The Grand Seiko SBGR097, launched in 2015, commemorates the 55th anniversary of the Grand Seiko which was first introduced in 1960. This stainless steel piece houses the Calibre 9S61 automatic movement and the mainspring can be wound manually as well. The movement can be viewed through the sapphire crystal case back. Limited to 500 pieces. Photo: © TANG Portfolio. Elfa / Timmy. BaselWorld 2015.

As a commemorative piece for the 55th anniversary of the Grand Seiko, one would understand why the SBGR097 is a limited edition (production of 500 pieces).

The Grand Seiko SBGR097 featuring a blue dial is powered by the Calibre 9S61 which has the accuracy with the standard variance of plus 10, minus one seconds a day when worn. Under a static controlled environment and tested over 17 days, the accuracy of the SBGR097 is plus five, minus three seconds a day.

The Calibre 9S61 automatic movement has the “hand winding capability” which means the mainspring can be wound via the crown. The Calibre 9S61 can be viewed and appreciated thanks to the sapphire display case back.

On the dial are multiple “GS” (for Grand Seiko) decorations. Unlike the Grand Seiko SBGA109 Spring Drive in titanium (commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Spring Drive, limited to 700 pieces) and the Grand Seiko SBGA111 Spring Drive 10th Anniversary Limited Edition (limited to 1,500 pieces, introduced in 2014), there isn’t the Grand Seiko lion emblem at the 2 o’clock position.

 

 

The lion emblem is a nice feature but this Grand Seiko SBGR097 without it is even rarer than the SBGA 109 and the SBGA 111.