Grand Seiko Sport Spring Drive GMT SBGE253

Imagen: Grand Seiko, web oficial

The storyWhy this reference matters

Grand Seiko had been making a Spring Drive GMT for years, but it measured 44 millimetres and that figure frightened off half the customers. In 2020 the brand remade it at 40.5 mm and launched it in triplicate: the SBGE253 in black, the SBGE255 in blue and the SBGE257 in green, identical bar the colour of dial and bezel. There was no technical revolution and no romantic backstory behind it. It was a correction of size, which is sometimes exactly what was needed.

The visible novelty is the polished ceramic bezel with its 24-hour scale engraved in white, new to this generation. It is fixed, not rotating: you read the second time zone off the 24-hour hand against that scale, and there the story ends, with none of the third-zone trick a rotating bezel allows. The crown sits at four, the classic Seiko diver position, so it does not dig into the back of your hand when you bend your wrist.

The calibre is the 9R66, the GMT version of Spring Drive: mainspring, quartz oscillator and an electromagnetic brake in place of an escapement, with the local hour hand jumping hour by hour without stopping the watch. A second a day, 72 hours of reserve and the indicator between eight and nine. With 200 metres of water resistance and a solid screwed case back, this is the Spring Drive you can wear without thinking twice.

SpecificationsThe numbers, in one table

IdentificationHow to tell it apart

40.5 mm across, 14.7 mm high and 48.7 mm lug to lug: contained in width, genuinely tall. On the steel bracelet it weighs 172 g, and you feel those grams by the end of the day. Lugs are 20 mm and the folding clasp has micro-adjustment.

The polished black ceramic bezel with engraved white numerals is this generation's badge. Check that it does not turn, because it is fixed. The crown is at four and screws down. The case back is solid and screwed, with no window: if you see a Grand Seiko Sport GMT with a display back, it is not this one.

The SBGE255 and SBGE257 share absolutely everything except the colour of dial and bezel, blue and green respectively. The 253 is the black one, and the one you will come across most often.

CollectingWhat collectors check

The 14.7 mm of height and those 172 g are the number one reason this watch ends up on the secondhand market. Try it with a shirt on first. Under a cuff it makes itself known, and there is nothing to be done about that afterwards.

Ceramic will not scratch in normal use, but it chips if it takes a sharp knock on the edge. Go over the outer rim with a loupe looking for flakes, particularly on the part that meets a door frame first. On the bracelet, check the play between links and that the clasp's micro-adjustment still works.

For the movement, the usual Spring Drive checks: the seconds hand gliding with no steps, the reserve indicator reaching the top, and the local hand jumping cleanly in both directions with the date following. A 9R66 running oddly is only put right by official service, so cross "my watchmaker will have a look at it" off the budget.

Common questionsWhat people ask us about this reference

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Close relativesThe ones it gets confused with