Grand Seiko Elegance Hand Winding SBGW231

[carl]

The essence of a classic dress watch: traditional size and proportion, time only, manual wind. The beautifully Zaratsu polished case, hands and markers create a wonderful contrast against the creamy off-white lacquer dial. Having owned a number of Grand Seiko timepieces over the years, I can attest to the amazing craftsmanship. Possibly the best feature, however, icing on the cake, is one of the finest, manually wound, in house movements with 72hr power reserve and hacking seconds. The 9S64.

Over the years, this model has been the one that has always commanded most of my attention, yet one I was unable to see in real life until the other day. Now one of my all-time favorite watches will become a permanent part of my collection. I avoided ordering this model many times, although I knew if I saw it in the display at the local AD, I would pick it up.  The watch is so special, it had to be a situation where I had a reliable AD to count on if there is ever an issue, or when it comes times to do a servicing.

Thanks to Rodeo Jewellers, who now have a convenient downtown location here in Vancouver, BC. I have patronized Rodeo over the years, and am more than happy to continue my relationship with them. Their new store is a welcome addition to downtown Vancouver, and among other features, they have an absolutely superb Grand Seiko collection, which they have gradually developed over the years. Definitely worth a visit if you have an interest in Grand Seiko, or if you want to see the gorgeous watches and learn more. I have no hesitation in recommending them.

Some technical specifications:
Case: 37.3mm diameter, 11.6mm thick, stainless steel, box-shaped crystal with inside anti-reflective coating, sapphire crystal case back beautifully finished with etched GS logo, 30m water resistance
Dial: off-white (Ivory) with polished hands and markers, applies GS logo
Strap: matt black crocodile with GS pin buckle
Movement: Grand Seiko manufacture calibre 9S64 - manual-winding - 28,800vph - 72h power reserve - adjusted in 6 positions - timekeeping precision -3 to +5 seconds per day - 24 jewels - stop-seconds function - hours, minutes and central seconds

A few of my first photos:



















Just a stock shot of the dial from the GS website:



Thanks for looking at my review!

Cheers,
Carl

[muckymark]

Very nice, congrats. Could be the perfect three hander. Nice uncluttered dial yet it doesn’t look sparse with nothing above the 6. Where is RJ’s new location? Is the Oakridge one closed now?

[carl]

Sept 19, 2020 18:50:53 GMT -6 muckymark said:

Very nice, congrats. Could be the perfect three hander. Nice uncluttered dial yet it doesn’t look sparse with nothing above the 6. Where is RJ’s new location? Is the Oakridge one closed now?

Thanks, Mark. The new location is on Hastings at Hornby, across from Monte Cristo (North). It's in the previous Palladio location. Palladio moved across the street. Apparently, all the shops in Oakridge now have to vacate, I think there are only 3 left right now. Then they will shut the entire mall, for about 4 years, while they totally rebuild Oakridge. I guess it's a huge project, and the new mall will be fantastic. I think the whole thing will end up being a location for the very wealthy by the sound of it. Rodeo did an $800,000 move to the new location in the mall, and now have to move out totally. Good thing they opened the downtown location, or they really would have been screwed, with nowhere to go! I was talking to Di yesterday, he's the owners son, and they are not pleased. Which I can imagine. Anyway, the shop downtown definitely worth a visit. And it also has Vancouver first official Breitling Boutique.

[Baco Noir]

Sept 19, 2020 18:50:53 GMT -6 muckymark said:

Very nice, congrats. Could be the perfect three hander. Nice uncluttered dial yet it doesn’t look sparse with nothing above the 6. Where is RJ’s new location? Is the Oakridge one closed now?

I would agree. This has a vibe of old school elegance with the simplicity of the 3-hand design on ivory dial. The support finishing off the hands and hour markers really shine on that design. Congrats carl.

[carl]

Thanks Baco Noir and I didn't even mention the price. It's $5400cad, which is appx $4100usd when I do the conversion. A value packed watch IMO. Especially with the superb 9S64 manually wound movement, with 72hrs power reserve, and hacking seconds.

I knew that I had been noticing this watch for years before I saw it. The 9S64 movement was introduced in 2011 and, if I remember correctly, this was the only model that had this movement at the time. So it has been a long time. I am just happy that it was not discontinued before I got my hands on one!