Description

The Grand Seiko Manufacture is known to insiders for its watches inspired by the play of light and shadow, an essential feature of traditional Japanese architecture. With this new reference SBGW269, reserved for the European market, the Japanese brand presents us with a sublime piece, evoking the image of Yukage, the fading orange light of dusk.The originsFor the Japanese, black and white are rarely expressed in their extremes and many shades separate the shadow from the light. Precisely, this play of light is one of the pillars of the Grand Seiko style, and largely inspires this newcomer reserved for the European market. Indeed, this Grand Seiko embodies in its own way the inspiration of the Japanese culture, with which the Japanese have a great affinity. This timepiece is inspired by Japanese architecture, and in particular by the shoji doors, these sliding panels covered with washi paper. An essential part of traditional architecture for centuries, the shoji has the particularity that its doors create a luminous link between the inside and the outside through numerous plays of light during the day, all based solely on straight lines and flat surfaces. This leads to simple, clean forms that allow for complex and changing light effects.This Yukage version, thus evokes the fading orange light of dusk, which the shōji absorbs to fill the home with a warm atmosphere.Vintage inspirationGrand Seiko is an expert in the manufacture of dials, and this reference SBGW269 proves it again. Typical of Japanese production, the face of this watch is expressed by a pure dial, concentrated on its colour and texture, without any date or mention. Curved and decorated with a unique washi pattern, the light reflects on the dark brown dial, creating a delicate gradation of colours.As every insider knows, behind every Grand Seiko watch there is always attention to detail, and this is reflected here in the delicately curved hands that follow the contours of the dial perfectly and offer the best possible legibility. Surgically finished, the indexes, like the GS logo, are finely executed faceted and applied, to contribute to a very pleasant daytime legibility.The whole is encased in a 37.3 mm steel case, polished in the Zaratsu style, the house’s signature. A modern inspiration of the design of the “First”, Grand Seiko’s emblematic model, the watch is compact and elegant. A domed box-shaped sapphire crystal with an anti-reflective coating overlies the whole. The watch has a brown calf leather strap with a pin buckle to give it a slightly more casual look than the rest of the Elegance range.Mechanical sideBehind its sapphire back, we find the 9S64 manufacture calibre. It is one of the rare hand-wound mechanical movements of the lion brand. Offering a comfortable power reserve of about three days (72 hours) when fully wound, it is intended to be stable and precise. As Grand Seiko’s chronometric standards are stricter than those of the COSC, the movement has been adjusted to 6 positions, guaranteeing a precision of -3 to +5 seconds per day, with a balance beating at 28,800 vibrations. By choosing to equip this watch with a mechanical calibre, the watch is very thin (11.6 mm), and lets us admire its bridges decorated with “Côtes de Tokyo”, offering many light effects.