Grand Seiko SBGM001 GMT Blue Dial

Watches are funny thing, they have become your only companion 'who' will go wherever you go, including the rest room.  Your partner will not even go there with you.  You may feel great while doing a work presentation or you feel really miserable.  Guess what, you are usually on your own when your feeling goes up or down.  If you have chosen to wear a time piece especially a mechanical watch which can easily be crippled or even die on you if it is mistreated, that very time piece accompanies you every single second.  Life is short, a watch is used to tell time but at the same time, it is also an time measuring device to tell you, 'You are running out of time'.  Whenever I look at a watch, the second hand keeps ticking one step to another, it reminds me of a second is gone and cannot be kept.  You can only think of the earlier seconds but you cannot go back to the earlier hours.

Being a good companion need a certain set of attributes as we live in a complicated environment.   Very often we need to blend in, wearing appropriately to respect the host, the people the venue or sometime even the art if a musician plays.  There are also times that we have to be active, relax and enjoy nature.  Therefore, some of my time companions are only suitable to stay home when I am travelling as they cannot share with me the very second in the home time.

I have been looking for a time companion which is functional yet elegant, can join me in a swim or even get closer to some of the sea creatures while snorkelling or climbing a few high grounds in the snow.  Be it in a business meeting room or out in the open in another far away land from home, I know I can trust it and I know it does not matter if it has a few dings for it is relatively inexpensive and most important of all, it has good supports from the manufacturer.  This hunt was on for months and I spotted a Grand Seiko SBGM001, then a SBGM029.  As I google a bit more, a lot more is unfolded about the watch making philosophy of SEIKO, a famous watch manufacturer in South East Asia drawing attention of the crowd to its Quartz or Kinetic and now the GPS more than their high end mechanical time pieces.

Admirers have spoken and written about the workmanship, the high standard of movement engineering and the stringent tests set up by SEIKO.  I have to say one will need to receive a personal greeting from a Grand Seiko to really appreciate it.

The bracelet is smooth as silk, there is no sharp edges.  It is so well polished that when someone says to you, each and single link of the bracelet is hand polished.  You have no hesitation in believing every word of it.

 

The markers, the hands and date window mean nothing and cannot be meaningful, but because they are perfectly finished, when put together on a beautiful blue dial face, they form a live attraction of time measuring user interface.  The blue is best described by sapphire.

Pictures simply cannot do its justice, unfortunately.

Subtlety is one of the beautiful features of a Grand Seiko.  Put that on a human being, charm or charisma might be the word to describe it.  The GS on the crown or dial face is not there to remind others, they are there to remind the owner.  That is not an ordinary time companion.  It has passed 17 days of extensive tests in 6 positions instead of 5 set by the COSC.  At SEIKO, they will provide adjustments free of charge for a period of two years from the date of bonding with the owner, if the heart of the time piece is anything less than loyal.

As a limited edition to celebrate the 10th anniversary of its predecessor, something has to be different.  The rotor in blue titanium but cleverly weighted by tungsten so that the Lion is always on top.  The alloy is upgraded so is the movement so that it can now provide 72 hours of power.  That allows the owner to change partners over the weekend, more specifically putting it down on Friday afternoon, pick it up again on Monday morning, time never stops so does the Grand Seiko.

 

For me the hunt for an everyday watch is over, it is relatively inexpensive, it can go with me whenever I need to be and it tells me the time of two zones.  There are other watches which have these same attributes, but there are few which wears and touches so comfortably and finally can last.

Thanks for reading this.