Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts with us on this watch, in part you helped me pull the trigger to buy it. I just received the Grand Seiko Skyflake yesterday, the dial is mesmerizing while the watch case is elegant and beautiful. The blue alligator adds a level of sophistication to the wrist that I don't have in my collection.
Of course glad you enjoyed it. Awesome that you ended up with one and really great that you are liking it. Hope you continue to enjoy having it in your collection for a long time.
What an amazing video, thanks so much for the strap options! Nobody else does that! Subbed, hopefully you get access to more watches! Thanks for the content.
I thought this deserved my 65" TV viewing and it was worth it though i'll probably watch it again on my iMac so I can stare close up. Great review, it is truly stunning and, for sure, the blue by all accounts stands out more than the white. This is also steel or is it titanium? did I miss that? The other thing is that at first those power reserves really bothered me, but now i'm in the total opposite camp. They are so exquisitely crafted and detailed that it really adds something i would absolutely want to look at on the dial. Really happy for you as I know how much you love the brand and now you have a true classic by them. Fits great. yeah the strap is a bit of a dresy clunker eh? I'd take that beautiful deployant off of it and put that on something by Delugs. they do have a lot of 19mm beauties. Great review., Cheers.
Michael, glad to know my iPhone videography has held up on a TV! I did forget to mention it is a stainless steel case but as it wasn’t a direct comparison against the regular snowflake(coming later) I felt it was well known enough. In my experience a stainless steel watch on a strap and a titanium watch on the same strap isn’t that different feeling. I do have two delugs coming in for this one and one in a beautiful pink that I hope pairs really nicely. Thanks for your input as always :)
Not gonna lie, that barton silicone strap looks SICK with this dial. Congrats on big buy! Ofc the White snowflake is probably going to appeal more to the masses. But I'm a sucker for unique and a more "daring" designs. Very very cool! Completely agree with all your cons as well. Can't wait to see 38m slimmed down GS watches. Needs to be a thing ASAP
Thanks my man and I agree the barton is a great combo. Hopefully Grand Seiko goes for a smaller spring drive at some point. Even their 39mm case offering right now I don’t really love. Fingers crossed!
You have reviewed an amazing array of watches in a relatively short period of time. This piece is particularly stunning! The detail of the power reserve indicator was in itself breathtaking. Just dipped my toes into the Grand Seiko waters, and will have an SBGN005 delivered to me by the end of the week. The strap options you consistently present in your videos already have me looking for a strap for my GS. Leaning toward a textured calf leather from Veblinist or B & R Bands. Any other ideas would be welcome. Thank you, and keep up your amazing work.
Ya I just go through a lot of watches, really one of the main reasons I started this channel. The sbgn003 is a piece I hope to get at some point and I love the red accents on the 005. I believe that watch should go on more “sporty/rough” leathers. Try out the new distressed tan Italian leather strap from vario. Also couldn’t go wrong with either a blue and red, black and red, or all red barton elite silicone. Hope you enjoy the watch, and thanks for watching 🙂
B M thanks. I know luckily I’ve had so many 19mm lug watches now I have quite a large number of 19mm straps. And there is a bracelet that can be ordered that fits this watch but depending where you source it from it could take a couple of month to get ans somewhere between 500-800 dollars.
Appreciate it! If the link works here it is. Otherwise it’s the vario distressed leather in blue vario.sg/collections/vintage-italian-leather-watch-strap/products/vintage-distressed-italian-leather-navy-blue-watch-strap-with-quick-release
The biggest con for me is the white date disc, otherwise I agree it's a gorgeous watch. However, regarding the best model in current Snowflake family, I would pick the SBGY002. If I didn't own the ultimate Eichi II, I would probably get it.
Leya Y personally I’m not a fan of gold cases so that takes the 002 out for me. I do completely get the date wheel dilemma. And it is a con I should’ve mentioned. A matching colored date wheel would be awesome but honestly I don’t think the white detracts from the dial. The blue tone has a lot of white notes in it and the date wheel I feel plays off of and blends into that. Of course it’s personally preference and I would’ve preferred no date wheel at all but as it stands I don’t mind it. The eichi is a gorgeous piece. Very lucky to own one!
@@theknightswatch I understand gold isn't for everyone, same for me fifteen years ago(but now I am a gold lover 😅). But besides the case, its perfectly clean dial design is my major reason. I don't totally hate the power reserve indicator (in fact I also own the SBGA001 which has the same design), but in my opinion this kind of artistic dial will definitely be better with a cleaner design.
@Leya Y im more of a platinum or white gold guy myself. It’s hard to argue with how beautiful and symmetric a spring drive without a power reserve is especially on an intricate dial. I do hope they start offering so more “budget” options with a handwound spring drive movement like the sbgy003.
Came across the Sky Flake a while back and immediately fell in love with. And immediate ban on all travel and flights followed by a few months that changed the world forever meant I had to wait well over 4 months to get the watch and by then the live was just gone and I immediately put it up for sale having not worn it even once. Just came across this episode and somehow that love raged again. Maybe I’m being childish here, but it isn’t for sale anymore. I owe you one, pal👌😉
Great, in-depth review. I'm still agonizing over this watch, or a few others in the Heritage collection; SBGA413 or SBGA415. Tough choice for me. I guess taking time to decide will allow me to save more.
