Grand Seiko SBGY Owner Review : Admirable, soothing and elegant

As a long-time Seiko enthusiast, and having had the opportunity to appreciate the perfection achieved by the Spring Drive movement, I was waiting for the brand to integrate this movement into a more discreet and less massive case than that of the traditional Grand Seiko ranges. My wish was amply fulfilled with the release of the Elegance range, which not only inaugurated a thinner case, but also dressed in subtle curves that give it a less angular aesthetic than the brand's usual models. In addition, Grand Seiko responded to the wish of many fans of the brand by removing the power reserve and date from the dial, systematically present in the Spring Drive models, to allow one to fully contemplate the pattern that adorns it. Simplicity and sobriety in the service of elegance... and a certain logic, since the power reserve, all the more relevant since the movement is hand-wound, is now located on the movement plate and visible when the crown is wound in the morning. The dial background reproduces the surface of a frozen lake, Lake Suwa, whose ice sometimes splits across its entire width to form the "passage of the gods". I literally fell for this Omiwatari, as the combination of this discreet case, this subtly colored dial background and the serene movement of the third hand restores an unequaled class that I have not found on any watch I have encountered before. The quality of the finish is to GS standards, undoubtedly at the highest level as the work on the hands, on the indexes or on the lettering of the dial is remarkable. The domed sapphire crystal, and the play of light that it brings to the dial completes my delight. For the record, I had initially considered buying a Datejust with a fluted blue dial. The incompleteness of this project ultimately allowed me to fall for this GS. I am convinced today that if I had obtained the date just (which was finally offered to me by the AD a few months later), I would have regretted this purchase when I discovered the Omiwatari which in many ways offers much more than a DJ, even without the date...