Fratello Dress Watch Season: Round 1 — A. Lange & Söhne 1815 (34mm) Vs. Grand Seiko SBGH368
Welcome to the first round of the Fratello Dress Watch Season contest, our effort to identify the best new dress watch of 2025. If you thought we’d kick the series off quietly, you are mistaken. Round 1 immediately sees a major clash of entirely different watchmaking philosophies. Lex defends the Grand Seiko SBGH368 “Sakura Kakushi,” while Thomas puts forth the 34mm A. Lange & Söhne 1815 in white and rose gold.
These contestants are taken from the eight watches that won our initial public vote over the weekend. You, the Fratelli, voted for your favorites from a long list of possible contenders. The eight surviving watches include today’s Grand Seiko and A. Lange & Söhne. Let’s see what the boys have to say about each.
Thomas: A. Lange & Söhne 1815 (34mm)
I feel our managing editor, Nacho, threw us off the deep end here, Lex. These watches represent such radically different watchmaking philosophies that I hardly know where to begin. Frankly, I would be surprised if anyone ever spent any time deliberating between these two. Then again, that probably makes today’s contest all the more fun.
Let me start by outlining some of the obvious differences. The Grand Seiko SBGH368 builds on the brand’s 62GS shape in a 38mm size. It offers aggressive styling, a high-beat automatic caliber, and a typical Grand Seiko textured dial. You have to part with €33,500 to make one yours. The latest A. Lange & Söhne 1815, meanwhile, takes the model’s classical simplicity and dials it down to a mere 34mm diameter. It runs on a new hand-wound caliber and costs approximately €27,000.
We find more differences if we look closer. The GS serves up the time with a central seconds hand and throws in a date window at 3 o’clock. The Lange, meanwhile, offers a small seconds sub-dial at 6 and features no date. The GS offers a 100m water resistance rating, while the Lange has the more typical 30m spec.
A matter of geography
Without intending to resort to stereotypes, I feel these two watches represent their geography better than most. What we see here is a clash of design philosophies. While the Grand Seiko SBGH368 represents Japanese design in all its glory, the 34mm 1815 is as characteristic of German watchmaking as they come.
As a result, the two are very hard to compare. I am cutting many corners here, but the Grand Seiko exemplifies a more-is-more approach, with a multitude of details and a strong focus on technology and nature as inspiration. The Lange takes a more sober, Teutonic approach. It is more stern and rigid, with its beauty residing in the execution of sparse elements rather than the mesmeric effects of more.
To me, the Grand Seiko is shock and awe, while the A. Lange & Söhne is subtler and more elegant. And here, I feel, we are getting to the crux of the matter.
The 1815 fills the role of a dress watch better than the SBGH368
To me, a dress watch should always be understated and subtle. It should reveal its beauty upon close inspection, not beam it across the room. I feel almost as if we’re comparing a Grand Seiko sports watch to a true dress watch here.
The sloped minute track, date complication, automatic movement, aggressive case, and water resistance all point to a sports watch. Maybe it could be a GADA watch, if I am being tolerant, but certainly not a true dress watch. As much as I admire the SBGH368, I would classify it as an elegant sports watch.
Does that matter? Well, yes. At least for today’s context, it does. If we are looking for the best dress watch of 2025, I don’t think we should land on a sports watch in a tux. You only have to look at the calibers to see my point. One is a spec-maximizing automatic with nearly iridescent striping. The other is a classically designed three-quarter-plate hand-winder in German silver with a hand-engraved balance cock and gold chatons. The Grand Seiko is the more technically advanced watch. The 34mm 1815, however, is the true master of formal elegance.
A closer look at the 34mm A. Lange & Söhne 1815
I am well aware that the A. Lange & Söhne 1815 will lose votes due to its size. Although smaller watches are all the rage, I know a large chunk of our audience would not consider a 34mm watch. This one, however, serves as a reminder of how watches were once intended to be worn. The entire thing sits on top of your wrist, with the strap wrapping around. As a result, you see the dial, bezel, lugs, and a healthy part of the strap. From a distance, this actually looks much more natural than a watch filling the entire top of your wrist, reducing the strap to a mere U shape that holds it in place.
Am I splitting hairs here? Well, yes, but that’s what the Lange is all about. This 1815’s 34mm case is a showcase of refinement, especially with its mere 6.4mm thickness. You could wear two 1815s on top of each other, and the package would still be a tenth of a millimeter thinner than the SBGH368! The horizontally brushed mid-case sits sandwiched between two polished layers, which I find absolutely beautiful.
