Grand Seiko 44GS 55th Anniversary Limited Edition

The 1967 44GS was the watch that first embodied the design grammar known as the “Grand Seiko Style”, the set of nine principles which gave Grand Seiko its distinctive look and which still inspires every new creation today.  As part of the year-long celebration of the 55th anniversary of the 44GS, SBGP017 embodies the spirit of this seminal 1967 design and offers a remarkable precision rate of +5 to -5 seconds per year.

The dial is as remarkable as the caliber that delivers this exceptional accuracy. It has the texture of the sea of clouds that form around the mountains on some mornings in the Shinshu region where this and all Grand Seiko quartz watches are made. Sometimes, the air is so still and humid that dense clouds gather and overlap to create a sea of clouds above Shinshu’s lowlands that stretches away to the horizon in every direction and that is tinged with blue, reflected down from the clear skies above them.

The watch is powered by a specially enhanced version of Caliber 9F85 that is accurate to +5 to -5 seconds a year. This high precision rate is achieved by the use of quartz crystals that are aged and then individually selected for their particular performance characteristics. The same commitment to precision is expressed in every aspect of the watch’s functionality. It has a time difference adjustment function that allows the hour hand to be moved without stopping the seconds hand, thus preserving its high precision when the wearer changes time zones. A backlash auto-adjust mechanism eliminates any shudder in the seconds hand. The date changes in the blink of an eye. A twin-pulse control motor allows the minute and seconds hands to be longer and thicker so that the exact time can be read with ease.