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Grand Seiko Automatic GMT Limited Edition For Watches Of Switzerland, 2020

DocumentedDocumented from a dealer's listing; attribution and date as stated by the dealer.
Maker / attribution
Grand Seiko (maker)
Date
2020
Country of origin
Switzerland
Object type
Wristwatch
Dimensions
Case 40 mm
Stock no.
40991776
Credit line
Dealer listing, Analog/Shift (40991776)
Catalogue title (original)
Grand Seiko Automatic GMT Limited Edition For Watches Of Switzerland (English)

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Record summary

Catalogued by Analog/Shift (dealer), New York (stock number 40991776), this is a wristwatch by Grand Seiko, made in Switzerland, dated 2020. The Atlas places it in the Contemporary Horology period (2010 – Present) of its Wristwatches collection. Recorded dimensions: Case 40 mm. The record is illustrated with 6 photographs.

Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.

Catalogue description

Dealer description — Analog/Shift

Grand Seiko is the darling of contemporary watch collectors today, and taking even a cursory glance at the design specs — or better yet, an example in the metal — it’s easy to see why. The artisanal talent that goes into the design and manufacturing process of their dials alone is breathtaking. Depending on the angle, the color and composition of a textured Grand Seiko face will look completely different. They’re works of art steeped in Japanese tradition. This particular example, an SBGM241, is a special, limited edition GMT model for our mothership, Watches of Switzerland, and dates to 2020. Housed in a 40mm stainless steel case, it offers a sapphire crystal, signed crown, and Zaratsu polishing throughout. Its dial is finished in a deep green tone with applied polished indices and features a printed inner 24-hour scale, date function at 3 o'clock, and an ‘alpha’ handset with a yellow ‘broad arrow’ GMT hand. Powered by their in-house, automatic Calibre 9S66 movement — tested for 17 days and adjusted in six positions and compensated for temperature changes, by the way — it comes paired to its original signed brown alligator leather strap with a signed stainless steel dual-button deployant buckle. This example also comes complete with its full set of factory collateral including boxes, papers, books, and inspection certificate. Handsome, in excellent condition, and easy to use — the local hour hand can be jumped in either direction in one-hour increments — this is a stunning GMT watch that was a home run for Grand Seiko and Watches of Switzerland!

Historical context

Contemporary Horology (2010 – Present)

Silicon components, connected watches, optical-lattice research clocks and a thriving independent scene.

Smartwatches became the world's best-selling watches, while mechanical watchmaking focuses on craft, innovation (silicon components, new escapements) and independent makers.

Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Mechanical Renaissance

Atlas type guide

Military, pilot and travel watches

The wristwatch owes much of its adoption by men to warfare and aviation. Wristlets — small pocket watches soldered with lugs and worn on a strap — were used in colonial campaigns and became standard equipment in the First World War, with protective grilles over the crystal ('shrapnel guards'). Louis Cartier's Santos (1904), designed for the aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont, is often cited as an early purpose-made pilot's watch.

In the Second World War governments specified watches in detail: the German B-Uhr observation watches, the American A-11, and the British 'W.W.W.' (the 'Dirty Dozen' set of 1945). After the war, jet travel brought GMT and world-time watches, which show two or more time zones at once — Louis Cottier's world-time mechanism and the Rolex GMT-Master (1955) are examples.

What to look for

  • Military markings on the case back: broad arrow, issue numbers, 'W.W.W.', 'A.T.P.'
  • High-legibility black dials with luminous Arabic numerals; oversized crowns for gloved hands.
  • 24-hour hands and rotating 24-hour bezels or city rings on GMT/world-time watches.
  • Wire lugs on early wristlets converted from pocket watches.

Dating clues

  • Wire-lug wristlets: c. 1900–1925.
  • Military specifications of the Second World War: 1939–1945.
  • GMT and world-time wristwatches: mainly after 1950.

General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.

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