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GrandSeiko “Snowflake” SBGA211 – A Stunning Watch with a Unique Spring Drive Movement
Sep
Ever since it was introduced, GrandSeiko SBGA211 dazzled the fans with its exquisitely finished titanium case, impressed by the unique and exclusive Spring Drive movement of Seiko, and above all, the dial that mimics the bright white snow layer with the ability to reflect and refract light in ways never seen before.
History.
The name GrandSeiko has existed since the 1960s when Seiko wanted to take its watches to a new level, to compete with the high-end Swiss watches. But throughout its history until the early 2000s, GrandSeiko, although still having a place in the hearts of watch collectors, did not have many breakthroughs that could stand alongside Swiss high-end watches such as Rolex.
The birth of GrandSeiko Snowflake SBGA211 marked a breakthrough and elevation of GrandSeiko.
The rise and become an icon of SBGA211
As you may already know, the origin of the unique pattern on the snowflake dial stems from an experiment in the 1970s. Before becoming more widely known in the 2000s, at that time GrandSeiko introduced the Spring Drive 9R movement for the first time and the artisans at Shinsu workshop were assigned to create a new dial to match this revolution.
They were inspired by the snow-covered mountains around the pristine Jonen mountain range. From the changes in light reflection on the snow surface they came up with an idea and created a brass dial with the desired patterns, the remaining problem was to create a bright white color of snow covering this prototype.
Using paint would not create a smooth and porous surface like snow, GrandSeiko’s engineers used silver plating method. After many experiments with different formulas and currents, they succeeded in producing a silver-plated brass dial with a pure bright white color that can reflect light at different angles. In fact, it takes up to 80 different steps to create a Snowflake dial that are tightly controlled.
Combined with Dauphine hands, faceted hour markers all polished by zaratsu technique to increase light catching ability, GrandSeiko created one of the brightest and most sparkling watches ever. With smooth movement of blue second hand, dial of SBGA211 is like a painting of snow quiet and peaceful.
Specs.
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Summary.
With a size of 41mm, thickness of 12.5mm, water resistance of 100m, spring drive movement with high accuracy ±15 seconds/month and especially case made from titanium with weight of 100gr, SBGA211 will be a great everyday watch.
Although it has a large dial size but with lug to lug distance of only 49mm and curved lug design that fits wrist well, SBGA211 will suit those with wrists from 16cm.
In addition, white snow dial and blue second hand can combine with many different types of straps will help you diversify style as well as purpose of use.