BY JOVAN KRSTEVSKI
Grand Seiko has just unveiled their newest watch from the Elegance Collection, the Grand Seiko Elegance Collection SBGY027 “Karesansui”. It’s launched to celebrate the opening of Grand Seiko’s Boutique in Paris Vendôme. Let’s take a look at what it offers.
The case is forged from stainless steel and it measures a compact 38.5mm x 10.18mm size profile. The case features finishing where brushed and polished sections alternate another with a domed sapphire crystal protecting the dial from the front. The crystal has an anti-reflective coating, where the rays of light cancel one another out as a result and are no longer reflected back at the wearer. The caseback also has a sapphire crystal, allowing the viewing of the movement inside. The case is water resistant to a meager 30 meters.
The light-gray dial of SBGY027 “Karesansui” is made by Grand Seiko in reminiscence of the traditional Karesansui gardens in Japan. The dial reflects the inspiration from Karesansui gardens by means of the delicate ripples that are raked onto the dial, representing the flow of water. The brilliant dial hosts the hour indices, which are faceted and Zaratsu-polished for added elegance. The hour and minute hands are as well polished and faceted, accompanied by the pointed seconds hand in dark gray color. A minute track is printed on the outer periphery of the dial, while the applied Grand Seiko logo and brand name can be seen below the 12th hour. At 3 o’clock is the knurled crown, finished with the GS logo in relief.
Upon turning the Grand Seiko Elegance Collection SBGY027 “Karesansui” over, the in-house made Grand Seiko Caliber 9R31 movement comes into view underneath the exhibition caseback. It’s a proprietary Spring Drive movement, a hybrid movement with unmatched accuracy and that would be the maximum deviation of ± 1 second per day. The caliber stores a power of 72 hours and the movement also has a power reserve display on the back.
Grand Seiko Elegance Collection SBGY027 “Karesansui” comes on a black calfskin leather strap with a folding clasp. It has a European-only limited edition run of 100 pieces and is available exclusively from Grand Seiko’s Paris Vendôme Boutique in addition to the authorized dealers. It has a price tag of EUR 9,200 and availability starts from January 2023.
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