Hey Guys - This is a review of my first kinda, sorta dress watch -- the Grand Seiko SBGA011 Snowflake. An amazing feat of design and technology for true watch aficionados! Sincerely, The Dutch Sandwich thedutchsandwich@gmail.com
You are SO lucky to have this watch! I think it's a beautiful, classy, somewhat understated watch. I would own one if I could afford it. The spring driver is awe-inspiring.
Great watch. By the way, most of the SARBs, not to mention SARG and many other Seikos (particularly the JDM models) costing only a few hundred dollars have sapphire crystals. I'm with you on the stealth aspect. I have a SBGX059 and SBGM027 and I many times enjoyed telling people it's just a Seiko when I didn't want to draw attention, while also telling someone who knows watches it is a GS and enjoyed conversing about fine watches.
Amazing craftsmanship of the dial, hour markers, hands... Paired with Spring Drive it really is truly astonishing dress watch. Congratulation on your acquisition!
Great review - thank you and congratulations on acquiring such a beautiful piece. I own a close cousin, GS SBGA111 and love it. Kudos to GS team for making such wonderful watches. Enjoy!
Nicely done video and review. Love hearing your enthusiasm for the watch. Many people don't vibe with Spring Drive. I'm the opposite, so it's nice to hear from someone else who does, too. The details around why you feel the way you do was really great to hear as well. Thanks for sharing! Just subscribed. :)
Thank you so much. I try to give impressions because anyone can look up the specs, but I feel it may be helpful to get some feedback. Happy to have you as a subscriber!
Not to take anything away from it, I own and love this watch. But the dial is made from a uniform stamping process, and so all of them actually have the exact identical texture down to the individual ridge. On the other hand, you mention the factory specs of plus or minus 1 sec a day... In reality these tend to run closer to 2 sec per WEEK, often better. Mine is about 3sec per Month.
as for bullet proof, I wore mine for about 2.5 yrs every day and I work around Heavy equipment! I have physically cringed several times from a few licks the thing has suffered but it is still flawless to my eye! I finally retired it to the safe and only bring it out on occasion now but I would not worry about damaging it at all!
@@DragonSlayer334 lmao, I cant either now! But it is truly impressive, durable and I miss it! May take a chance with it and pull it out of retirement. Let's face it, there's little joy in hiding a nice timepiece in the safe!
I was torn between the Snowflake and the GMT high beat with blue 24 hour hand and silvery white dial. I went with the GMT SBGJ001 and love it. I know you will enjoy your snowflake
I agree, the dials on these Grand Seikos are amazing. My silvery/white dial on the GMT is very similar to the snow drift pattern on yours. The razor sharp dulphine hands and hour markers are the same. The saratzhu hand polishing techniques is only performed by a select few grand artisans, and they achieve a mirror finish that Rolex and all their fancy, very expensive 904L steel machines , can't match. It's amazing to see the play of light and shadows off the hands, markers, dial and case. Magnificent watches. I feel strongly that the Grand Seiko brand is on the climb and there is increased acceptance and admiration for GS brand among the die hard watch snob community.
What a gorgeous timepiece! I have a small Seiko collection, some being vintage, which includes a King Seiko from 1968 with the gold medallion on the caseback, and some modern, like the SARB033 and SARB035. One of these days I hope to add a stunning GS like yours! BTW, both my SARBs have Seiko's 'Hardlex' see-through casebacks but their front crystals are actually sapphire, so there a few lower priced models that use sapphire rather than their proprietary hardened glass.
Great video I just got my grand Seiko snow flake my holy Grail watch last week . I to got mine used the previous owner had all the polishing buffed out so it now has that stealth titanium look I actually like it this way . An the accuracy is over the top almost accurate that's my grand Seiko Quartz is that good
Will be getting one next month during cherry blossom season in Tokyo. I have tried this watch and the way the lugs and the watch sits on my wrist is comfortable. I tried the 44gs case as well, they sit slightly high, felt small and not as comfortable as this snowflake. What i like most is how light the watch is and the dial is mezmerizing.
