GRAND SEIKO SBGJ255 - LIMITED EDITION RELEASE

Mechanical Hi-Beat 36000 GMT
44GS 55th Anniversary Limited Edition

55 years of the Grand Seiko Style are celebrated in a new Hi-beat GMT creation.

The 1967 44GS was the watch that first embodied the design code known as the “Grand Seiko Style”, the set of nine principles which gave Grand Seiko its distinctive look and which still inspires every new creation. Now, 55 years on from its first appearance, the 44GS is commemorated in a new Hi-Beat 36000 GMT watch with a titanium case.

The case and bracelet are in high-intensity titanium, a material that is about 30% lighter than stainless steel and highly resistant to both scratches and corrosion. The titanium has a bright aspect and the case is Zaratsu polished to give the distortion-free surfaces that are a defining characteristic of the Grand Seiko Style. The calibre is the hi-beat 9S86. It offers 55 hours of power reserve and an accuracy rate of +6 to –3 seconds a day. The GMT hand and the 24-hour inner bezel ring allow the time in a second time zone to be read with ease and the hour hand can be adjusted independently without compromising the precision of the watch. The white dial has a soft sheen against which the GS and GMT letters stand out in blue as clearly as the tempered blue GMT hand.

The hour, minute and GMT hands carry Lumibrite and the dual-curved sapphire crystal has an anti-reflective coating on its inner surface. In 2014, a watch with this same calibre won the “Petite Aiguille” prize at the Grand Prix dʼHorlogerie de Genève, bringing it and the Grand Seiko Style to a wider than ever audience.  

The oscillating weight features the Grand Seiko lion emblem and is in a gold tone that is achieved through an anodic oxidation process in which the titanium is subjected to electrolysis so as to generate an oxide film. The colour is determined according to the light refraction index by adjusting the thickness of the oxide film.

SBGJ255 - RRP: $12,750

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