Champagne Shower For The Wrists Of The Love Birds – Hands-on With The Grand Seiko SBGJ201 and STGK007
Editor’s note: This Valentine’ Day special review of the Grand Seiko SBGJ201 for men and STGK007 for women is part of our ‘W.R.A.T.H’ series, or ‘What’s Really Available Today Here’ watch photo reviews. It is a new series where we go hands-on with watches that can at least at the time of photographing be bought! For our other reviews of latest novelties, please head here. For our in-depth deep dives, please head to our dedicated review section here. Today’s watch is brought with the grateful assistance of J Farren-Price Sydney
The Watch
The Grand Seiko Heritage Collection SBGJ201 ($9’600 AUD) and the Elegance Collection STGK007 ($8’500 AUD) are the perfect pair of couple’s watches for this Valentine’s Day. The ‘Mount Iwate pattern’ of the former disperses the falling light melting your heart, and the subtle linen patterned dial of the latter provides for gentle strokes of feminine beauty
Available At
J Farren-Price Sydney
80 Castlereagh St, Sydney (02 9231 3299)
Suited For
Perfect as a pair due to the common champagne dials, subtle use of blue, Zaratsu polishing, automatic movements, same 100m water-resistance, date window at 3’o clock, and the GS charm. Both timepieces feature similar aesthetics with comfortable steel bracelets and display case-backs; like your Valentine, they are made for each other.
Individually, the men’s version owing to the GMT function adds a useful complication for the well-traveled man, and the ladies’ version expresses graceful refinement standing out from the crowd with the use of 11 diamonds set on the dial that makes the timepiece suited for both a nice day out or an elaborate evening soirée.
Will You Like It
“Love is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired,” said Robert Frost. The combined beauty of both these pieces make them to be an irresistible combination for your special date out this Valentine’s Day.
If you appreciate subtle refinement, there is too much at offer here. Like the majority of the time, the stock standard images on Grand Seiko’s website don’t do justice to the linen dial and the ‘Mount Iwate pattern’ dial. Allow the light to grace these dials and they begin to dance. Personally, I have a soft spot for linen dials — there is extensive article here on linen dials we wrote should like to know more about the options in the market today — and even though it’s on the ladies’ version here, it’s nonetheless beautiful.
And when it comes to the men’s version, the high-beat 5Hz Calibre 9S86 with an added GMT complication is a wonder of an engine powering the SBGJ201.
The Movement
Two hearts beat as one, almost.
The heart used — calibre 9S86 — in the SBGJ201 is an automatic movement using the brand’s MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical System) technology. It is the GMT version of the base calibre 9S65. It uses a reverser gear train system, hardened components that help improve the durability of this reverser system, and a semi-conductor manufacturing technology to produce watch parts.
It beats at the high frequency of 5Hz (36’000 A/h), comprises of 37 jewels, and boasts of a decent 55-hour power reserve. It also has a stated accuracy of +5/-3 seconds a day when static while the normal usage accuracy should be around +8 to -1 seconds per day.
The heart used — calibre 9S27 — in the STGK007 is a slim automatic movement that uses the latest Spron 610 alloy for the balance spring, and like the above 9S86, the pallet fork and escapement wheel are made by MEMS engineering.
It beats at the standard frequency of 4Hz (28’800 A/h), comprises of 35 jewels, and boasts of a decent 50-hour power reserve. It has a slightly different accuracy rating compared to the men’s version, providing a stated accuracy of +8 to -3 seconds per day when static while the normal usage accuracy should be around +10 to -5 seconds per day.
Do We Like It
The season of love is upon is. Many a great have spoken, written and sung about it. “Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same,” once said Emily Brontë.
Only in the case of our latest hands-on review, we answer the “whatever” part in the above quotation; and it’s the mesmerising ‘champagne’ coloured dial that in both the SBGJ201 and STGK007 make up for the shared soul.
The GS SBGJ201 is wrapped inside a case inspired by the famed 44GS from 1967 and features a distortion-free, wide mirror surface throughout. Coming in at a wearable 40mm diameter, it fits perfectly on my nearly 16cm wrist.
The thickness of 14mm is large on paper but on wrist, it hugs the skin and doesn’t feel overbearing.
The champagne dial complements the steel case colouring, with its texture inspired by the Mount Iwate — a stratovolcano complex that can be seen from GS’s workshop — pattern bringing to your wrist a masterclass of subtle elegance.
Complementing the SBGJ201 is the GS STGK007; smaller measuring 27.8mm x 11.2mm, it’s matching champagne dial works exceptionally well for those couples trying to find watches that pair well without looking too obvious or forced.
The STGK007 has got a great blend of daintiness yet solid wrist presence; being automatic, it is not merely blinged up wrist candy with a Quartz movement inside. It is a solid watch that any lady interested in horology will be proud to flaunt.
The Verdict
“Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies,” said Aristotle. What more can I say except that with the Grand Seiko SBGJ201 and STGK007, you and your better half end up getting the single soul of the brilliant watchmaking inhabited inside two timepieces.
To find out more about the Grand Seiko SBGJ201 and STGK007 and other GS timepieces, please head to the GS website here or visit their authorised retailer J Farren-Price. To explore the J Farren-Price website, please head here. All images unless otherwise stated are ©WatchYaGonnaDoAboutIt.
