Texas Special: Grand Seiko x Timeless SBGE249 Spring Drive GMT “Blizzard”

To celebrate the first anniversary of their flagship boutique in Plano, Texas, Timeless Luxury Watches collaborated with Grand Seiko to create a truly unique watch, the Grand Seiko Spring Drive GMT Timeless “Blizzard”.

The word “blizzard” occupies a special place in Grand Seiko history, and this particular dial hearkens back to the limited edition SBGA125 from 2015, which sported a similarly textured dial. Indeed, it was Timeless Luxury Watches that coined the term “blizzard” to differentiate it from Grand Seiko’s now-iconic “snowflake” dial found on the SBGA211, which might explain why it was requested for their first collaborative piece. The inspiration for the finish was, as you might imagine, an actual snowstorm that hit the manufacture in Shinshu, Japan.

While it comes off as a bit of a cliché, we can assure you that, in this instance, the following statement applies: photographs do not do this dial justice. The depth, the sparkle… there’s quite literally nothing else on the market like it. Viewed in person, it can take on a frosty, bluish hue, which brings us to the hands. Yes, the trademark, laser-cut dauphine hour and minute hands are present and accounted for, and as is par for the course, they — and the indexes — are flawless examples of zaratsu mirror-polishing. The other watch hands, however, deviate from the norm. The independent GMT hand, seconds hand and power reserve indicator are all rendered in heat-treated blue, and boy do they pop. What’s more, in certain light, they lend a cerulean hue to the dial to gorgeous effect.

As noted, this particular Grand Seiko also sports a GMT complication, which is one more differentiating factor between the SBGE249 and the SBGA211. It’s worth pointing out that this is a true GMT, in that the hour hand is set independently from the minute hand, which is our preferred method for approaching this particular complication.

Timeless Style

In another departure from the SBGA211, the Blizzard is crafted entirely from stainless steel as opposed to titanium. The reason for this stems from Timeless Luxury Watches’ owner, Dan Broadfoot’s desire to have a bit more heft in the timepiece. As an added bonus, stainless steel achieves a brighter hue when hand-finished and polished.

Nitpicks, we have a few. Okay, just two, though neither represents a hill for us to die on. While we don’t have a problem with the trademark power reserve indicator on the dial — this is a feature of all Spring Drive-equipped Grand Seikos, and draws attention to the movement’s generous three-day power reserve — there are those who would prefer to see it removed completely, or at least relegated to the rear of the movement. This brings us to our second critique: the sapphire caseback. Ordinarily, this provides an expansive window into the expertly finished mechanics of the caliber 9R66 Spring Drive movement, but here that view has been obscured by a vintage-inspired Grand Seiko lion logo and the words, “Limited Edition”. (Thank you, Grand Seiko, but we already know this.) If we had our druthers, this would’ve been divided between the rotor and retaining ring, or at least reduced significantly in size.

The above notwithstanding, it is our contention that the SBGE249 ranks right up there with the SBGA211 in terms of execution and desirability, which is no mean feat. It then builds on the formula by adding function to form with its classically executed GMT complication.

Timeless Luxury Watches and Grand Seiko have created something truly special here, a force of horological nature, if you will. It’s a shame that only 250 lucky individuals will be able to enjoy it.

The Grand Seiko SBGE249 Limited Edition Spring Drive GMT has an MSRP of US$5,900 and is available exclusively through Timeless Luxury Watches.