OK, let me start with my biases. I’m a three-hand guy. Not really, of course, though as a watch addict that would be pretty great. What I mean is that I love simple watches. I have a few divers and chronos but what I really love is a perfect no-date three hander. If I’m going to get sucked in by a complication, it’s a 24-hour hand. No idea why. I also have an inexplicable commitment to all things Seiko. Given the above, when I first saw shots of the Grand Seiko SBGM221, a GMT with little else – save a date window (which I find acceptable on a GMT ) – I was interested.

I knew what we all know about Grand Seiko, finishing that rivals or betters the most expensive watches, Zaratsu polishing, and high beat movements first introduced in the ‘60s or the Spring Drive movements, first released in 1999.

The Grand Seiko SBGM221 lacks an exotic movement but certainly has the finish and the polish. This mirrored polishing is something you have to see in person to truly appreciate – it essentially turns stainless steel into a mirror – and exists not only on the case but on the number markers as well. The GMT function is simple, a 4th blued hand and a 24-hour digits inside the hour markers. It sets like most high end GMTs. Pull the crown to the first setting and the hour hand can be set. At the second setting the minute hand turns with both the hour and the GMT hand.

The dial is unique. It is cream colored but changes with different lights. There are lights in which it looks matte white (see the wrist shot below) and others in which it looks yellow. I have other watches with dials that seem to change with the light but none as extreme as this one.

The watch measurements come in at 39.5mm diameter and 13.7mm thick. This is about as big as I can get away with at work with my baby wrists.