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HANDS ON: The sports-luxe travel glamour of the Grand Seiko SBGE251 HANDS ON: The sports-luxe travel glamour of the Grand Seiko SBGE251

HANDS ON: The sports-luxe travel glamour of the Grand Seiko SBGE251

Thor Svaboe

With their penchant for larger diameters clearly visible in the Grand Seiko SBGE251, I feel the need to underline a simple fact with Seiko and Grand Seiko. While there is a lot to be said for the goldilocks 38-40mm case size, I still haven’t figured out how Seiko manages to make my last big diver’s watch, a 44mm-cased tough guy, sit like a 41mm on my wrist.

The answer is evolution, and a deep understanding of ergonomics, and this could be exactly why an SBGE251 is both a functional GMT travel companion, while at the same time the life of the party with its raffish rose-gold details.

First impressions

Grand Seiko might be known for their suave elegance in intrinsic dial art and beguiling Zaratsu case polishing, but damn if they don’t do proper big sports watches to compete with the best of them. With a deep black dial, a twinkle of rose gold in its solid 18K diver’s bezel, the Grand Seiko SBGE251 has presence in spades. Doubling up as one of the easiest setting GMT-travel watches out there, this might bring on the unavoidable clichéd truth of a one-for-all piece of wristwear cool.

A case for smooth ergonomics

Don’t be shy, that’s all I’m telling you, just embrace the intrinsic dazzle of a brilliant travel watch that might become your best wrist buddy. To fit its bold character, the SBGE251 can’t be called slim or svelte, and you do notice the weight of gold-infused stainless steel. But, as we’ve seen before from the Japanese wizards of steel, the touch is silky soft for all its 44mm heft. Grand Seiko makes even large, muscular cases sit like a dream, with the classic three-link bracelet hugging your wrist like a long-lost lover. The large Zaratsu-finished case has a recognisably rounded design and broad lugs, and those little details you’ll remember. Like the needle-thin, light-catching bevels where the bracelet enters the embrace of the lugs.

Grand Seiko SBGE251

With a 14.75mm thickness, you will be instantly excused for thinking it more slender, such is the trick of the broad swathe of case side bevels, swooping down towards my wrist. This makes  the diameter feel much smaller than any 44mm watches I know with the comfort of a much smaller watch.

A gold-toned crown is tucked away at four, a Seiko diver’s watch touch that is magic for avoiding those uncomfortable rubs by a large crown on the back of your hand. A Ceramic bezel insert sits inside the solid rose gold 24-hour GMT bezel, framing yet another dark piece of Japanese dial art, lending your first intercontinental flight after Covid a large dollop of functional glamour.

A black dial with a touch of gold

Within the case made almost too perfect by the German Sallaz polishing machine (Japanese fonetic translation: zaratsu), this limited boutique edition of their toughest GMT has a rather captivating black dial. While the watch itself has a broad-shouldered image to its clean-cut shape, the black sun-burst dial has a rich warmth befitting a dress watch. In a world of tuxedo-shirt cuffs hiding large diver’s tools, not waif-like gold on alligator straps, it hits the right party note. The aggressively bevelled indices, with their five brushed and hand-polished facets, are almost floating on the rich black surface, with the slightest hint of light bouncing off the angular architectural shapes.

Grand Seiko SBGE251

Bold and blunt-ended sword hands do convey a sporty image, in delicate contrast to the rich rose-gold colour, and the separately-set GMT arrow and the 24-hour bezel making both two and three time zones easily adjustable. The date window does pop noticeably with its black on white background, but as part of the travelling time-zone adjustment, the date is no mere dial decoration. The silk sweep of the seconds hand and a very discreet power reserve crescent at 8 o’clock gives us a hint of the magic behind the caseback.

The 9R66 Spring Drive Movement

In this boutique limited edition, the gold print and Grand Seiko lion  on its sapphire case back case back, reveals one of the most accurate mechanical movements produced, the hybrid Spring Drive 9R66 calibre. This is Seiko’s technical tour de force, recognizable on the gold-infused dial through its crescent-shaped power reserve. The silky smooth sweep of the seconds hand comes with a 72-hour power reserve, and an accuracy of +/- 15 seconds per month that outguns the best of top-tier Swiss horology. With a deviation of +/- 1 paltry second per day, I would go as far as saying this is the best use of a quartz crystal in the world today.

A golden compromise, or a sure-fire winner?

To tell the truth, even knowing Grand Seiko’s textbook ergonomics, I’d baulk at 44mm by almost 15mm thick, but I keep getting surprised by the Japanese design integrity, and focus on comfort. For Grand Seiko this comfort is equally important in a tool watch as a dressy 37mm reference, and must have the Swiss scratching their heads. The SBGE251 feels like home after about five seconds on the wrist, but does command your attention like very few other GMTs in this price category. The laser-sharp detail work combined with a classic colour scheme of black and rose gold, has a glamorous power punch that’ll keep you glancing at your wrist. Even when you don’t give a monkey’s what the time is, exiting a Boeing 747 in the heat, setting your GMT arrow to holiday time.

The Grand Seiko SBGE251, Price and Availability:

The Boutique-only Grand Seiko SBGE251 is available for $18,800 AUD at Grand Seiko here.

Made in partnership with Grand Seiko. However, the opinions expressed in this article are our own in accordance with our Editorial Policy.