Thank you. That is definitely a tough choice and at that point it comes down to whether you just want the piece that is objectively the best or one that makes the most sense in your collection. If you don’t have a blue watch boom skyflake. Don’t have grey maybe the winter. The 413 I usually advise against unless you are ok with how not pink it is. It leans very silver, white with pink undertones and looks best against anyone not as pale as I am. The texture of the 413 and 415 beat the Skyflake any day but the cases wear very different. May be a case of trying to see them in person.
My first real watch after university. Bought it with a steel bracelet from Little Treasure Jewelry, can’t compliment it enough. I think It wears much better in a bracelet than a leather strap
Beautiful. I have the one with white dial. I wear it white a strap too. The finishing on the markers and hands are second to none, whatever the price points.
I consider this kind of watches as casual wear, so l am fine with the size. It's easier to read. For dress GS, l have the 37 to 38.5 ones. I have also have many smaller vintage GS.
My smallest is the 34.5mm 1st GS and the 5646 5010 with the tonneau case. It has one of the most beautiful GS dial. It's olive green with shades of gold. The rest are from 35 to 36.5mm. Awesome dress watches. My sons wear my bigger modern GS as office wear. Makes sense.
Thank you. And I would say it depends what 40 you are used to. If your used to 40mm dive watches than it will feel much larger since this one is all dial. It feels relatively how a 40mm watch should and I would say wears well.
@@theknightswatch Thanks TKW. Seiko almost often have the Seiko magic on its watches making them look and feel well below their stated specs. What I meant was being as it is a non-diver, and an all dial timepiece, does it wear and visually appear to be a true 40mm watch when worn? Many thanks
This one is beautiful, but I still think the Snowflake is still the better looking one. Not only that, but the Snowflake has a titanium case, not stainless steel like this one. The Snowflake is thinner than this one. The Snowflake also comes on a titanium bracelet, this one comes with a blue leather strap. In regards to the power reserve, it really blends into the snowflake more than this one. I actually have no issue with the power reserve being on the dial, but for those who do, it's way less noticeable on the original snowflake as opposed to this one. I also really see the texture on the snowflake in great detail with the naked eye. It's prominent. Again, this one is beautiful, but there is a lot more difference than just the look of the dial.
Ya which model people like is very subjective. This is just more interesting to me than the snowflake. Lucky you like the regular one because it’s much easier to get haha!
@@jimlittle5769 lucky for you but from personally experience I know for a fact Less blue snowflakes are made and there is a higher change an AD or boutique will have a regular snowflake and be out of stock of the blue one. Maybe you’d have to wait a month for one sometimes but in the end blue is just a little more rare.
Mario G I’ll have a comparison video in a couple weeks. Can’t go wrong with the classic white but for me the blue is a little more interesting and I prefer the case size/style.
The Gent every watch I’ve reviewed so far I’ve bought myself and either have sold or kept. I have a review coming up soon which was watch graciously lent in by a viewer. I personally don’t have plans to buy anything else “big” until January so may not be too many other heavy hitters coming up!
The Knight’s Watch I’ve just joined Insta with the only purpose to see your collection. Wow! Sorry to pry but how on earth do you manage to purchase such top end time pieces? And so often?
The Gent haha in terms of my Instagram not all those pieces are mine. I am in a place where I every now and then will sell a watch for a friend like the el primero or just have access to see a lot of cool grand seiko and the occasional credor model from time to time. I will be doing a state of the collection sometime this month and the “craziest” pieces i own are this grand seiko snowflake and my reverso.
The main advantages this has over the white snowflake is it isn’t Titanium and is on a leather strap. The bracelet on the snowflake really let’s it down, even though it isn’t, it feels like the worst cheap nasty bracelet on some fake crap you buy at a market in Asia.
Ya I meant to mention it but it’s not a big deal in my eyes. There about 60 individual processes that go into making the snowflake dial and I don’t know if it’s possible/ cost effective to do that to a date window. I believe even trying to match the blue would be a difficult process. I think the white does play off the softer tones in the dial because it’s really is like a white iced blue at times. I could see it being a problem for some but I didn’t mind.
To someone with 8inch wrists it’s hilarious to hear someone say 40mm is a large watch. 40 mm is the smallest watch I can wear without it looking like a child’s watch.
I get ya everything is relative. I would say most people are in the 7-7.5 in range and 40mm is not too large by any means for most but as a dressier styled watch, typically they should be on the smaller, thinner, slip under the cuff easy side. Luckily for you this watch is gonna be perfectly sized haha.
![Which One Should You BUY? Grand Seiko Snowflake vs Rolex Explorer [SBGA211 vs 214270]](/img/n.gif)
The second hand of this watch is the most smooth movement i have seen in any watch, that's why I love it, also has a great detailed dial.
