Hands On: Grand Seiko “Hisen” SBGZ011

Hands On: Grand Seiko “Hisen” SBGZ011 Lavishly decorated, inside and out.Grand Seiko’s excellent dive watches may have stolen the show Watches & Wonders, but the waterfall-inspired Masterpiece Collection “Hisen” SBGZ011 proves the brand hasn’t let its next-generation Spring Drive rollout outshine its fine watchmaking project — the Micro Artist Studio. While best known for the Credor Eichi II, and some of the finest chiming wristwatches yet made, the Micro Artist Studio’s work for Grand Seiko is perhaps even better, and though its resplendent movements can be found in more subtle watches, the “Hisen” is just as decadently decorated outside as it is within. Initial thoughts Last year, Grand Seiko kicked off a streak of hits, launching the compact and precise Spring Drive SLGB003, on a quick-adjust bracelet. This year the brand launched an even deadlier duo of mid-sized Spring Drive divers, and probably has another commercial success on deck for next year. But in the background, the Shinshu Watch Studio, where all Spring Drive watches are made, continues its fine watchmaking efforts with the stunning diamond and Mozambique garnet set “Red Lion” ref. SBGD228, and the “Hisen” SBGZ011 reviewed here. Aesthetically, it is my least favorite of the four engraved-case models the brand has produced in recent memory — my favourites being the SBGZ001 “Snowflake” the astral SBGZ007 — due to the dial being too busy. However, the engraved 44GS case is almost magical, reminding me of the Quartz VFA ref. 3823-7030 and 3820-6000. Like many a tropical bird, textured cases are beautiful but nearly extinct, and it is a blessing that the last practitioner of this craft is able to combine it with such an extraordinary movement. And for those suspicious of a non-mechanical watch at this point, I’d point out that there is more silicon and fewer man-hours in many mechanical watches. Engraved Case Once an industry-wide trend, followed by everyone from Tissot to Patek Philippe, textured cases have special meaning to Seiko as they housed both the Astronomical Observatory Chronometer movements, and even more importantly, the revolutionary Astron cal. 35SQ. Not to forget the “Snowflake” dial of Grand Seiko’s previous best-selling watch is a recreation of the vintage Grand Seiko 5645-5000’s case and dial texture. This engraving is done free-hand with a rotary tool, using the side of the cutting disk to gouge the platinum hundreds of times. As a result, no two watches are the same. Like a fingerprint, all 50 watches look the same at arm’s length, but are uniquely identifiable up close. The platinum dial receives the same treatment, except for the dial text and minutes markers, which are clearly milled. Unlike the similar “Snowflake” SBGZ001 and “White Birch” SBGZ009, these markings sit on islands of undecorated platinum. I assume this is needed for contrast, as the engraved waterfall motif is much deeper than those of the “Snowflake” and “White Birch”. Also note that the “Hisen” is one of the very, very few Seiko products without a movement and dial code at six o’clock. Not even the the hand-painted porcelain dials of the Eiichi II qualify for this exemption. Like the three preceding textured Masterpiece models, the case is cold-forged platinum 950. While platinum is significantly less expensive than 18k white gold (especially palladium white gold), it cannot be processed like gold. This is why the platinum Rolex Day-Date’s bezel was, until recently, smooth rather than fluted, and why the crowns, buttons, slides, and buckles of older platinum watches are so often white gold. And, of course, you will rarely see engraved platinum watch cases. However, Seiko and its case manufactures have decades of experience with platinum. The first Grand Seiko model was offered in gold-filled steel and platinum, as was one of the first three Spring Drive models. There are, however, a few elements that are not made of platinum, but that are nonetheless up to the task. The signature eight-pointed star below Spring Drive marks this as a “Special Dial”, meaning the indices are made from gold, as are the hour and minute hands – the sweep seconds and power reserve hands are thermally blued steel. Spring Drive The Spring Drive cal. 9R02 inside is closely related to the cal. 7R14 found in the Credor Eichi II, but with three key upgrades. First is the dual spring barrel, which replaces the 48-hour mainspring in the Eichi II’s movement with two stacked mainsprings that (on their own) extend the power reserve to 72 hours. Second, both movements, along with the cal. 7R08 that powered the original Eichi, feature a novel torque return system, which extends the Eichi II’s power reserve from 48 to 60 hours, but when combined with Grand Seiko’s dual spring barrel yields an impressive 84 hours of power reserve. As a result, the barrel, which is opened worked in the shape of a lotus, sits slightly proud of the bridges. Unlike a mechanical movement, a Spring Drive calibre’s timekeeping is completely independent of mainspring torque, as long as it is above the minimum the movement needs to run. This means that extra torque at the top end of the power reserve is normally wasted. The torque return system, invented by Osamu Takahashi, exploits this excess torque to rewind the barrel during the first 48 hours of its 84-hour power reserve. At the end of those 84 hours, the mechanism integrated into the power reserve indicator stops the watch before things get weird. Upgrade number three is the addition of a sharp inner angle between the two Diafix settings, making the movement more Instagram-friendly than the Eichi II, which has equally perfect beveling, but without any coveted inner angles. On that beveling, it is broader on the Grand Seiko movement than its Credor cousin, with more generous countersinks as well. The movement decoration and finishing are upgraded under the hood as well, including the inside of the barrel, which is nearly mirror-polished. This could be justified as reducing mainspring adhesion, though such factors would not affect timekeeping in a Spring Drive movement. That said, having seen these movements partially disassembled, the parts you can’t see aren’t decorated to quite the same standard as those you can, like in a Greubel Forsey movement, which helps explain why watches like the “Hisen” are still under six figures. These movements also feature a gold plaque, inspired by those of Philippe Dufour’s Simplicity, which can be free-hand engraved with whatever the owner desires. While Philippe Dufour and his watches are now mainstream, his work initially found an extremely passionate audience in Japan. Famously, two Seiko Epson watchmakers travelled to Le Soliat to train under Mr Dufour. One thing they adopted was an old Vallée de Joux trick, using yellow gentian wood to apply polishing paste to the bezels, rather than boxwood. The Micro Artist Studio later found a research university in Hokkaido growing the plant within Japan, allowing even that to be made in Japan, just not in-house — at least not yet. Key facts and price Grand Seiko Masterpiece Collection Hisen 9R02-0AF0 Ref. SB0GZ011 Diameter: 40.0 mm Height: 9.6 mm Material: Platinum Crystal: Sapphire Water resistance: 100 m Movement: 9R02 Features: Hours, minutes, seconds, torque return system, power reserve on the movement side Frequency: 32,768 Hz Winding: Manual Power reserve: 84 hours Strap: Crocodile leather strap with folding platinum clasp Limited edition: Limited to 50 pieces Availability: At Grand Seiko boutiques Price: US$84,000 excluding taxes For more, visit Grand-seiko.com. Back to top.