Grand Seiko Sport GMT SBGE253

 

Grand Seiko Sport replica Watches GMT Spring Drive (SBGE253, SBGE255, SBGE257)

When I browsed Grand Seiko, I counted nearly 40 GMT models that spanned model series and various drive technologies (Spring Drive, Hi-Beat mechanism and 9F Quartz). Anyone who thinks of all possible Rolex Pepsi knockoffs can now sit back and relax: as is typical of the Grand Seiko, all models are very personal and feature a plethora of typical features. In this article, we'll take a closer look at the GMT models SBGE253, SBGE255, SBGE257...

Key data Grand Seiko Sport SBGE255: *

Diameter 40.5mm
Case height 14.7 mm
Horn to Horn 48.5mm
Waterproof 20 bar / 200 meters
Sapphire crystal
The case is made of stainless steel, polished and satin-finished (Zaratsu technology)
screw-down crown
Ceramic bezel
Spring Drive 9R66 movement, 72-hour power reserve, ± 15 seconds per month accuracy, quartz self-winding
Black (SBGE253), blue (SBGE255) or green (SBGE257) dial
Stainless steel strap with folding clasp

About Grand Seiko
The roots of the Grand Seiko brand can be traced back to 1960: the Seikosha Suwa factory, originally used as an evacuation site during World War II in Nagano Prefecture in central Japan, began producing high-end models under the Grand Seiko brand. Suwa wanted to stand out from the Swiss competition, especially in terms of precision and accuracy - so in the mid-1960s an internal standard was developed that should even exceed the Swiss Observatory standard. But it was a big mistake (at least initially): in the 1964 time trial at the Swiss Observatory in Neuchâtel, the Suwa team ended up bottom. But the Japanese didn't give up: Three years later, Suwa made the top ten with several mechanical models.

Due to the emergence of quartz technology, in which Seiko played a major role (see Seiko Astron), the parent company has relied solely on quartz since the late 1980s. The mechanics were only revived in the mid-1990s - in 1998 the Grand Seiko models with 9S51 and 9S55 calibers were introduced. Introduced in 2006, the Calibre 9S67 has a power reserve of over 72 hours.copy replica watches

The real highlight and real milestone was the introduction of Spring Drive technology in 2004.

As now, Grand Seiko is characterized by a high degree of vertical integration - almost everything is made in-house. This applies to components such as the case, dial and indices, as well as all the precision mechanical parts (mechanical, spring-driven and quartz movements) used to manufacture the movement in-house. Even the difficult-to-manufacture coil springs made of SPRON alloy for the mechanical movement series 9S are produced in-house.

I emphasize this because a high degree of vertical integration is never a given, and many manufacturers (even in the high-priced segment) assemble components primarily from various external suppliers. Good for Grand Seiko: A high degree of vertical integration above all means a high degree of independence from other companies, an advantage that cannot be ignored, such as Switzerland, where ETA and Sellita dominate the market.

With Elegance, Heritage, Sport and Masterpiece, Grand Seiko now has a manageable collection of models (the latter are models with an extra zero or two in the price).

The Grand Seiko SBGE255 (blue; black = SBGE253 and green = SBGE257), which we are now working on in detail, belongs to the sports collection - as you can see from the sports characteristics such as the ceramic bezel...Jacob & Co. Astronomia Solar Baguette

Grand Seiko Sport GMT Spring Drive (SBGE253, SBGE255, SBGE257)
Grand Seiko is known for extravagant dial patterns such as the Grand Seiko "Snowflake" or the new "White Birch" - on the other hand, the dial of the Grand Seiko Sport GMT SBGE255 is kept largely simple, with subtle, hand-applied Sunburst finishes show many different color nuances (depending on the incidence of light).

However, other essential features of Grand Seiko are also present on the SBGE255 – such as the attractive alternating satin and polished finishes with a perfectly reflective behaviour. The sharp contours of the Grand Seiko GMT Sport owe to the Zaratsu polishing, which can only be performed by veteran Seiko employees with steady hands with the help of a rotating disc, to create a surface with uniform reflections and no distortion.

A typical feature of the Grand Seiko is also the power reserve display between "8" and "9 o'clock", which provides a nice sporty feel (the evil tongue also says "windshield wipers" 😉). But I have one complaint: the white-grey-black areas of the power reserve display don't quite match the three indices printed on them. I probably wouldn't have noticed this without zooming in on a macro photo, but it's simply noticeable compared to the otherwise flawless processing. By the way, on the Grand Seiko Snowflake, the hour markers are applied to the power reserve display and look much higher quality. Pity!

