What about Grand Seiko sports watches Ref. SBGJ237 and SBGJ239?

My first real appreciation for Grand Seiko as a standalone brand was a bit of window shopping when Jura Watches opened its boutique in Mayfair. What caught my attention was how beautiful the sapphire crystal bezel of Seiko’s prestige brand looked compared to everything else in the display. The optical properties of the crystal help to lift the bezel’s markings from their recessed position and make them more immediate.

Sapphire crystal bezels aren’t always a good idea, as the material’s tough structure will crack with the right impact, but their presence adds a real sense of definition to a sports watch, which is exactly what we’ve come to expect from Grand Seiko.

So the brand’s addition of two watches like this to its sports collection can only be seen as a plus. The fact that they are GMTs with Hi Beat movements and 200m water resistance makes this even more so.

Grand Seiko bills these as triple time zone GMTs, as the arrangement of the GMT hand, the fixed 24-hour scale on the rehaute and the rotating 24-hour bezel make it possible to tell the time in three different locations, which is a definite bonus.

The watchmaker also adds Seiko’s own Lumibrite material to its GMT bezel (remember Seiko Corp makes everything), which logically is used for the numbers on a dark background for the nighttime portion and a background for the daytime portion, for maximum contrast and legibility. These are also noteworthy because they are the only GMTs currently in the Grand Seiko Sports line that use contrasting colors for these portions, all others use a single-color bezel with contrasting numbers. Grand Seiko has a slightly different approach to other brands like Rolex, which have contrasting colors meet at the three and nine o’clock positions, such as the bezel of the GMT-Master II. We assume Grand Seiko chose to let the colors meet the width of a hair so that the numbers don’t cross that line. It’s a small point, but introduces asymmetry,

Both watches are powered by Grand Seiko’s 36,000vph 9S86 automatic movement, with a quick-set local hour hand so as not to interfere with timekeeping when adjusting for the current time zone. The movement is accurate to +5 and -3 seconds per day, and the wind is good for 55 hours.

Grand Seiko isn’t known for shy, retiring sports watches (I’ve barely recovered from wearing an SBGA405 Godzilla tribute), and these are no exception. The stainless steel case measures 44.2mm in diameter and 14.4mm in height, figures augmented by the use of a clear caseback sapphire crystal.

Aside from color and where to buy, both watches are identical. The blue and white SBGJ237 will be available for general sale at Grand Seiko retailers, while the green dial (with a black and white bezel) SBGJ239 will be available exclusively at Grand Seiko boutiques.

Price and specifications:

Brand: Grand Seiko
Model name: SBGJ237; SBGJ239
Case/dial: 44.2mm diameter x 14.4mm height, stainless steel
Water resistance: 200m (20 bar)
Movement: 9S86 calibre, automatic, chronometer-certified, +5 to -3 seconds per day at rest, 37 jewels
Functions: Hours and minutes, seconds, date, GMT with third time zone
Frequency: 36,000 vph (5 Hz)
Power reserve: 55 hours
Strap: Metal bracelet, three-fold clasp with push-button release (SBGJ237) or alligator leather (SBGJ239)Price: 7,000 EUR (SBGJ237) and 6,800 EUR (SBGJ239)