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Grand Seiko Elegance 'Omiwatari' Spring Drive 38.5mm Mens Watch
Ref. SBGY007
Sits in Grand Seiko’s upper tier here — more premium than three quarters of the Grand Seiko watches we list, which start at £2,300.
Price range £2,300 to £10,500 across 20 Grand Seiko watches in stock.The name Omiwatari refers to a rare winter phenomenon on Lake Suwa in Nagano, where freezing temperatures cause the ice to fracture and ridge — a process the Shinto tradition holds to be the footsteps of a god crossing the water. The dial reproduces that surface with extraordinary fidelity: the blue carries the depth and variation of ice rather than open water, and the texture shifts with the angle of the light in a way that flat printing cannot approach. The 9R31 beneath it is a manual-wind Spring Drive built around two mainsprings running in parallel within a single barrel — the arrangement that stretches the reserve to 72 hours while preserving the glide wheel's perfectly continuous sweep that no escapement can replicate. Accuracy runs to within a second a day, which for a mechanical movement is not a loose claim but a tightly regulated standard. At 10.2mm thick and 43.7mm lug to lug, the case sits close enough to the wrist to disappear under a shirt cuff, which for a watch without any water resistance is exactly where it belongs. The Zaratsu-polished flanks and brushed upper surfaces alternate in the way Grand Seiko has made its own — mirror and matte, each making the other sharper by contrast. The crocodile strap closes with a three-fold deployant rather than a simple pin buckle, so the fit stays consistent each time and the leather is not repeatedly stressed at the same point.
- Reference
- SBGY007
- Brand
- Grand Seiko
- Collection
- Elegance CollectionCase Size: 38
- Case size
- 38.5mm
- Case thickness
- 10.2mm
- Lug width
- 19mm
- Case material
- Stainless steel
- Case shape
- Round
- Dial
- Blue
- Crystal
- Sapphire
- Movement
- Spring Drive
- Calibre
- 9R31
- Functions
- Power reserve indicator
- Water resistance
- Not water resistant
- Bracelet / strap
- Leather strap
- Strap colour
- Black
- Clasp
- Three-fold clasp
- Lume
- Luminous
- Retailer
- Mappin & Webb
Additional specifications
- Lug-to-lug
- 43.7mm
- Power reserve
- 72 hours
- Warranty
- 5 years
Learn more about Grand Seiko
Grand Seiko began in 1960 as Seiko's attempt to build a watch to the highest standard in the world, judged against Swiss chronometer criteria rather than Japanese ones. The first model met the Bureaux Officiels standard, and the ambition was explicit: not a good Japanese watch, but a better watch than the Swiss were making.
The 1967 Grammar of Design, laid down by Taro Tanaka, still governs the aesthetic. Flat surfaces and sharp facets rather than curves; hands and markers cut to catch light in defined planes; every surface either mirror-polished or perfectly flat, with no in-between. The polishing is done by hand on tin plates — Zaratsu — which produces distortion-free reflections and cannot be replicated by machine.
The precision case was made at observatory trials in the 1960s, where Grand Seiko movements placed among the leaders in Geneva and Neuchâtel before the competitions ended.
The house's distinctive technology is Spring Drive, introduced in 1999 after nearly three decades of development. A conventional mainspring drives the watch, but the escapement is replaced by an electromagnetic brake regulated by a quartz oscillator: mechanical power, quartz accuracy, and a seconds hand that sweeps without ticking at all.
Grand Seiko was separated into a standalone brand internationally in 2017, with dials frequently drawn from Japanese landscape — the Snowflake among the best known.
- 1960
- The first Grand Seiko is built to Swiss chronometer standards.
- 1967
- Taro Tanaka codifies the Grammar of Design.
- 1968
- The 61GS Hi-Beat reaches 36,000 vibrations per hour.
- 1999
- Spring Drive combines mechanical power with quartz regulation.
- 2017
- Established as an independent brand worldwide.
Also in 4 collections
This watch appears in Stainless Steel Watches (2,846), Leather Strap Watches (938), Blue Dial Watches (776) and Dress Watches (459).
What the specifications mean
A slim watch on leather, made for wearing with a shirt.
Strengths
- 38.5mm suits most wrists
- 43.7mm lug-to-lug keeps the 38.5mm case wearable
- Sapphire crystal, which resists scratching
- Luminous hands and markers for low light
- One of Grand Seiko's more premium watches
Your new watch
Frequently asked questions, and things you should know about this watch
Can I swim with it?
No. This watch carries no water resistance rating — keep it dry, and take it off before washing your hands.
Will the glass scratch?
Unlikely. Sapphire is second only to diamond in hardness and shrugs off everyday marking.
Does it need a battery?
No. Spring Drive is wound by the wrist and regulated electronically, with no battery.
How long does it run for when it's not worn?
About 72 hours fully wound — enough to sit off the wrist over a weekend and still be running.
What size strap does it take?
19mm. Any strap of that width will fit, and on most modern watches quick-release bars make the swap a two-minute job with no tools.
Will it fit my wrist?
Lug-to-lug is 43.7mm, which suits wrists from roughly 15cm (6 inches) upward.
Lug-to-lug decides fit more than case diameter does.
Is it a men's or women's watch?
Listed as men's, though at 38.5mm it sits in the range that suits anyone.
Cheapest place to buy
Mappin & Webb is the only UK retailer we track stocking this reference new, at £7,800. There is nothing to compare it against today.
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