Quartz watches have something of a mottled reputation among watch collectors. On the one hand they offer superior accuracy, convenience and affordability to their mechanical cousins and on the other hand they were very nearly responsible for the collapse of mechanical watchmaking in the late 20th century during the ‘Quartz Crisis’. However, in the enlightened time of the 21st century, quartz and mechanical watches have reached an equilibrium (at least outside of obsessive purists) where we’ve realised that there’s room for both. Nowhere is that truer than at Grand Seiko where quartz editions allow for accessible takes on their prestigious finishing. Case in point the expanded SBGX Quartz 37mm collection with new Skyflake and sunray brushed editions.
Grand Seiko (technically Seiko in general) has been one of the leading forces in the development of quartz technology, producing and aging their own quartz crystals to ensure optimal performance. If you’re unfamiliar, a quartz mechanism works by sending an electrical signal across a piece of literal quartz crystal to make it oscillate incredibly quicky – most commonly 32,768 Hz. That oscillation is essentially a substitute for the oscillation of a balance wheel, regulating the movement. Grand Seiko have pushed the technology even further via their Spring Drive calibres that use a mechanical power reserve to power a quartz regulator.
Today though we’re focussing on their purebred quartz watches with the SBGX series, powered by the 9F62 quartz movement. It has a 3-year battery life and an accuracy of +/- 10 seconds per year, with those specs alone you can see why mechanical watches can’t really keep up – their power reserves are measured in hours and their accuracy per day. Even for a quartz movement though, Grand Seiko stands out for their quality – a standard time and date Swiss Ronda movement has a battery life of just over 2 years and an accuracy of -10/+20 seconds per month.
For the dials, we have a standard sunray brushed version in blue, which sets a nice baseline as a core collection model. There’s then the slightly more exciting Skyflake edition, which features a signature Grand Seiko textured dial inspired by natural phenomena. Specifically, this one is based on the Snowflake design but in a pale blue as if the snow is reflecting the blue of the sky. It’s also paired with a blue seconds hand alongside the dauphine hours and minutes.
Both versions are presented in 37mm steel cases, making them nicely unisex in sizing with smooth curved from lug to lug and a circular bezel. As for price, the sunray edition is £2,300 while the more ambitious Skyflake is £3,700. You do have to contend with the fact that appears pricy for a quartz watch but as I have tried to convey, this is nothing like the quartz watches from the slightly dodgy market round the corner.
Price and Specs:
More details at Grand Seiko.
