Feature: $100 vs $100,000 Seiko

In 2021, something extraordinary happened. A Seiko, from 2016, with a quartz movement, sold for just shy of $100,000 at auction. Granted, it was the Grand Seiko SBGD001, but nevertheless it puts a disparity between it and this—one of Seiko’s cheapest offerings, the SNXS79—of 1,000%. So, what does that extra $99,900 get you?

The Case And Strap

It’s quite mind-boggling to think that what are functionally the same product can be priced so differently. In fact, the cheaper watch gets the addition of a day and date complication, and a mechanical movement over a quartz. But we’ll get to those in a bit—the first point of focus between these two watches is what they’re made of and how they’re made.

The SNXS79 comes from Seiko’s most affordable Seiko 5 range and is just about the biggest bang for the buck you can get when it comes to watches. A mechanical watch, on a bracelet, from a watchmaker older than Seiko, for not much more than a PS5 game. We’ll uncover why the Grand Seiko is one heck of an achievement, but it’s also worth acknowledging that the same company being able to make a watch for $100 is an impressive feat in itself.

To hit that rock-bottom price, the SNXS79 has a simple case, simply finished. Its 37mm span does without complex angles and shapes, facets and finishes, simply rolling along over one plane straight down into the lugs, unbroken. A quick polish over the whole thing takes care of the final look, and paired with a folded link bracelet, it completes what is a very functional—and, surprisingly, not unattractive—method for keeping the dial and movement secure and protected.

By comparison, the Grand Seiko is altogether more ornate. It’s certainly not the most extravagant case ever seen on a watch, but there’s a level of execution that pushes the eighty-twenty rule to its absolute limit. If you’ve ever wondered what that last little bit of exertion can achieve when it comes to case finish, this is it.

At first glance, it doesn’t seem a whole lot different, but the reality is that it’s—some might say needlessly—a whole lot more complicated. Where the shape of the SNXS79 is generalised and indistinct, the SBGD001’s is precise and deliberate. The angle of the gentle taper along the tips of the lugs, for example, is perfectly mirrored and perfectly angled, flat from edge to edge. That steps down into a bevel that runs the length of the 43mm case, flat, crisp and perfect. One more step into the case sides and the same is apparent here.

It all seems like the work of a nanobot working at the micron level, but it’s not. It’s applied by hand. Grand Seiko’s most talented watchmakers get the privilege of learning the Zaratsu technique, a lapping process that produces this perfectly flat, ripple free mirror finish with those paper-thin edges, straight into the platinum. Oh yeah, this sturdy-looking thing feels doubly so because of all that platinum weight.

The Dial

Where a watch really earns its crust is on the bit you look at the most: the dial. It’s a gauge, a readout, and in its most basic form, all it needs to do is tell you the time unhindered. This is where we find the SNXS79, which employs a lot of classic techniques to boost readability. Polished markers against a darkened background catch the light for maximum contrast. The folded hands are doubly faceted to catch light from one direction or the other. Luminous paint is applied to both to ensure that it’s still readable even when there’s no light to reflect.

It's not entirely without its decoration, however, the logo applied rather than painted, the dial sunburst and the date window ringed with metal. Never mind for $100—the SNXS79 may not be the last word in quality, but it’s not the first, either.

Tell you what is the last word, however—the SBGD001. Grand Seiko already has a reputation for making some of the best dials in existence, and this one may well be a contender for the best dial, period. Like many other Grand Seiko models, this one gets its finish from inspiration of a natural kind, from the freshly laid snow of the Nagano mountains.

Sounds like fluff and nonsense, but if fresh, crystalline snow was what Grand Seiko was going for, they nailed it. The texture, the twinkle, so dense and yet so delicate—it’s been replicated on a micro scale to an astonishing degree. How? Diamond dust. What else would the dial of a $100,000 watch get? An extravagance beyond all reasonable measure, perhaps, but one that has very real, noticeable results.

And it’s not just what the dial is finished in that makes this watch shine; it does its duty of telling the time with a similar level of unrivalled grace and perfection. You won’t find any luminous paints here, and you won’t need it. The perfection on show is quite simply a challenge to believe, reflecting light back so bright that the markers could well be made of diamond, too.

The quality is so staggering that when looking up close, sense of scale starts to become warped. We expect things like this to degrade the higher the magnification, but with the Grand Seiko that just doesn’t seem to happen. The flat surfaces remain as ripple-free as a still lake and the edges between them sharper than a fresh razorblade. It’s perfection to the final degree, a demonstration of capability that, really, needs optical equipment to fully appreciate.

The Movement

The biggest surprise of the SNXS79 is that the $100 price doesn’t include a plastic quartz movement. Through years of development and with economies of scale very much on its side, Seiko has managed to produce a movement that can be replicated through automation and volume to bring the price right down to rock bottom.

Think about this: a basic ETA movement, Swiss made, costs more wholesale than this entire watch does at retail. As such, Seiko’s calibre 7S26 isn’t likely to find itself in any watchmaking halls of fame for quality and finish, but it should at least get an honourable mention for achieving such equally staggering value.

Seiko uses every trick in the book to reduce cost. The meagre 41 hours of power reserve are amplified by a slower 21,600 vph beat. There’s no hacking, and not even hand winding. Accuracy is generally reported as okay, but Seiko won’t commit to anything just in case you get a slow one. But still, it’s automatic, it has a day and a date, and if you’ve only got $100, it’s either that or the chrome plated quartz thing in the catalogue.

It may come as a shock, then, to discover that the Grand Seiko gets neither a day and date or an automatic movement. It doesn’t even get a mechanical calibre! Kind of. What the SBGD001 does get is the calibre 9R01, powered by Seiko’s proprietary Spring Drive technology. Hand wound for eight days of power, yet regulated by a quartz crystal, the Spring Drive 9R01 combines the best of both worlds for maximum accuracy and mechanical independence.

Like a fully mechanical watch, the movement is powered by a spring, but instead of running that energy through an escapement of wheels and levers to control its speed and, therefore, the timekeeping, it spins a glide wheel instead, whose pace is controlled by electromagnets and regulated by a quartz crystal. It’s a brilliant idea, brainchild of Seiko engineer Yoshikazu Akahane in 1977, and it took 230 patents, 600 prototypes and 22 years to achieve.

The pride in this idea is why Grand Seiko chose to furnish the SBGD001 with a Spring Drive movement, created by the brand’s Micro Artist Studio no less. Established under consultation with the best watchmakers in the world, the Micro Artist Studio produces work that is, well, the best. There are a handful of watchmakers in the world today who can achieve the absolute pinnacle of finishing, and the Micro Artist Studio has ten of them. Each member has a specific skill, honed to absolute perfection, including Master Watchmaker Katsumi Nakata, who is one of a very few people awarded Master Craftsman status by the Japanese government.

This results in a movement that is truly exceptional. Not good, or even great—but unbeatable. You might see a handful of movements from around the world that match the 9R01—but you won’t see them beat it. Look for the flower motif that signals the work of the Micro Artist Studio and you’ll know you’re looking at something special.

Whilst not strictly a limited edition, the extreme quality of the SBGD001 means its numbers are astonishingly low and has earned it a place in the collector’s must-have category. It’s an example of some of the finest watchmaking to ever be created not just outside of Switzerland, but in the world, and its value can only be going in one direction: up. The fact that the same watchmaker can not only cater to endgame collectors but also those just starting out with only $100 to spend is borderline startling. If you’ve ever wondered why some people consider Seiko to be the best manufacturer of luxury watches in the world today, there are few better reasons than that.

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