Another great video, really enjoy your stuff man. As for the Snowflake, I have tried so hard to love this watch, and have had quite a few opportunities to pick one up pre-owned for a decent price, but I always hesitate. Titanium is a favourite of mine, GS is a favourite of mine, and the snowflake dial is gorgeous. But as much as everyone raves about the perfect glide of the spring driven second hand, that's probably the thing that ultimately puts me off the watch. Don't get me wrong, Seiko tech is very inspiring, but I absolutely love the jagged mechanical sweep of a 'regular' mechanical watch's second hand. That said, I'm still most likely going to get a Snowflake one day. I guess the sum of its parts... :-)
Totally get where you are coming from and appreciate you sharing. Have you ever tried one of before? Maybe that would help connect the dots faster for you :)
I have also a Snowflake (SBGA011, so the old version) and half of the fun is playing with the light and see how it shines on the dial, hands, but also the GS logo that reflects a quality rarely seen in this price category. It's my first love and no matter what no watch will replace it's place in my heart. That being said, I think the size of 41 mm is too big. I know most dress watches of Grand Seikos are 40 mm are a litte big bigger, but 38 mm would fit this watch much nicer. I know there's a version of 38 mm (with a red second hand I believe).
This watch is better than the Rolex Datejust, AND it doesn't attract as much attention/judgment. Exactly the same reason why I bought one of these, I agree completely. People aren't supposed to judge you, but they still do.
I really love my Snowflake- other than a couple of Astrons this is the most accurate watch I've ever owned- hadnt worn it in a couple months and it was only 7 seconds of atomic clock.
Great Stuff. GS is so very underrated. I have the spring-drive, the hi-beat, the quartz, but, it's the Three Centre Hands Manual Winding mechanism that gives me the most satisfaction. The epitome of high horology is the Three Centre Hands manual wind mechanism, with a long minute hand, and an even longer second hand. Even in Patek and Lange, the manual wind watches are either 2 hands or with a sub second hand. They reserved the Centre Three Hands for their highest range, so high that hardly anyone can reach them. For a connoisseur, a luxury watch maker must have a Three Centre Hands collection in their stable, the basis of all other good mechanical watches. For GS, there is the SBGW series. I bought the SBGW231, the latest for 3K. It runs for more than 3 days fully wound, and only off by +1 sec in that three days. The hands and indices sparkle like diamonds against an equally beautiful custard dial. My calatrava which cost many times more just cannot match up. The back case has more details than my Nautilus which is plain. As for the finishing of the mechanism itself, you put the two together and see for yourself. And mind you, the Nautilus cast a lot lot more. Then again, both the calatrava and the nautilus are not the Three Centre Hand mechanism. You need a very good mechanism to carry a long minute and second hand. I can see that my Hulk and Batman has very short minute hand as compared to my other GS sport watches. Where are all the good man!
@@TheDutchSandwich I own a dozen GS and another dozen vintage ones. I buy them to wear and play, with my family members. Many people talks about GS with real experience of using them. Worse, some have not even seen them in person. What I said is debatable. So are what many things RU-vidrs said, especially those without real experience. People are obsessed when they don't have real experience. Collectors are just having fun.
As far as collectibility, I think the SEIKO versions will be more collectible than the redesigns of the same watches. If I ever buy another one (and believe me there are probably 10 or so that I would love to own), I would look for the SEIKO version and probably choose that over the redesign, in most cases.
Best watch! I have the high beat version. It's the best watch ever!!! Got It from Govberg for a great price. Only thing I can't stand about the snowflake is the push pins on the bracelet. They need to use screws. I have the seiko sumo and I butchered the bracelet trying to size it.
I bought this together with an SBGH001 because I could not for the life of me choose one over the other. I am glad I bought them prior to the deletion of the Seiko logos on the GSes, I prefer them with the SEIKO there, it adds to the low key appeal.
The redesign of the snowflake is SBGA211. Just change the first digit in the reference to a 2 for the redesign. The redesign for the SBGH001 is SBGH201.
I wish they would move the power indicator to the back, or reduce it to just the needle. I've never liked that intrusion, especially on such an unbelievably beautiful dial. Very few watch dials pull off power indicators well.
