SPRING DRIVE ‘SNOWFLAKE’
SNOWFALL INSPIRED ELEGANCE
This Spring Drive timepiece is made by the craftsmen and women of the Shinshu Watch Studio in Japan’s Nagano Prefecture. The studio is surrounded by the Hotaka mountains that, for several months each year, are covered in snow. Its surface is captured in the dial texture and complemented by the blue tempered second hand that moves in perfect glide motion.
The design represents the Nature of Time – a uniquely Japanese spirituality where time is viewed as nature itself with each fleeting moment, minute and second a unique expression, unveiled through
light and shadow.
CREATING SNOWFLAKES
The dial production of this timepiece requires over eighty separate steps for a mere brass plate to become a highly desirable Grand Seiko ‘Snowflake’ dial.
After the dial base is precisely die stamped, it undergoes a long series of artisan finishing processes. A precious silver-plating technique creates an uneven pure white surface that receives and reflects light from all directions. This is followed by accurate machining and drilling, careful letter printing, and delicate hand-setting of the logo, indices and watch hands. A dedicated craftsperson deploys their highly skilled expertise at each stage.
The ‘Snowflake’ case is finished with our in-house Zaratsu polishingan art that takes many years to master. To use this technique on high-intensity titanium, a material that is harder than steel, is an even greater challenge, but one that Grand Seiko succeeded in meeting.
The case has an elegant combination of hairline and mirror finishing free of distortion with sharply defined edges that are central to the Grand Seiko Style.
THE FLOW OF TIME IN PERFECT GLIDE MOTION
The SBGA211 is powered by the Spring Drive Calibre 9R65 that delivers an accuracy rate of ±1 seconds per day and a power reserve of 72 hours.
Spring Drive generates energy like a traditional mechanical watch but combines this with an electronic regulator to deliver a level of precision that no mechanical watch can match. The signature of Spring Drive is the smooth motion of its second hand. The hand moves in a silent and beautiful glide motion, rather than the one-second tick of a quartz watch or the rapid beat of a mechanical watch.
SPECIFICATIONS:
EXTERIOR
Case Material: High-intensity titanium
Glass Material: Dual curved sapphire crystal
Glass Coating: Anti-reflective coating on inner surface
Case Size: Diameter 41mm × Thickness 12.5mm
Strap Material: Stainless steel
Clasp type: Three-fold clasp with push button release
Water resistance: 10 bar
MOVEMENT
Movement: Spring Drive
Calibre: 9R65
Accuracy: ±1 seconds per day (±15 seconds per month)
Power Reserve: 72 hours (3 days)
OTHER DETAILS
◊ 30 jewels
◊ Sapphire glass case back
◊ Stop seconds hand function
◊ Power reserve display
◊ Magnetic resistance
