Grand Seiko Pays Tribute to Their Very First Watch (Again)

Grand Seiko has launched three new references to celebrate their 60th anniversary.

March 16, 2020
By: Logan Hannen

Grand Seiko has launched three new references to celebrate their 60th anniversary, each paying tribute to the very first Grand Seiko models from 1960.

These new references, the SBGW259 (Brilliant Hard Titanium w/ blue dial), SBGW258 (Yellow gold w/ champagne/gold dial), and SBGW257 (Platinum w/ silver dial), might seem familiar to fans of the brand (we’ll get into that later.) Let’s go through the watches and get the basic info.

The 60th Anniversary Collection

Specs
Case Diameter: 38mm
Case Materials: Brilliant Hard Titanium, Yellow Gold, Platinum
Case Thickness: 10.9mm
Crystal: Sapphire (Front & Back)
Strap: Crocodile
Movement: Grand Seiko Manual Winding Caliber 9S64

The only changes from watch to watch are the dials and case materials, so let’s start off with the things they all have in common. All of the cases are 38mm in diameter, a superb modern dress watch size, and 10.9mm in case thickness. While certainly not ultra thin, the pieces all have a slightly cupped caseback, allowing them to nestle into the wrist and become even thinner.

Each watch also features a sapphire crystal display back to allow for a view into the impressive caliber 9S64, a manual wind movement that now features an increased 72 hour power reserve. It’s a stunning movement to look at, and one that captures some of the vintage, old world charm of the very first Grand Seiko model expertly.

As for dial and case material, the above example is perhaps the most interesting, as it’s constructed from a new proprietary Grand Seiko titanium alloy called Brilliant Hard Titanium. Its color is bright, brighter even than the titanium used on the Snowflake, and is two times stronger than stainless steel. The end result is a titanium that can stand up even better to Grand Seiko’s famous Zaratsu polishing, giving it the lightness of your standard titanium, but with a glimmer and sheen that rivals white gold.

The other two pieces are executed in yellow gold and platinum.

The Damage

The Grand Seiko 60th Anniversary tribute to the original Grand Seiko will retail, starting June 2020, for $38,000 (in platinum), $26,000 (in yellow gold), and $8,000 (in Brilliant Hard Titanium).

The Take

At first, the only reaction I could muster to these watches was the overwhelming sense of deja vu. Haven’t we been down this road before? The yellow gold and platinum, especially, looked very familiar. I knew the watches in question, released in 2017, well enough to recognize their likeness.

But the further down the rabbit hole I went, the quicker it became apparent that these new references were even more special than those previous ones. Why? Because they’re not limited.

All three references, from the $8,000 Brilliant Hard Titanium to the almost $40k platinum, will be regular fixtures in the Grand Seiko line up going forward. It’s a bold choice, to make an anniversary model a constant in your lineup going forward, but then again, we’ve seen it pan out quite well for the Rolex Datejust, so I’ve got a good feeling about this.