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Grand Seiko Introduces the Hi-Beat 36000 GMT SBGJ277 “Snow Valley”

A textured "frosty" dial.

Named after its silver, textured dial, the Grand Seiko Hi-Beat 36000 GMT SBGJ277 “Snow Valley” is a variant of the longstanding Sport Collection GMT with a sapphire-covered 24-hour bezel. It’s in two-tone green and white inspired by the area around Grand Seiko Studio Shizukuishi at the end of winter, where the mountain is covered in lush greenery but topped by white snow.

In typical Grand Seiko style, the steel case is finished with zaratsu flat polishing. It is equipped with a high-frequency cal. 9S86 running at 5 Hz that is a “true” GMT movement with an independently adjustable local time hour hand.

The silvery white texture depicts snow on the ground in the mountain.

Initial thoughts

Grand Seiko often turns to nature for its dial colours and patterns, with many of its timepieces are named after elements of the nature world, the Spring Drive “Pink Snowflake”. In the case of the SBGJ277, it’s not just the dial, but also the green-and-silver livery of the watch that is “Snow Valley”.

Grand Seiko rolls out such model variants and limited editions frequently, too often sometimes, but its offerings remain good value. This also applies to the SBGJ277, which is priced at US$6,800. It is a practical watch with an in-house movement and a genuine GMT function, along with a high level of fit and finish on almost every element; arguably only the bracelet needs to be upgraded, with a micro-adjustment clasp for instance.

Featuring an offset crown at four o’clock that’s a signature of this GMT model

Snow Valley

The SBGJ277 has a stainless steel case featuring offset crown at four o’clock and water resistant to 200 m. The dimensions are 44.2 mm in diameter and 14.4 mm in thickness, making it quite large and thick but the watch wears reasonably well on even medium-sized wrists due to the short, curved lugs.

The bi-directional, 24-bezel is covered in clear sapphire. The chapter ring around the dial features a second 24-hour scale, enabling the wearer to track three timezones simultaneously: one on the dial, another on the chapter ring, and the third on the bezel. For nighttime legibility, the bezel scale, hands, and indices at the quarters are filled Lumibrite.

The dial features green accents to match the green-and-white GMT scale

Hidden behind the solid back is the in-house Cal. 9S86 beating at 36,000 beats per hour (5 Hz). It has 55 hours of power reserve and is rated to +5/-3 seconds per day.

Importantly, it’s a “true” GMT movement. The local time hour hand can be set independently in one-hour steps backwards or forwards, and moves in sync with the date. This allows for easy setting of the time when crossing time zones, without losing the previously synchronised time setting.