New Grand Seiko SBGT027 — 5-Seconds-Per-Year Accuracy
Seiko has released a new 9F Quartz model with 5-seconds-per-year accuracy. It is a limited edition of 300 units, released in commemoration of the 15th anniversary of the launch of the 9F Quartz movement in 1993. The watch, Grand Seiko SBGT027, retails for ¥399,000, and is only available in Japan.
The watch is powered by Seiko Quartz movement 9F83. It keeps time to +/- 5 seconds per year. Seiko will perform an accuracy check on the watch for free after 2 years of ownership.
The dial on the 15th anniversary edition features 15 vertical lines that Seiko says are inspired by rings inside a tree trunk that tell its age. This Grand Seiko also has a 5-pointed star on the dial that symbolizes its 5-seconds-per-year accuracy.
The caseback includes a 18k gold Grand Seiko lion logo in homage to the first generation of Grand Seikos from the 1960s. The watches are individually numbered.
For more, visit Seiko’s website.
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June 15th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
Hi Bryan,
I really really like this GS, and the only thing that probably stops me from contacting Katsu Higuchi or Seiya about availability is the fact that this one has a fairly similar (in color) dial to my SBGX039.
It is a beautiful watch though isn’t it.
petew
June 16th, 2008 at 3:02 am
Hello,
To market a watch equipped with 9F83 with +/- 5 s per year accuracy while its accuracy is ordinarily announced at +/- 10 s per year is a BIG marketing error!
Some customers will believe that “standard” GS with 9F83 have in fact a better accuracy than announced, and they will not buy the SBGT027 (why pay more since usual quartz GS are also good!).
Others will not believe that SBGT027 has a greater accuracy than +/- 10 s per year, and they will not buy the SBGT027 (why pay more since it is not better than usual quartz GS!).
(Did you feel the subtle difference?
)
Best Regards,
MikeNovember
June 16th, 2008 at 8:34 am
Hi Mike,
Seiko tends to understate accuracy — my first Grand Seiko with an 8J movement is spec’ed at +/- 10 seconds per year, but kept time to +/- 4 seconds my first year of ownership.
I think 9F movements are capable of +/- 5 seconds per year, like quartz movements in The Citizen. But whereas Citizen will tweak the movements for free for the first 10 years, Seiko apparently doesn’t (or can’t because of the number of units sold vs. staffing) want to deal with this, so they spec it at 10 seconds a year. (I doubt Citizen sells as many units of The Citizen as Seiko does of Grand Seiko.)
On this anniversary release, Seiko will dial the 9F movement in after 2 years of ownership to ensure it remains at +/- 5 seconds. Since they are only selling 300 units it’s probably not a big issue for them.
Lots of speculation in this response; those are my guesses.
Regards,
Bryan
June 17th, 2008 at 9:17 pm
Seiko web site says that annual variance is + or - 5 seconds because the movement used in these limited edition watches have specially chosen crystals, so accuracy is supposed to exceed the standard 9F movements in other non-limited edition Grand Seikos.
And yes, Seiko will adjust these movements for the first two years at no cost.
There’s only 300 being sold, and some shops I have called are already out of them (I called quite few around Tokyo and Osaka because I was looking for a particular serial number out of 300 (as you can see in one of the photos, serial numbers from 1 - 300 are engraved on the back plate). It looks like only Grand Seiko Master shops and large retailers carry them.
I had a SBGT-015, which is identical to this watch except it has a standard 9F movement and the dial is gold, but I decided to upgrade to this one for the advertized accuracy and the beautiful dial. I liked the gold one, but this one with the blue steel second hand and the white dial is quite a beauty. Photos are nice but they don’t do them justice.
June 18th, 2008 at 6:52 am
Hi 144,
Please let us know if you do find one of these watches. I’d love to hear your impressions and even see some real world pictures.
Good luck in your search!
petew
June 18th, 2008 at 7:14 am
Hi 144,
Your comment about the accuracy being better because of the specially chosen crystals is an interesting gem. Can you please point me to your source for this information? Japanese sources are fine.
Thanks!
Bryan
June 18th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
Hi Bryan, Petew,
I found the information on the crystals from the Grand Seiko homepage in the Seiko site. Seikohttp://www.seiko-watch.co.jp/gs/
There’s a banner for the 300 limited edition SBGR027 on the middle of the page. The details are in the small popup window you get.
I thought the white face gave the watch a really simple, cool look (just the thing for hot and humid summers here!)
The details like the 15 stripes signifying that 2008 is the 15th anniversary of the 9F movement and the Five Pointed Star indicating that the 9F movement in this watch is specially calibrated to deliver a +/- 5 seconds/year variance are barely noticeable (the stripes are really light and the star is really small). The blue second hand kind of stands out but it contributes in giving the watch a cool impression.
I did get my hands on one, although not with the exact serial number I wanted. I’ll try to post some images later in the week.
Cheers,
Tom
June 19th, 2008 at 8:22 am
Hi Tom,
Congratulations on your SBGT027. I’d love to see some pictures if you get a chance, and if you have any trouble posting them, please let us know.
Enjoy that new watch!
petew
June 19th, 2008 at 10:27 am
Hey Tom,
I’d also like to offer my congratulations… It’s exciting to be in contact with someone who owns this beautiful watch. And thanks for pointing to the 9F crystal info source, I’m gonna check that out later this evening after work.
Regards,
Bryan
June 21st, 2008 at 2:24 am
Hi Pete,
To post pictures, do I just paste images here?
Cheers,
Tom
June 22nd, 2008 at 4:44 am
Hi Tom,
I think that will work, it might depend on your hosting service. If you’d like, feel free to email them to me and I’ll post them. petewATseikosha.us
petew