Debuting in 1988, the Grand Seiko calibre 9S ushered in a new era of watchmaking for the Japanese manufacture. Designed with precision and durability in mind, the calibre became the platform upon which all future Grand Seiko mechanical watches would be built, giving rise to movements with different functions and complications.
To commemorate 25 years of the seminal calibre, Grand Seiko has released a duo of GMT watches. Sporty and elegant in equal measure, the ice blue duo draw inspiration from the skies over Mt. Iwate in Iwate Prefecture, where all Grand Seiko mechanical watches are hand-assembled.
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The Sport Collection GMT takes a literal approach to its inspiration, depicting the sea of clouds at daybreak, then the humid air forms dense puffs that overlap to create a tapestry. A deviation from the more subtle nature-inspired textural dials from Grand Seiko, the combination of the chunky proportions and two-tone dark blue and white bezel makes it work. Marking the first time a Grand Seiko mechanical watch with 200m water resistance has used an exhibition caseback, the sapphire glass reveals the calibre 9S86 and titanium oscillating weight, dyed a shade of light blue through an anodic oxidation process.
Meanwhile, the Elegance Collection GMT takes on an—you guessed it—elegant tone, with a streamlined profile and classic silhouette. A mirror-finished bezel surrounds a sunray blue dial, while Zaratsu polishing on the case allows for a distortion-free mirror finish. Like its sporty counterpart, it features an exhibition caseback which reveals a dark blue oscillating weight; achieved through the same anodic oxidation treatment.
The patchy blue dial of the Sport Collection GMT is inspired by the sea of clouds over Mt. Iwate at daybreak when the humid air forms dense clouds that overlap to create a kind of tapestry. It sounds almost kitschy, but it works on a watch dial, particularly on a sporty model like this one with its thick, darker-blue bezel. We have seen far more high-concept treatments on Swiss watch dials, including everything from meteorite slices to straw marquetry. The rotor has been treated with an anodic oxidation process to a matching patchy shade of blue. Powered by the calibre 9S66, it—like the Sport Collection GMT—features an independently adjustable GMT hand, allowing the time zone to be changed without altering local time.
The Sports model is limited to 2000 examples while the Elegance model comes in a limited run of 1700 pieces. The former is priced at approx. $14,400AUD while the latter is approx. $10,600AUD. Both timepieces will be available from October 2023 onwards via the Grand Seiko webstore and select physical stores.
Words by Theo Rosen
