Photo Credit: HODINKEE
In the past three years, HODINKEE has been on a roll in terms of its overall expansion, releasing several amazing looking collaborations with brands that include Omega, Zenith, Oris, Vacheron Constantin and IWC, while also becoming an authorised dealer for a whole myriad of brands. Well, it can now include another top notch brand under its belt, Grand Seiko. Grand Seiko’s willingness to release this collaboration amidst its string of 60th Anniversary releases is a testament to the strength of HODINKEE’s brand equity. I am completely speculating here, but it also perhaps has something to do with the fact that HODINKEE has been a great partner to the brand in terms of marketing (through its partnership pieces) and just bringing brand exposure in general, particularly in these past couple of years.
Photo Credit: HODINKEE
The Grand Seiko HODINKEE Edition is the SGBM239. It is safe to say that the SBGM239 would not be a watch that first comes to mind when one thinks of Grand Seiko even with the wide range of differing watches that Grand Seiko has. It does not feature a 44GS or 62GS case. It does not feature either of Grand Seiko’s highly lauded Spring Drive or Hi-Beat movements. It also doesn’t feature the sort of textured dials that the brand has become renowned for. What it does feature, is a nice shade of blue dial (again, I am solely basing it off pictures) that I assume comes with the usual extremely well finished hands and indices. It houses Grand Seiko’s reliable 9S66 caliber in a 39.5mm stainless steel case with a display case back and comes on a three-link bracelet. 
Photo Credit: HODINKEE
To be honest, when I first saw this release, I was rather critical of the watch. After all, the watch seemed to be rather uninteresting. Where were the cool dials? Where was the slimmer case? Hadn’t blue dials been done to death this year? Wasn’t HODINKEE’s collaborations supposed to give watch enthusiasts what they wanted from a brand since they claimed to be enthusiasts first and foremost? 
Photo Credit: HODINKEE
However, looking more at some of the limited editions that HODINKEE had released in the past, the more I found my criticisms waning away. After all, it appeared to me that what HODINKEE liked to do, was take core elements of a brand and add a couple of touches that would make the watch cleaner, more versatile and unique in its own right. That is no more apparent that in the Blancpain, IWC, Oris and Timex releases where the date window was removed. On the Vacheron Constantin Historique Corne de Vaches release, HODINKEE opted for a stainless steel case that made the watch more rugged and suited to everyday use. In its recent Nomos Tangente release, it added a steel bracelet, and to make it stand out from the brand’s usual clean dials, it added a matte textured dial. 
Photo Credit: HODINKEE
In this release, what HODINKEE opted to do was take a watch from the brand’s Elegance line, and dress it down with a steel bracelet. In a way, because of all the brilliant textured dials that Grand Seiko has in its Heritage line i.e. the line that sits firmly in the business casual category of watches, it would’ve been difficult for anything HODINKEE launched to stand out. It is also hard to imagine that Grand Seiko would be willing to provide HODINKEE a unique textured dial, instead of using it for itself, especially when the brand this year seems to eschew textured dials in general. By taking a case design that had not been used numerous times over i.e. the 44GS and 62GS cases, positioning it against the range of lesser known watches in Grand Seiko Elegance line, and outfitting it with the 9S66 GMT movement that has only really had been done twice it this configuration, HODINKEE stacked the odds in its favour as far as public perception should go. The fact that the first batch of the limited 500 pieces sold out almost as quickly as most of its other limited releases in this price range speaks of its desirability. How many of those buyers are genuine buyers is a whole other topic to get into another day. 
Photo Credit: HODINKEE
What we get at the end of it, is a watch that is mostly different from the main catalogue of Grand Seiko watches and that is extremely versatile given the addition of its bracelet and choice of dial colour. While the thickness of the watch at 13.7mm does detract from the versatility somewhat, Grand Seiko’s watches are typically sufficiently well-shaped to still slip under most cuffs. And the choice of movement makes sense given that the layout of the GMT hand and 24-hour scale adds greater intrigue to a dial that would otherwise have been very ordinary. While the movement is not the renowned Spring Drive or Hi-Beat movements that the brand has, it is no slouch, with 72-hours power reserve, regulated to within -3s/+5s in static positions and -1/+10s in regular use. This are specifications that many brands are still catching up to in general and the fact that this movement is something that Grand Seiko has had in its collection for years now is pretty remarkable. An added bonus is that you can see the movement without any obstruction from lion symbols and what nots that Grand Seiko seems to favour, particularly on limited editions. It is a touch that shows HODINKEE still knows what watch enthusiasts complain about.
Photo Credit: HODINKEE
If there was one gripe that I still have with this release is the choice of dial colour blue. Blue really has been done to death this year with many brands opting for this dial colour and Grand Seiko itself releasing multiple watches with blue dials. To its credit, the blue picked in this HODINKEE edition is different from the Grand Seiko Blue that is found on the four 60th Anniversary releases the brand has released this year, the latest of which we covered here. What HODINKEE could not avoid was the usual link to nature that Grand Seiko is extremely fond of, even if the link is not apparent. In this case, the “twilight blue” is “partially inspired by the daily transition from day to night – the hours that comprise dusk in English, or “Yugure” in Japanese”. HODINKEE’s choice of word “partially” is interesting and seems suggestive that they are aware of this marketing issue facing Grand Seiko. In any case, if such associations or inspirations were true, or unavoidable, I would have appreciated a picture or image of the scene to go along with it such that consumers are able to relate the two together. 
Photo Credit: HODINKEE
Overall, this was an interesting collaboration between Grand Seiko and HODINKEE, that was in many ways unique while also safe. I would be very interested to know how the mechanics of the collaboration works between HODINKEE and a brand like Grand Seiko works. Would HODINKEE have made the same choices if the more Spring Drive or Hi-Beat movements were made available? Would they have opted for a textured dial if that had been offered to them? Was the blue the only dial colour they were offered and who chose shade of blue? These are all questions that I guess I will never know. In any case, for those interested, a second batch (less than half) of the 500 limited pieces is yet to be launched (at an as yet unknown date) and given the attractive pricing of US$5,400, this would make a relatively good buy especially if you are in USA and still new to the brand. For those of us in the rest of the world, there is always the grey market where prices are currently going for around 30% above. Or it might be time to start giving your friends in the country a call. 
Photo Credit: HODINKEE
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