Oftentimes a retailer exclusive timepiece is decided upon based upon years of trust and confidence built up between a manufacture and its business partners. In the case of the Grand Seiko SBGE267G the partner in question is the Thong Sia Group. For decades, the group has been the gateway for citizens of Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei to access Grand Seiko and Seiko timepieces. At the heart of the success between the Seiko Watch Corporation and the Thong Sia Group is the newly released Spring Drive GMT Grand Seiko model.

The SBGE267G is released on the back of the SBGE201, and is the bigger cousin of this year’s 40.5mm trio of SBGE253, SBGE255, and SBGE257. Though it is released under the Grand Seiko Sport collection, the SBGE267G appears resolutely dressy thanks to its unique colour combination, for which Thong Sia Group is responsible.

An uncommon shade of brown that bears more than a passing resemblance to the colour of leather straps envelopes the dial and bezel. It is a colour that represents the Earth and signifies simplicity and stability. The warm sunburst dial resonates a sense of maturity and elegance elevated by ornate champagne gold embellishments on the hour and minute hands, and watch indices.

Printed on the dial is the famed “Spring Drive” text that placed Grand Seiko in the high esteem of numerous collectors. As the good folks of Hodinkee put it, Spring Drive is neither categorised as an automatic or manual winding movement, but instead warrants a classification on its own thanks to the presence of electrical components. The result is an effortless seconds hand sweeping motion unlike any other and a daily ±1 second accuracy deviation bordering on quartz precision. Without taking a deep dive into Spring Drive movements (it will take a few pages), the Spring Drive calibre 9R66 features a handy GMT complication to keep track of a second time zone. Unlike the rotating GMT bezel variants that tracks up to three time zones, the SBGE267G utilises a fixed ceramic GMT bezel that is read off via the white fourth hand. Other notable features of the calibre is the signature power reserve on the dial and a 72-hour power reserve.