While other watch brands are constantly trying to reinvent the wheel with wild new case materials and experimental horology, Grand Seiko is perfectly fine with making granular yet significant changes to its iconic timepieces.
Celebrating 110 years of watchmaking, the Japanese brand under the Seiko umbrella is now releasing a new edition of its parent company’s (and also Japan’s) very first wristwatch, the Laurel. Far from the first remake of the Laurel, the latest limited-edition release, dubbed Ref. SBGW295, brings two new additions to the legacy: a case made of the proprietary Brilliant Hard Titanium and a dial made of urushi lacquer.
Decorated with 24k gold indices, hands, and text, the black color of the urushi comes from its iron makeup, while the lacquer has also been treated so it won’t change or fade in color over time. Compared to traditional matte-textured titanium material, which was first fitted on a Laurel re-edition back in 2020, the 38mm Brilliant Hard Titanium case is brighter, while also twice as hard as steel.
Powered by the same 9S64 manually-wound movement as past editions, the SBGW295 is limited to just 500 and priced at $13,800 from Grand Seiko’s website.
