Join us as we stroll up to the Grand Seiko Manhattan boutique and pry open the vaults that hold the very best of Japanese watchmaking

Each month we stroll out to one of the world’s most elegant watch boutiques and to check out some of the most coveted horological safe candy in the world. 

This week my colleague Sebastian and I strolled up to the still-new Grand Seiko Manhattan boutique, which is the largest GS boutique in the world. While the ground floor is loaded with Grand Seiko’s impressive timepieces, we were VIP’d downstairs at the bar to view rarities that one doesn’t get to see very often—if ever. Conversation ran from our shared love for the show Tokyo Vice to learning to speak Japanese to Japan’s finest whisky (of course). And, though we try to be objective, we mulled which Grand Seiko we would buy for ourselves (you’ll see my favourite below). We saw some truly insane timepieces, so why not start with the most insane of them all.

SLGT005 Kodo – Grand Seiko’s US$365,000 Constant Force Tourbillon in Platinum

We weren’t expecting to see this one, and I will confess that when they told us the new Kodo was there we grew obviously distracted.

I still don’t understand why watch boutiques don’t put deep shag wall-to-wall carpet on the floors instead of the ubiquitous hard marble, because if you’re going to casually hand a US$365,000 watch to people, you might want a softer landing. No one dropped this masterpiece, but there was that time at the F. P. Journe boutique when some drunk guy…actually, I don’t want to think about that.

In person, the Kodo is so much more wearable than we could have imagined. In the hero-shots on the Grand Seiko website the Kudo looks imposingly large. On our rather waif-like wrists, the Kodo just sang of elegance and ease—perhaps even understatement. I was rocking semi-casual duds—a sailors shirt from Armor-Lux under a casual indigo-dyed work shirt from C.O.S. Studios, and somehow the Kodo just looked right onboard with my nautical duds. Through a loupe, the Kodo provided an endlessly fascinating horological world to explore.

SBGC275 Spring Drive Chronograph GMT “Lion’s Mane”

This large but lightweight titanium sports chronograph GMT was one I wanted to see in person, because the dial is said to have been wonderfully psychedelic. That’s now confirmed.

The dial uses a red PVD coating. When asked why red, the answer was, “Because it’s so hard to do red.” This seems to be true of many red materials, including red ceramic on Rolex bezels—but we digress.

The SBGC275 has a magic-eye kind of quality, if you remember those strange images in the newspaper that would jump into 3D for most folks. Everyone saw the red and yellow and orange shimmer, but I was finally able to capture the illusive greens that show up at more extreme angles. This wild dial costs US$13,400.

SLGW003 and SLGW002 Hand-Wound Hi-Beats with “Horizontal Birch” Dials

Sebastian and I were both floored by the rose gold version of this lovely watch. There’s just something so classy about a rose gold watch with a shimmering white dial—a fabled combo—but with Grand Seiko’s new horizontally grained dial effect meant to look like the bark of a birch tree (rather than like a birch forest), we were pretty gaga for this one.

However, the rose gold model will set you back US$45,000, while the steel version sounds downright affordable in comparison at US$10,700. The steel model uses a sportier—and arguably more durable—case, which could make this the low-key one to have.

We must confess that the setting certainly made wearing a killer Japanese timepiece in solid gold feel just right. I think our images make that pretty obvious.

And some of the Japanese whiskies on offer were of the highest quality, which makes a visit to any boutique all the more enticing. But there were still many watches to check out.

Grand Seiko SLGH021 Limited Edition Titanium

We’ve already talked about this watch as part of the Sage Dial Revolution, and we think it may be the colour to win 2024, especially having seen it in person. It’s difficult to overstate how versatile, classic and yet totally unique a sage dial is.

The amazing treatment on the dial looks like cracked glass. It leaps off the wrist in all lighting conditions, shifting from a very pale green to a richer eucalyptus. But you’ve got to see this one through a loupe. Grand Seiko is known as one of the world’s most innovative dial makers, and this one proves that point.

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t favour the pink SBGA497 Spring Drive model—but why choose? The two made an amazing pair.

The Elusive Hi-Beat 36000 SBGH263

No visit to the Grand Seiko Manhattan boutique is complete without asking for those watches which have become hard to get. I was shocked to see the elusive Hi-Beat 36000 SBGH263, a watch I’ve coveted for years. It was easy to find this reference a few years ago, and then suddenly it wasn’t. Our hosts told us they don’t know how many were made—the refrain of every watchmaker ever.

Of all these amazing Grand Seiko watches, this is still the one I would buy. It’s just so adorably nerdy and classy all at once—the kind of watch I’d like to go back in time to Tokyo 1966 with, hit up a jazz bar (maybe Coltrane was passing through), and smoke French cigarettes until the sun rose above the land of the rising sun. But we were happy to settle for Madison Avenue, which offers its own kind of Japanese magic up at 54th Street.

Hi-Beat 36000 GMT SBGJ277 & A Friend’s

I’m not about to claim that these very large sport models are my personal cup of tea—it’s just not my vibe—but I am still impressed every time I handle one of Grand Seiko’s titanium sport watches. The reason I’m so impressed is the lightness, first, and then the fact that these watches are made to the same exacting standards as the Heritage and Elegance collections. The dials are crazy good, too. And the movements. And the durability. You know, come to think of it, if this specific green and white watch were, say just 38 mm instead of 44.2 mm, it’d likely be on my list of must-haves.

And with no further ado, a big warm thank you to our hosts for a lively afternoon at the Grand Seiko Boutique on Madison Avenue and 54th Street. We’ll see you next time.

This story was first published on Robb Report USA