There is also a date window between "3" and "5 o'clock". This asymmetrically placed or "hanging" date window is often the subject of discussion among watch enthusiasts. Anyway, I'm not a big fan of date windows, and without them I can easily do it on the new Grand Seiko Sport GMT. On the other hand, basically a GMT replica watches price designed for travelers, it would be a bit odd if it didn't have a date.

What I don't really like is that the date window is simply cut out to reveal the white date disc. This looks too standard and feels like something is missing – for example, the date window on the Grand Seiko Snowflake has been given a clean polished stainless steel frame. A date disc that matches the color of the dial is also desirable.

But the magnifying glass in hand is enough of a nag: all in all, the level of complaints is pretty high, as the rest of the dial is characterized by the perfection typical of Grand Seiko and lots of fine detail - especially the incredibly detailed hour-markers and hands that pass by Diamond polished for an extremely multi-faceted effect. Especially the indexes at the polished, crisp edges, while the top has fine grooves. PLEASE NOTE: Aside from the hands, only the hour markers at the 12-3-6-9 o'clock are in LumiBrite, which corresponds to the Swiss Super-LumiNova, proof. In short: as far as I know, few (or none?) other manufacturers in the Grand Seiko price range can keep up with this level of perfection (no, not even Rolex).

Grand Seiko doesn't have the two-tone bezels in the "Pepsi" or "Coke" design on the new GMT models SBGE253, SBGE255 and SBGE257 - fortunately, because these are pretty worn out now. Instead, Grand Seiko placed a dual tone on the rehaut (the raised edge of the dial), which is the visual distinction between am and pm.

Bezels with ceramic inlays are common these days - even for cheaper models of a few hundred euros. In layman's terms, watch enthusiasts usually only talk about ceramic bezels, but in practice this means that in most cases, the ceramic inlay is packaged in a stainless steel "jacket" - watches for the new GMT models SBGE253, SBGE255 and SBGE257 The hoop is not so high-gloss polished all-ceramic, which is very sexy on the body and contributes to a high-quality look.replica RICHARD MILLE Rafael Nadal

There is a 24-hour scale on the bezel (with milled and white lacquered even-numbered hour numerals and a dot index between them) to form the reference point or scale for the GMT hand. Good: Thanks to its subtle light blue finish, the GMT hands aren't as striking as many other GMT watches (like the Rolex Explorer II WD). Please note: the bezel does not rotate, which is quite unusual for a GMT watch, which means that only two time zones can be set instead of three.

In the past, Grand Seiko has tended to stick to rather bulky models (such as the SBGJ237 hi-beat automatic) that are at least 44mm in diameter. The Japanese are now reducing this significantly and offering the new models SBGE253, SBGE255 and SBGE257 with 40.5mm cases (horn to horn 48mm) which are easy to fit on the average man's wrist. At the same time, you should be aware that the Grand Seiko Sport GMT model is noticeably larger due to the rather wide ceramic bezel.

At 14.7mm, the case is fairly tall on paper, and it looks a little "chubby" relative to the diameter. However, Grand Seiko knows how to hide this subtly: thanks to its sloping sides combined with an extensively polished finish, it stands out against the Tudor Black Bay GMT (also 15mm tall).

The long-awaited tweak by many fans now finally finds its way in the stainless steel folding clasp of the Grand Seiko Sport GMT fake watches for sale. But you can't really break out in a storm of joy: instead of implementing tool-free fine-tuning outright, Grand Seiko simply introduced a side-perforated clasp - theoretically you could even use a paper clip to help yourself with the strap being relatively easy to shorten Or extended, but tool-less fine-tuning is certainly more comfortable (especially in summer).

Somehow I don't understand why Grand Seiko doesn't seem to be coming out in 2021 when it comes to clasps - manufacturers like FORMEX (see FORMEX Reef) get great functional clasps even at a much lower price. But what the heck - somehow I'm used to an overlooked clasp from somewhere in Japan (also kudos to Casio and Citizen). Despite all the criticisms: most importantly, the new Grand Seiko Sport GMT model is very comfortable to wear on a steel bracelet - also thanks to the offset or "hanging" screw-down crown.

However, the three-piece stainless steel bracelet with a width of 20mm (with a taper of 19mm) is nothing to complain about: it complements the polished finish of the case visually and is tactilely flawless. Belt links are also tightened.

If you want to shorten a steel bracelet yourself, you should make sure you don't get a cold: the links are held in place by a pin each and two XXXS screws on either side - if you sneeze at an unfavorable time after removing the screws, these will almost certainly be gone , never to be seen again.replica Bell & Ross BR 05