Totally opposite to your opinion, I like the power reserve indicator upfront, as when you work out, you can sense it's moving, which is a fantastic feeling.
If it had a day indicator, that would be in my shopping cart soon. Not sure why GS doesn't have any model that goes with a day function. To many people it's tedious but to me the day indication is useful.
Enjoyed the review - A quoted accuracy window of 2 seconds a day doesn’t seem very accurate for a quartz crystal regulated watch even if it is much more precise than a traditional escapement watch. I noticed one of the comments here quoted 3s a month! I’ve also heard that the Spring Drive mechanism is as precise as a normal quartz watch but Seiko are just very conservative with their accuracy stats. Interesting to hear how your watch is keeping time so far...
Beautiful watch, the titanium really pops the Slowflake dial. I own a Datejust and a Snowflake.. I love both, but I can't in all honestly claim the finish is better on the Rolex, its not.
I love these watches and the craftsmanship is clearly amazing. However, what's not so great is how the bracelet fits the watch. There is a bit of a gap between the solid end link of the bracelet and the lugs of the watch. Once seen, can't be unseen for me.
This is one of those watches where it costs thousands; is unique in drive and accuracy without needing a battery nor an atomic clock; can be worn as a sport watch but how does it not maintain acceptability at any kind of dinner with that snowflake dial. Now the options of different dial faces has come up. Now we want to know which is more collectible. Originality is very cool, like a rookie card. However, moving to its own branding is more characteristic of a high end watch. A VW is not a Porsche.
3 minutes in to a nice review I hear yet again that titanium straps won't take screws but need pins. As I type my Omega PO liquid metal in titanium has screws in the titanium strap winking at me... WTF. Nevertheless I have one of these (GS) on order, hence watching this video.
Bizarre that the cocktail time doesn't use sapphire, both the Alpinist SARB017 and the baby grand seikos SARB033/035 use sapphire. The Spring drive is infinitely smooth because of the magnetic brake - no balance wheel! (But I think you knew that :)
Tyler Conlon SBGA111 is completely different. Anyways, the 011 and 211 are similar, but the 211 is newer. Recently, Seiko has caught on that people don't really like having SEIKO written on the top of a $5,000 watch. So instead, the removed it on the 211 and replaced it simply with the GS logo - with "Grand Seiko" written much smaller underneath. This also removes the "Grand Seiko" text on the bottom (of course), so only "Spring Drive" is at the 6. The 211 has less text because of these changes and is generally preferred over the 011. It's cleaner, simpler, and again, takes away that giant Seiko logo at the top. Finally Seiko is really trying to separate the two lines/"companies." Although personally I think they should just do a Rolex/Tudor or a Ford/Volvo thing and just make GS a new name. It's like having "Fancy Casio" on a $4,000 watch lol. But don't get me wrong, I'm aiming to grab a 211 someday in a handful of years.
I like Seiko (owner of the MM300 and SBDC051), but I think at this price I would rather have an Omega Aquaterra co-axial. I want to like this watch, but it just doesn't do it for me. Dial looks like pulp paper.
I own small businesses. It's a grind with no shortcuts - hard work, perseverance, and luck. I've been debating on doing some videos that may help people with that -- do you think anyone would watch?
TheDutchSandwich yes please do these videos! I think your subscribers would love to see a personal element to the channel. Plus I’m sure a lot of people are highly curious about how you manage to afford this incredible hobby lol
Titanium is not an excuse for using friction pins. Especially for a watch bracelet where you dont operate the screws very often, threading into the titanium would be ok. Even better would be a female end on the other side of the bracelet made of steel for the pin to thread into. Friction pins are definitely a negative on this watch and are unnecessary
As an owner, I don't care. It goes unnoticed once you start wearing it. It's easier to freak out over things like this if you just review specs online.
I am actually very concerned and disappointed that they put the extra links on the same bag without any protection to freely scratch each other 2:30! It is metal and contact with each other and it will damage the pristine finishing.
It's more of a pricey casual watch because of the bracelet, so I think wanting lime is reasonable, but in this specific case maybe they didn't want lume interfering with the finish of the dial...
