Grand Seiko Has Forgotten More Winter Themed Watches than You’ll Ever Know. Why the SBGJ217 is a Worthy Addition to a Growing List of Snowy Dials

Let’s not beat around the bush: Grand Seiko releases a lot of watches. As the brand has grown, their release strategy has been, well, aggressive, with new references piling up on old before we can gather our thoughts to write about them. While some might criticize Grand Seiko for flooding the market and potentially watering down their brand name, I’ve always been of the opinion that that’s a very silly take coming from a watch enthusiast. More watches are better. Choice is good. Keep them coming. 

But it does create something of a conundrum for those of us writing about new releases here at Worn & Wound. We can’t possibly cover everything, so how do we decide which watches to devote a post to, and which ones to skip. There are a lot of factors at play, but mostly it comes down to a combination of striving to provide readers with content we think they’ll find interesting and informative, and asking ourselves the eternal question: Do I have something interesting to say about this watch?

These things don’t always come together immediately. As any watch enthusiast knows, it can take time to get your arms around something to the point where you can form a coherent opinion on it. When the SBGJ217 was announced, it didn’t immediately make its way to the editorial calendar. I thought this might be a Grand Seiko release that we skip, or maybe just discuss on a podcast. But I’ve been marinating on it over the last week, and the more I looked at that dial and considered the entire package, the more I liked what I saw. 

And then something else happened. A friend of mine, someone who is perhaps one watch away from turning into an enthusiast, sent me Grand Seiko’s post about the SBGJ217 via Instagram, with an expletive ridden message indicating just how much he liked it (he didn’t know I’d want to quote him for this piece, so I won’t repeat the R-rated expressions of delight in this post, but use your imagination, and I’m sure you’ll come close to approximating what was relayed to me). My takeaway here is twofold. First, yes, it’s a beautiful watch, full stop. That kind of straightforward fact can be easily appreciated by a seasoned collector, or my longtime friend who owns just one (imagine that) mechanical watch. 

Second, and more significant in my mind, is that this guy is following Grand Seiko on Instagram. He does not own a Grand Seiko. He has never, to my knowledge, set a WatchRecon alert, or gone to a watch meetup, and he’s certainly never posted a wrist shot to social media. But he’s orbiting the hobby like a satellite. Someday that satellite is going to malfunction at a Grand Seiko boutique, and as it re-enters the atmosphere, a credit card will be swiped, and a new Grand Seiko owner will start obsessing over Zaratsu polishing and high frequency movements. 

I don’t know if it will be the SBGJ217 that does it, but who knows? It would be a worthy choice. The dial, in white, is a design borrowed from the earlier reference SBGH269, a collector favorite limited edition with a bright red dial meant to evoke autumn leaves reflected off a wooden floor. This is a thing Grand Seiko does, obviously, and sometimes the claims of natural phenomenon inspiring these dials get an eye roll from even the most hardcore Grand Seiko fans (raising my own hand here). But that red dial was special, and it made sense, and I often wish I’d have snatched one up when my AD had one available. Add it to the list of Watch Regrets. 

Anyway, this dial is said to represent snow covered trees, and the Japanese concept of “Yukigesho,” which implies a fresh dusting of snow. OK, sure. I can see that. It’s white, and there’s a vertical texture. It’s striking, whether you immediately think of a snow scene or not. It’s wrapped up in a case from the Elegance collection measuring 39.5mm, the lines of which are inspired by the first Grand Seiko, released in 1960. It’s a simple design compared to something more facet heavy like a 44GS case, but it’s a great size and the kind of case you can imagine wearing daily, despite the implication of a watch in the “Elegance” collection being something a bit formal or stuffy.  

The SBGJ217 runs on the 9S86 movement, an automatic GMT caliber that is something of a modern Grand Seiko classic. Their execution of the GMT complication is top notch (it’s a “true” GMT, or flyer if you prefer, with a local jumping hour hand), and this is also a hi-beat movement, which Grand Seiko claims is accurate to +5/-3 seconds per day.   

Unlike the SBGH269 mentioned above, the new SBGJ217 is not a limited edition. So if my almost-a-watch-collector friend wants to take his time to decide on whether or not to take the plunge with the Yukigesho, he probably won’t miss out. The SBGJ217 will be available in March, and the retail price is $7,100. Grand Seiko