Grand Seiko SBGA109 Spring Drive in titanium – 10th Anniversary Limited Edition: Spot the lion and the differences

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Grand Seiko SBGA109 Spring Drive in titanium – 10th Anniversary Limited Edition. Limited to 700 pieces. This piece commemorates the 10th anniversary of the launch of Seiko’s Spring Drive (which was launched in 2005). It is powered by the Calibre 9R15 spring drive with 72 hours of power reserve. There is the lion emblem at the 2 o’clock position. The case is in 40mm and there are differences in dial details, among other things, when compared with the SBGA111 Spring Drive. Price at around HK$60,000 / SGD9,800 (Singapore dollars) / MYR25,300 (Malaysian Ringgit). Note: Prices may differ and are approximate. Photo: © Seiko

Grand Seiko SBGA109 Spring Drive in titanium – 10th Anniversary Limited Edition. Limited to 700 pieces. This piece commemorates the 10th anniversary of the launch of Seiko’s Spring Drive (which was launched in 2005). It is powered by the Calibre 9R15 spring drive with 72 hours of power reserve. There is the lion emblem at the 2 o’clock position. The case is in 40mm and there are differences in dial details, among other things, when compared with the SBGA111 Spring Drive. Price at around HK$60,000 / SGD9,800 (Singapore dollars) / MYR25,300 (Malaysian Ringgit). Note: Prices may differ and are approximate. Photo: © Seiko

Among the limited editions launched by Seiko to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Spring Drive will be the Grand Seiko SBGA111 Spring Drive in stainless steel and the SBGA109 Spring Drive in titanium.

Like the SBGA111, the Grand Seiko SBGA109 Spring Drive in titanium shown above is equipped with the Calibre 9R15 Spring Drive movement which has 72 hours of power reserve after being fully wound.

Similarly, the dial of the Grand Seiko SBGA109 Spring Drive has multiple “GS” (for Grand Seiko) patterns and blued steel hands for the power reserve indicator hand and the sweep seconds hand. The text “Spring Drive” under the Grand Seiko branding is also in blue.

There is also the Grand Seiko lion emblem on the dial. Can you spot it? It is located at the 2 o’clock position.

If you cannot spot it, we recommend that you check the timewerke.com article: “Grand Seiko SBGA111 Spring Drive 10th Anniversary Limited Edition in stainless steel: Celebrating Spring” where a close-up of the lion symbol can be seen.

It will be easy to mistake the SBGA109 with the SBGA111 as both look identical. However, there are obvious differences. Try spotting them (compare it with the image of the SBGA111 can be seen on our Grand Seiko SBGA111 article).

Among the differences will be the Arabic numerals along the minute track at every five-minute intervals on the SBGA111 (there is none on the SBGA109) and their bracelets while another difference that is not obvious is the size.

The diameter of the Grand Seiko SBGA109 Spring Drive is 40mm, 0.1mm larger than the SBGA111.

The most obvious will be the weight: the Grand Seiko SBGA109 will be much lighter because it is in titanium whereas the SBGA111 is in steel.

The Grand Seiko SBGA109 Spring Drive will be even rarer as it is limited to 700 pieces compared to the SBGA111’s 1,500 pieces.

Victorinox Chrono Classic 1/100th: Perpetual Cool

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Victoronix Chrono Class 1/100th chronograph. Photo: © TANG Portfolio

Victoronix Chrono Class 1/100th chronograph. Photo: © TANG Portfolio

We believe the Victorinox Chrono Classic 1/100th watch is one cool watch that is especially ideal for the young.

Apparently, Victorinox Swiss Army had worked closely with Soprod to develop the Calibre FM13D quartz watch which features not only an interesting chronograph function but also incorporated the perpetual calendar feature.

What we like is the identity Victorinox has created for itself with this watch, notably the guilloche-style of the counter that has two apertures at 6 o’clock for the large date display which transforms into a 1/100th digital counter read-out for the chronograph function.

The shape and design of this counter was inspired by the Swiss Army Officer’s knife made by Victorinox.

In normal time-reading mode, the Victorinox Chrono Classic 1/100th is a three-hand analog watch for the hours, minutes and seconds. At 6 o’clock is the large date display.

To move into the chronograph mode, activate the crown twice in succession. The hour, minute and seconds hands will all return to the 12 o’clock position. The large date display indicates “00” as it is now the 1/100th second chronograph digital counter.

The chronograph mode is activated by pushing the crown twice in succession. The hour, minute and seconds hands will all return to the 12 o’clock position. The large date display indicates “00” as it is now the 1/100th second chronograph digital counter. The chronograph central seconds hand will begin once the pusher at 2 o’clock is activated. Photo: © TANG Portfolio


The chronograph mode is activated by pushing the crown twice in succession. The hour, minute and seconds hands will all return to the 12 o’clock position. The large date display indicates “00” as it is now the 1/100th second chronograph digital counter. The chronograph central seconds hand will begin once the pusher at 2 o’clock is activated. Photo: © TANG Portfolio

Activate the pusher at 2 o’clock and the chronograph function begins with the central red hand timing the elapsed seconds. The hours and minutes elapsed are likewise indicated by the central hour and minute hands.

To stop the chronograph, activate the 2 o’clock pusher and the elapsed time will be displayed. The digital counter at 6 o’clock will display “00” when the chronograph is operating and will only indicate the 1/100th of a second elapsed when the chronograph is stopped.

When the chronograph is stopped after the pusher at 2 o’clock is activated, the elapsed time to 1/100th of a seconds is displayed. In this example, the elapsed time is 7 minutes, 37 seconds and 50/100th seconds. Photo: © TANG Portfolio

When the chronograph is stopped after the pusher at 2 o’clock is activated, the elapsed time to 1/100th of a seconds is displayed. In this example, the elapsed time is 7 minutes, 37 seconds and 50/100th seconds. Photo: © TANG Portfolio

Resetting of the chronograph is through the activation of the pusher at 4 o’clock.

To return to normal time reading mode, activate the crown twice in succession.

What is noteworthy is that the chronograph timing can continue running if one switches back to normal time mode. To switch between normal time reading and the chronograph function is a simple matter of activating the crown twice in succession.

The chronograph will continue operating even if one switches back to normal time reading mode. The digital display will only indicate the 1/100th of a second elapsed after the chronograph is stopped. When the chronograph is running, it will display “00”. Photo: © TANG Portfolio

The chronograph will continue operating even if one switches back to normal time reading mode. The digital display will only indicate the 1/100th of a second elapsed after the chronograph is stopped. When the chronograph is running, it will display “00”. Photo: © TANG Portfolio

The added bonus feature in the Victorinox Chrono Classic 1/100th is the perpetual calendar function. This means that one need not worry about the dates, especially for months with 28 or 30 days and leap years as these will be automatically adjusted by the Soprod Calibre FM13D quartz movement.

This Victorinox Chrono Classic 1/100th is one cool watch indeed and it allows one to easily appreciate and / or graduate to higher-end, more complicated and dearer timepieces like Devon’s Tread.