Grand Seiko SBGH035: White Side of the Dial Review

I have been known to comment on occassion (OK, on many occassions) to many who would listen and many more who would not that I kind of instantly fell for the SBGH035. Without ever seeing it in the metal, or anything more concrete. I have devoured the few articles written on it (it did not get nearly the coverage of the other Special Editions), and especially Hieraklion's meticulous coverage here. I am quite aware that I will not be able to approach that post in terms of meticulous description of both watch and mechanism (or in fact in terms of the pictures provided), so the next best I can do is an early experience report instead.

Before delving in, a reference to the title. The WSOTD is not another Omega Side of the Moon edition, it is my reference to an interesting fact I discovered fairly recently. With one exception - the Fast Beat Eterna - all the watches I got for myself since joining (and most from before) had dark dials - some blue, some dark green, the standard black and a reverse panda (the LUC Chrono One) was the closest I got to a light coloured dial - with the two chrono subdials on it, that is. So White Side of the Dial here, and what a white, and what a dial it is.

It is one of the relatively few current GS textured dials and the pattern is somewhere between a zen garden design and a ripple in a particularly viscous liquid. I find it truly mesmerising and myself staring at it a lot more than with any previous watch. The fact that it is not flattened / interrupted for the parts where writing comes on top - which would have been the easy way out - shows the effort devoted

It is very white, especially compared to my lord of darkness collection and comes with a pearlescent sheen that somehow conspires to make the hour markers stand out even more prominently. These will probably not be very new to GS fans but are a joy to behold, and the legibility is excellent.

The hour and minute hands are also fairly common GS fare but the seconds hand is heat blued and adds a nice touch of colour to the whole.

Prior to purchase I have been warned of the thickness, which at ~13mm is more than could be expected for a watch measuring 38mm in diameter. And it is true that one does notice it on the wrist, much more so than in the case of my SBGX097.

 

This could pose a problem but both its moderate overall dimensions, and the strap / deployant buckle combo seem to prevent it from becoming a major one. The buckle is standard GS fare and the strap a relatively standard GS croc unit but I find the combination more comfortable than the SBGX097 one (which should be the same in theory but somehow isn't on the wrist) - the two sides are somewhat differently sized, meaning the deployant is placed more centrally, and therefore more naturally.

The crown has no guards and is a nicely sized affair. I am not quite sure what one calls this shape but I would guess an elongated half onion may describe the result?

It is super smooth to operate and the fact that it is not of the screw down variety also means that winding it is very easy (I guess a morning ritual may result, especially on the days I will not be wearing it).

Finally, one experiment on dressing it down was also carried out during the weekend. With mixed results - let's just say it is much more at home in a more formal setting (unless dressing it down is suit and tie and formal a black / white tie affair)

So once again thanks to all who have supported me with their knowledge and advice on the way here (including via PM), and I guess the SBGH035 will make some more appearances here in the months / years to come