HANDS-ON: Dark and deadly – the Grand Seiko Black Ceramic Spring Drive Chronograph GMT (ref. SBGC221)
To be honest, when I first saw Grand Seiko’s contemporary-looking new modular ceramic Spring Drives, I was on the fence. I didn’t expect it, and wasn’t sure what to think. Of course the quality and technical precision were very much in evidence, but the aesthetics were well outside the norm for the brand. But over time the slick looks grew on me – Grand Seiko’s trademark crisp lines look great in black ceramic, and the sporty style was well-suited to the Spring Drive Chrono. So in the lead up to Basel this year, I was looking forward to seeing where they’d take the nascent collection, and I was not disappointed. It’s fair to say the blue and gold limited edition requires a somewhat outgoing personality to pull off on a daily basis; this black version, while not quite stealthy given the 46.4mm case, is far more restrained on the wrist. I’d go so far as to say this watch has a certain menace about it. The deep black colour, titanium and black ceramic case and bracelet, and busy dial all combine to make it look like it’s out of this world, in the same way that concept cars and next-generation fighter…
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We’ve got a surprisingly complex relationship with date windows in the Time+Tide office. And not just because we’ve been known to forget to set them on occasion. No, every time we review a vintage reissue we can be assured that we’ll have a host of comments on various social media platforms that read something like this: “Love the design, but they RUINED it with that ugly date window.” I understand this reaction, and to be fair there are plenty of sloppily designed date windows out there. But ruining a watch? I’m not so sure. A few years ago we were interviewing Walter Von Känel, CEO of Longines, and we mentioned in passing that his heritage collections received near-universal praise, except for the fact that they almost invariably included a date. We asked why he put a date in. To my recollection (it’s a few years ago now), Mr Von Känel laughed and said that he did it because most people wanted dates on watches. He’s got a point. I suspect that most people wouldn’t be able to tell you off the top of their heads what today’s date is. Sure, there’s a profusion of screens in our lives that carry this…
Editor’s Note: Way back at the start of this year, Justin put together a series of ‘best of’ lists covering off some of 2016’s finest timepieces – watches that offered maximum return for minimal investment. Now, as we hurtle head-first into that golden period in Australia known as EOFY (end of financial year), we start thinking about tax returns, bonuses and bargains. Sure, you could use this (hopeful) windfall to do the prudent thing and pay the bills – or you could buy a watch. So we thought now was the perfect time to revisit these lists in the form of one mega-smorgasbord list of 44 watches to whet your appetite. 8 watches under $1000 Seiko Turtle Reissue SRPA21K OK, so this guy’s a total no-brainer – a reissue of Seiko’s classic (and now quite collectable) 6309 series day-date divers. The originals were in production from roughly 1976 to ’88, and this past year saw countless fans shouting “Shut up and take my money” as the numerous variants of the Turtle reissue sold out, time and time again. The line includes something for everyone, including a gilt-dial variant, all black, all blue, a very cool grey made-for-the-Thailand-market Zimbe Turtle, and of course…