
Grand Seiko · Spring Drive
Spring Drive Chronograph Titanium / Ceramic / Black / Bracelet / Black Ceramics Collection
Case
Diameter
46.40 mm
Height
16.20 mm
Material
Titanium / Ceramic
Glass
Sapphire
Caseback
Open
Water Resistance
100.00 m
Bezel
Fixed, 24 Hour
Dial
Color
Black
Indexes
Stick / Dot
Hands
Dauphine
Shape
Round
Other
Gender
M
Production
2017–present
Movement Specs
Caliber
9R86
Grand Seiko in-house
Caliber Brand
Grand Seiko
Type
Spring Drive
Power Reserve
72 h
3 days
Jewels
30
Complications
Date, Hours, Minutes, Seconds, Additional 24 Hour Hand (adjustable), Power Reserve Indicator
About the Movement
Caliber 9R86 is a self-winding movement with column-wheel chronograph and GMT function, based on Seiko's Spring Drive technology. A column wheel system is used to control the starting and stopping of the stopwatch. Its system ensures precise, error free control of the chronograph operation. The column wheel is designed to reduce stress on the clutch and lever, minimizing impact on the movement when the start/stop button is pushed. A vertical clutch system was created to prevent the second hand from jumping when the stopwatch START button is pressed. In the vertical clutch system, when the stopwatch START button is pressed, the start-stop lever opens, the fourth wheel and the clutch ring are engaged by the pushing force of the clutch spring, and the stopwatch begins to measure time. Achieving a level of stopwatch accuracy equivalent to the accuracy of the Spring Drive caliber itself would not have meant much if this accuracy were lost in the operation of the stopwatch. To minimize time measurement errors when the chronograph buttons are pressed, the operation of the buttons was made as precise as humanly possible. A two-step READY/START mode was adopted to ensure that the stopwatch operation would be error-free. It is the same mechanism as is used in Seiko’s hand held stopwatches for professional sports use. The chronograph enters READY mode when the push button is lightly pressed. A further press then starts the stopwatch.
About the Family
Spring Drive is Grand Seiko's most original contribution to watchmaking — a movement technology that exists nowhere else in the industry. Invented by Yoshikazu Akahane and developed over 28 years before its 1999 debut, Spring Drive combines a traditional mainspring with an electronic regulator: the mainspring drives the gear train, but instead of a mechanical escapement, a tri-synchro regulator converts the mechanical energy into electrical energy to drive a quartz oscillator that governs the speed of the hands. The result is a perfectly smooth, gliding seconds hand — no tick, no sweep — and accuracy of ±1 second per day, an order of magnitude better than mechanical movements. It is simultaneously mechanical and electronic, and entirely neither.
About this reference
The Grand Seiko SBGC223 was introduced in 2017 in the context of Seiko's Black Ceramics Collection. It features a case in titanium & ceramic and a matching bracelet. It is powered by the Spring Drive caliber 9R96.
Other references in this family
Spring Drive Stainless Steel / Champagne / Bracelet
Champagne dial
Spring Drive Stainless Steel / Black / Bracelet
Black dial
Spring Drive Titanium / White / Bracelet
White dial
Spring Drive Titanium / Black / Bracelet
Black dial
Spring Drive White Gold / White / Bracelet
White dial
Spring Drive Yellow Gold / Silver / Bracelet
Silver dial
Spring Drive Pink Gold / White / Bracelet
White dial
Spring Drive Chronograph Titanium / Ceramic / Blue / Bracelet / Black Ceramics Collection
Blue dial
Spring Drive Chronograph Titanium / Ceramic / White / Bracelet / Black Ceramics Collection
White dial
Spring Drive Chronograph Titanium / Ceramic / Black / Bracelet / Black Ceramics Collection
Black dial
Spring Drive 8 Days Platinum / White Diamond Dust / Strap
White dial
Spring Drive 8 Days Pink Gold / Black Stardust / Strap
Black dial
