Is this the perfect everyday tool watch from the Zaratsu wizards? I am seriously baffled by the Grand Seiko SBGX343. This seems to be nothing less than a dynamic amalgamation of our favourite design traits from Grand Seiko and a prominent Swiss crowned supplier of largely unavailable cyclopsed divers’ watches. Our Japanese friends have managed to pull this feat off without a hint of homage, while exuding a wholesome daily watch-vibe with contemporary wrist presence. To top it off it is powered by the quartz perfection of their 9F61 calibre. The case is recognisable from the sporty SBGV243, characterised by its purist tool image and yellow popping details and stitches on the fabric strap. This, however, is pure monochrome, and could be touted as Grand Seiko’s answer to the Explorer and Milgauss in one, but within a much sharper, tough-as-hell angular case. I can stare at that case side/lug transition for hours – a beautifully horizontal brush on the case side that ends in a hallelujah-inspiring drilled lug end, a lug that has an impossibly perfect crease where it swoops down, creating an incredible dynamic where it meets the polished bevel of the top of the case. A narrow band…
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