Grand Seiko Recreated Its First Automatic Watch and It’s Pretty Much Perfect

Whether you’re a Seiko fanatic or not, this watch is about as close to perfect as it gets.

The newly released SBGH368 represents two uncommon moves for Grand Seiko, and the combination of them makes for one of the brand’s most beautiful creations of all time.

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An intriguing case design

For starters, the SBGH368 uses the historically significant 62GS case design, famous for housing the brand’s first automatic movement back in 1967. While the 62GH has remained in regular production at 40mm, this marks only the second instance of a 38mm reference.

Adding another layer of intrigue, this is the first time a 62GH case has been produced with a precious metal since 2015. Grand Seiko rarely uses 18-karat rose gold and it is often paired with the pricier Spring Drive movement.

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All together that makes this the first and only Grand Seiko 38mm 62GS case in rose gold, and we still haven’t gotten to the dial.

Season of roses

As with most Grand Seiko designs, the dial of the SBGH368 is inspired by the beauty of Japan’s natural landscape. In this case, it is sakura-kakashi, which translates to “the hiding of the cherry blossoms” when snow falls on the blooming flowers in early Spring.

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The dial is textured with minute overlapping hash marks, barely a millimeter in length, that resemble freshly fallen snow or ice crystals forming on water. It has a slightly pink hue that comes and goes with the light.

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This dial first appeared in 2024 on the SBGH341, Grand Seiko’s first 38mm 62GS case of the modern era. The case and bracelet were made from Grand Seiko’s High-Intensity Titanium and housed a 9S85 Hi-Beat movement.

Grand Seiko

Framing the sakura-kakashi dial in rose gold creates an entirely new visual experience. Where the polished titanium of the SBGH341 brought out the pink, the dial of the SBGH368 appears more like an icy white snow.

Approaching perfection

Two millimeters is barely perceptible to the human eye, but shrinking the 62GS case to 38mm makes all the difference. It puts every element of the dial and case into the ideal proportions and compliments most wrists better than 40mm.

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The outer curved surfaces running lug-to-lug are finished in Grand Seiko’s Zaratsu polish, maximizing the rose gold’s natural glow. A brushed finish is applied to the inner curves that sit between the lugs to enhance the lines of the case’s architecture.

A rose gold finish covers the indices, hands, date window frame and “GS” applied logo. This simplifies the overall appearance and accentuates the dial texture beneath a dual curved sapphire glass.

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Brown crocodile leather was an excellent choice for the band on the SBGH368. Grand Seiko often uses crocodile leather because it provides a texture to contrast the smooth finish of Zaratsu polished cases, and this is a prime example of that effect.

Availability and pricing

Timeless is an overused affectation for clothing and accessories, as well as a worn-out pun for watches. But there really is no better way to describe Grand Seiko’s SBGH368 rose gold sakura-kakashi.

Even hardcore fans of the Japanese horological masters could mistake this for a reproduction from the 1960s. It has all of the classical elements that make watches from that era covetable.

But this is a completely new design that Grand Seiko has never made before, with only the second appearance of what may be the most beautiful dial texture it has ever produced. Best of all, it is a regular production model, meaning that it will be around for a long time.

The Grand Seiko SBGH368 rose gold sakura-kakashi will be available in April 2025 from Grand Seiko and authorized retailers for $31,200.

Grand Seiko

Grand Seiko SBGH368 Rose Gold Sakura-Kakashi

• $31,200 at Grand Seiko Boutique

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