What a 52,800 Euro Grand Seiko Looks Like: The Rose Gold SBGD202 Spring Drive

During BaselWorld, Bert Buijsrogge and I had the opportunity to have some ‘alone time’ with the platinum Grand Seiko SGBD201 which I called the high-end watch that impressed me most in Basel. Simply a stunning 43mm watch made of platinum with this amazing sparkling dial. The inner works were just as impressive, with Grand Seiko’s Caliber 9R01 movement. An 8-days movement with a power reserve indicator on the back.

When I was visiting Japan in September, with some of our readers, I stumbled upon the rose gold version of this exact Grand Seiko master piece. I couldn’t recall that I’d seen it before, so I asked Seiko Netherlands to assist me with this and they dug up the initial press information. Needless to say that this watch is not available in The Netherlands (or Germany, where part of our team resides) for a hands-on review. I hope that this will change at some point.

But alas, let’s at least share the images and specifications of this watch with you today.

Grand Seiko SBGD202 Spring Drive

Besides my soft spot for gold these days (you can read here about that recent obsession), it was the dial that made me feel that this rose gold Grand SeikoSBGD202 Spring Drive is even more to my personal taste than the platinum beast (SBGD201) that was shown to us in Basel. This rose gold Grand Seiko SBGD202 Spring Drive wasn’t available in Basel yet, as Grand Seiko decided to introduce it a bit later. The original press release dates from June 21st. Normally, I wouldn’t bother much to put a watch – without our own images – in the spotlight here, but for this rose gold Grand Seiko SBGD202 Spring Drive I am happy to make an exception.

Caliber 9R01(A)

I’ve already spoken in great detail about the Spring Drive movements (here and here), so I suggest you go click those articles if you want to know more about these highly accurate movements. The finish of the Grand Seiko Spring Drive caliber 9R01 is very nice, as you can see on the image. This manual wind movement has a power reserve of 8 days (indicated on the back) and is accurate up to a max deviation of 0.5 seconds per day. The hour hand of the 9R01A movement can be set independently, which is useful when going to a different time zone. Grand Seiko’s caliber 9R01A consists of 307 parts, of which 56 are jewels. Also, the movement is quite large (37mm in diameter), which looks quite good in its 43mm rose gold case. I personally dislike it very much when you can see a spacer ring or simply the fact that a movement is not really made for a specific case.

Mesmerizing Stardust Dial

The dial of this rose gold SBGD202 Spring Drive is simply mind blowing. A black dial, that shows some beautiful rose gold sparkles. It is a process of painting and plating that Grand Seiko rather not unveils, but just wants us to deep black dial combined with the gold sprinkles and the razor sharp rose gold hour markers and hands, create a lot of depth. The mirror finish is accomplished by the already famous Zaratsu technique that Grand Seiko applies to their watches (and we explained it to you here).

Is it worth 52,800 Euro? Well, it is one of the most beautiful three-hand watches I’ve come across in 2017 to be honest. The finish and craftsmanship is definitely on par (and perhaps even nicer) with some of the most exclusive Swiss and German brands that operate in this price range. It is mainly a question of availability and whether you are brave enough to spend it on a non-Swiss or non-German watch.

Specifications