Lastly, we have that stunning dark blue dial. I just love the look of glossy white printing on this powdery midnight blue. The specific blue shade has the slightest hint of warmth, perfectly befitting the character of this watch. I particularly love that it showcases the same attention to detail as Grand Seiko’s textured dial, while looking deceptively much simpler.
Lex: Grand Seiko SBGH368 “Sakura Kakushi”
I agree, Thomas. This is a clash between two watches that are so different, it feels they’re “fighting” in separate weight categories. But they aren’t; they’re facing each other in this first-ever Fratello Dress Watch Season contest. And to be frank, I’m glad it is my task to promote Grand Seiko’s Heritage 62GS ref. SBGH368, also known as the “Sakura Kakushi.” The primary reason is that I tried the 34mm 1815 in both white and rose gold, and neither version is for me. The dial is pretty, the movement is excellent, and the case’s shape and proportions are nicely balanced, but it’s too small. If the 1815 had been in a 36mm size, I would have pulled the Grand Seiko SBGH368 from the competition. Alas, in their endless wisdom, the people at Lange decided to make a hipster-friendly 34mm watch, and I will gladly have my Japanese-made creation take on the tiny German creature.
I do so, fully aware that the “Sakura Kakushi” has a date indication and three hands instead of two. I have sometimes been accused of being too strict when categorizing watches. “Three hands, and you’re out” used to be my motto. I didn’t have a motto that involved a date function, because the words “date” and “dress watch” don’t belong in the same sentence. Or do they?
Image: James Porter & Son
The perfect date watch
The Heritage 62GS ref. SBGH368 is a watch you wear when you go on a date and want the date to go well. You want to wear a watch that is the right size, doesn’t downplay you as a person, and doesn’t have too much presence, making you look insecure. With a rose gold 62GS-style case showing brushed and Zaratsu-polished surfaces, a 38mm diameter, a 12.9mm thickness, and a 44.7mm lug-to-lug length, you’re golden, so to speak. The diameter is perfect, but while the thickness may not be, since we’re living in 2025, fat-shaming a watch is a no-go. The presence of a date is a sign of punctuality and trustworthiness. This “dress watch 2.0” belongs in the here and now and outshines the outdated — sorry, I mean “no-date” — Lange. Although the 1815 tries really hard, it doesn’t capture the zeitgeist.
Image: James Porter & Son
Cherry picking
Some of the best watch dials in the world sport the Grand Seiko logo. The “Sakura Kakushi” has a dial to die for. Its copper-pink tone represents spring in Japan’s Tohoku region, where a delicate layer of frosty snow covers the pink petals of cherry blossoms. Once again, Grand Seiko found inspiration for the dial in Japanese nature, and the result is stunning.
Image: James Porter & Son
The softly shimmering dial also showcases faceted and applied rose gold hour markers and the aforementioned date window at 3 o’clock, elegantly framed in rose gold. Grand Seiko has cleverly placed the minute track on the rehaut, ensuring a clean and harmonious dial layout. On the upper half, the applied rose gold logo and black printed brand name add subtle contrast, while the lower half displays the practical text referencing the watch’s movement.
Image: James Porter & Son
Razor sharp
Floating above the dial are razor-sharp hour and minute hands joined by an ultra-slim seconds hand that glides smoothly — a signature of the high-frequency movement within. Inside ticks Grand Seiko’s Hi-Beat caliber 9S85, operating at 36,000 vibrations per hour, delivering a 55-hour power reserve, and offering an impressive accuracy of -3 to +5 seconds per day.
As the successor to the brand’s first high-frequency movements introduced in 1968, the 9S85 is a fitting choice for this model, honoring the 62GS, Grand Seiko’s first automatic watch. The movement can be admired through the case back’s sapphire display.
Image: James Porter & Son
The Grand Seiko SBGH368 “Sakura Kakushi” comes equipped with a brown crocodile leather strap and a rose gold folding clasp with a push-button release. The choice of brown leather is rather traditional and shows that GS knows its classics. Unfortunately, a Swiss brand claimed the slogan “to break the rules, you must first master them.” However, with the “Sakura Kakushi,” the Japanese brand shows it can produce a fine-looking dress watch that takes some liberties and gets away with it because it also shows its understanding of the fundamentals.
Image: James Porter & Son
The Grand Seiko SBGH368 “Sakura Kakushi” represents the future of dress watches. It’s priced at €33,500, which is €6,500 more than the 34mm A. Lange & Söhne 1815. That said, you also get significantly more watch for that extra money — more gold, more functions, and a more dynamic dial and case. What else is there to say? A vote for the Grand Seiko is a vote for the future of dress watches, for the evolution of style with an open mind. Vote now.
