintroduced back in 1998, the only dive watches under this brand were the SBGA029 and the SBGA031. The former is made out of stainless steel while the latter is made out of titanium. Only after the rebranding exercise in 2017, Grand Seiko decided to introduce a few other dive watches to expand the range. Even so, the original pair continued to be produced under new designations (replacing the digit ‘0’ with ‘2’). Major differences between the two models are the material (stainless steel versus titanium), weight (201 gm versus 137 gm) and price (RM24,300 versus RM27,900).

Grand Seiko Spring Drive GMT Chronograph SBGC201G Sports Collection (similar to SBGC203G) - Quintessentially Seiko, A Review (plus Video)

As a collector, the Grand Seiko brand sits in the a unique class of other exclusive brands, Swiss and non-Swiss that exudes excellence of design and styling. Some would even say that it is the top brand out of all other brands. Regardless how one would rank the brand, everyone would agree Grand Seiko watches are first class.

Grand Seiko Spring Drive GMT Chronograph SBGC201G Sports Collection on my wrist

SEIKO Prospex Marinemaster Professional Spring Drive SBDB011 GMT – A Good Tool Watch With Some Quality Control Issues, A Review (plus Video)

You have guessed by now that I am a dive watch freak. One of my favorite dive watch brands is the Seiko Prospex series. Under this series, I have watches with water rating either at 200 meters, 300 meters or 1,000 meters. However, I do not have in the collection a Seiko Prospex diver with an intermediate water rating of 600 meters. Currently, Seiko has two sub-models with 600 meters water rating; the SBDB011 and the SBDB013. Both this sub-models uses the innovative Spring Drive movement by Seiko.

I decided to go for the SBDB011 to complete the set as it has a number of extras that the SBDB013 do not have. The first is the all-titanium construction including bracelet and second is the GMT complication. With this piece in hand, I would just about complete my collection of bracelet Prospex Marinemaster divers (there are still a few more to go but slowly but surely). Picking the winner is the simplest act, what came next was much harder.

The SBDB011 is a fully made in Japan (or JDM) model. It is the replacement model for the SBDB001 which was first launched back in 2005. Launched on 8 August 2015, the SBDB011 has a number of improvements over its predecessor. The new changes will be highlighted later in the review.

Seiko’s Grand Seiko SBGA011 Spring Drive “Snowflake” – The epitome of a classic dress watch, A Review (and Videos)

My love affair with Seiko’s top-end line, Grand Seiko continues. This time I was able to grab a classic Grand Seiko, the “Snowflake” with the reference SBGA011. Like a lot of my watch purchases, it was not planned. I happened to drop in one of my favorite shop to ask about something else when my trusted salesperson informed me a consignment of two Snowflakes to his shop. Within 24 hours I decided to get one.


All Grand Seikos are made at the Shinshu Watch Studio and located in the city of Shiojiri, neighboring Suwa and Lake Suwa in a mountainous region of Nagano Prefecture, Japan. This location is almost the center of the country where the weather is slightly different from the typical coastal areas of Japan. Here, the humidity level is lower which causes winter snow fall to be very light and airy. This allows the wind to sculpt the snow into beautiful patterns not seen elsewhere in Japan.

In recognition of the locality that supported the studio’s operations, the designers and artisans of the Shinshu Watch Studio decided to create a dial which resembled this light snow fall pattern. Hence, the SBGA011 Grand Seiko Snowflake was born. It uses a unique 6 step process to replicate the snowfall in the dial. While the most complex dial in the Grand Seiko line takes 12 steps to complete, this Snowflake still counts as one of the most intricate dials in the family. Moreover, using titanium to make it as light as a snowflake, and blue accents to contribute a cold feel reinforces the Snowflake theme.

Grand Seiko GMT Green Dial Spring Drive Limited Edition SBGE033 (SBGE033G) - An excellent timepiece, A Review and Video

My first watch purchase for 2016 is this Grand Seiko GMT Spring Drive Limited Edition SBGE033 which has a beautiful green dial. This watch was specially made in honour of the 55th anniversary of the Grand Seiko, the most famous premier line for the Seiko Watch Company.


Grand Seiko quietly released this sporty new GMT watch, the SBGE033 without the fanfare it had with the 62GS Historical Collection back in 2015. This subtle marketing strategy is very common with  Seiko. The Company believes it is unnecessary to promote an excellent product. The product will naturally promote itself, if it was designed and made to impress by its sheer effectiveness and quality.

I believe this is one of the only few sporty watches under the Grand Seiko line of watches (excluding dive watches). Granted there are a lot of GMT Grand Seikos but this is the only one with a contrasting chapter ring colour compared to the dial (white on green). It also has luminous hands and markers which are not seen before on its GMT watches.

Apart from the GMT hand, there are two other additional complications such as a date function in an aperture at 3 o'clock and power reserve indicator located near the 7 o'clock position.

It is powered by the in-house 9R66 caliber, the GMT version of the Seiko's Spring Drive Technology 9R65 movement. More about this later.

The case is made of stainless steel. With a 41 mm diameter case, the surface has been given a special hand finishing technique known as Zaratsu. Only 500 examples of this watch were made.

The Grand Seiko SBGE001 Spring Drive GMT – A Beautiful Watch in All Aspects, A Review

Another week of so will be 1 April 2015. It is also April Fools Day as well as the birth date of my first child. For avid watch collectors in Malaysia, it is also a day when the country formally introduces the Goods and Services Tax of GST. When I was looking it up, I was surprised to note that Malaysia is one of six countries in the world that have yet to introduce GST. As it is, by 1 April 2015, all watch purchases will come with an additional GST charge of 6%.

So, in view of this additional cost in funding my WIS addiction, I did what every WIS would do. Get another piece before the tax free window closes! The piece that would forever remind me of this momentous occasion is a watch brand that I have yet to get into the collection – The Grand Seiko SBGE001 Spring Drive GMT.

 

This time around I got this piece by negotiating with an authorized dealer, AWG in Kuala Lumpur. I was able to get a price that is even better than the internet merchants such as Higuchi and Seiya (more about this later). As the watch is not in stock, the shop needs to make an order and by agreeing to a price at this point, I guess they are willing to give a lot away from the difference between merchant price and retail price. After three weeks of waiting, the watch was delivered.

Since this is the first time I have a Grand Seiko (let’s call it GS for short) in the collection, I would like to spend some time on the packaging.

Seiko Prospex Landmaster Spring Drive SBDB005 – Shiny, Bright and Light as Snow

I have always coveted the Seiko Spring Drive technology. This technology uses a tri-synchro regulator to control and release the mechanical, electrical and electro-magnetic energy generated by the mainspring. It replaces the escapement and, with its one-way motion, it is inherently more stable, durable and precise. Spring Drive is accurate to 1 second per day. As the movement has no escapement, all the motion within it is circular, in a single direction, allowing the hands to move constantly with a unique glide-motion. The new generation mainspring delivers more power, more smoothly and for longer. A special alloy, developed in-house by Seiko, generates increased power in addition to being durable and highly resistant to heat or corrosion. Spring Drive has a power reserve of 72 hours.

After a long wait and decision making, I decided to “spring” (no pun intended!) for a Seiko Landmaster Spring Drive SBDB005 under Seiko’s Prospex class of activity watches. Unfortunately, Prospex and Spring Drive watches are not part of the repertoire of the Malaysian Seiko authorised distributor. I have to source it elsewhere.