It’s been an excellent crop of new releases for Grand Seiko, and hiding amidst a healthy assortment of models came this gem —*the limited edition yellow gold SBGY002. Using a new hand-winding 9R31 Spring Drive movement with a power reserve of 72 hours, the new piece mates a variation of the brand’s iconic Snowflake dial with a more traditional and slender dress watch casing. Coming in north of $25K and limited to only 700 pieces globally, it’s obviously a different beast to the classic Snowflake model; however, the new piece is yet another example of how Grand Seiko just isn’t pulling any punches when it comes to delivering impeccable design, finishing, and attention to detail when compared to any of their Swiss competition. This piece is one of four new models in the same vein; it is flanked by a pair of platinum-cased models at the upper register, and a more restrained steel model at the other end of the spectrum. All four models were launched as part of Grand Seiko’s celebration of the 20th anniversary of Spring Drive. While our topic at hand (as well as the steel model) are manufactured in the Shinshu Watch Studio, where all other…

The post HANDS-ON: Grand Seiko’s SBGY002, a hot new hand-wound take on the Snowflake appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.

More...