Aroth agreed on both points! Spring Drive is awesome.
This watch is so finely crafted, it stands on its own.
Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts with us on this watch, in part you helped me pull the trigger to buy it. I just received the Grand Seiko Skyflake yesterday, the dial is mesmerizing while the watch case is elegant and beautiful. The blue alligator adds a level of sophistication to the wrist that I don't have in my collection.
Of course glad you enjoyed it. Awesome that you ended up with one and really great that you are liking it. Hope you continue to enjoy having it in your collection for a long time.
What an amazing video, thanks so much for the strap options! Nobody else does that! Subbed, hopefully you get access to more watches! Thanks for the content.
Glad you enjoyed hopefully they’ll be some other videos you’ll like
I thought this deserved my 65" TV viewing and it was worth it though i'll probably watch it again on my iMac so I can stare close up. Great review, it is truly stunning and, for sure, the blue by all accounts stands out more than the white. This is also steel or is it titanium? did I miss that? The other thing is that at first those power reserves really bothered me, but now i'm in the total opposite camp. They are so exquisitely crafted and detailed that it really adds something i would absolutely want to look at on the dial. Really happy for you as I know how much you love the brand and now you have a true classic by them. Fits great. yeah the strap is a bit of a dresy clunker eh? I'd take that beautiful deployant off of it and put that on something by Delugs. they do have a lot of 19mm beauties. Great review., Cheers.
Michael, glad to know my iPhone videography has held up on a TV! I did forget to mention it is a stainless steel case but as it wasn’t a direct comparison against the regular snowflake(coming later) I felt it was well known enough. In my experience a stainless steel watch on a strap and a titanium watch on the same strap isn’t that different feeling. I do have two delugs coming in for this one and one in a beautiful pink that I hope pairs really nicely. Thanks for your input as always :)
@@theknightswatch yes it looked great
Not gonna lie, that barton silicone strap looks SICK with this dial. Congrats on big buy! Ofc the White snowflake is probably going to appeal more to the masses. But I'm a sucker for unique and a more "daring" designs. Very very cool! Completely agree with all your cons as well. Can't wait to see 38m slimmed down GS watches. Needs to be a thing ASAP
Thanks my man and I agree the barton is a great combo. Hopefully Grand Seiko goes for a smaller spring drive at some point. Even their 39mm case offering right now I don’t really love. Fingers crossed!
You have reviewed an amazing array of watches in a relatively short period of time. This piece is particularly stunning! The detail of the power reserve indicator was in itself breathtaking. Just dipped my toes into the Grand Seiko waters, and will have an SBGN005 delivered to me by the end of the week. The strap options you consistently present in your videos already have me looking for a strap for my GS. Leaning toward a textured calf leather from Veblinist or B & R Bands. Any other ideas would be welcome. Thank you, and keep up your amazing work.
Ya I just go through a lot of watches, really one of the main reasons I started this channel. The sbgn003 is a piece I hope to get at some point and I love the red accents on the 005. I believe that watch should go on more “sporty/rough” leathers. Try out the new distressed tan Italian leather strap from vario. Also couldn’t go wrong with either a blue and red, black and red, or all red barton elite silicone. Hope you enjoy the watch, and thanks for watching 🙂
Great video! Sadly 19mm lugs.. :/ and no bracelet. I know it‘s in the elegance line, but having a bracelet for it would also be super sweet
B M thanks. I know luckily I’ve had so many 19mm lug watches now I have quite a large number of 19mm straps. And there is a bracelet that can be ordered that fits this watch but depending where you source it from it could take a couple of month to get ans somewhere between 500-800 dollars.
In my opinion easily the best review on this particular watch on the internet.
Can I get a purchase link for the strap at 13:22? Looks sharp!!
Appreciate it! If the link works here it is. Otherwise it’s the vario distressed leather in blue
vario.sg/collections/vintage-italian-leather-watch-strap/products/vintage-distressed-italian-leather-navy-blue-watch-strap-with-quick-release
Grand seiko= best value in the market. Gorgeous piece man. Nicely done.
Agreed, hard to get better value for money out there. Thank you 🙏🏻
Gorgeous watch
40mm is a dealbreaker. This type of watch should come in 38mm case
I definitely would have preferred the watch at 38 but I don’t mind it at 40 either.
No way, 38 mm looks pretty small on most men’s wrist.
The biggest con for me is the white date disc, otherwise I agree it's a gorgeous watch. However, regarding the best model in current Snowflake family, I would pick the SBGY002. If I didn't own the ultimate Eichi II, I would probably get it.
Leya Y personally I’m not a fan of gold cases so that takes the 002 out for me. I do completely get the date wheel dilemma. And it is a con I should’ve mentioned. A matching colored date wheel would be awesome but honestly I don’t think the white detracts from the dial. The blue tone has a lot of white notes in it and the date wheel I feel plays off of and blends into that. Of course it’s personally preference and I would’ve preferred no date wheel at all but as it stands I don’t mind it. The eichi is a gorgeous piece. Very lucky to own one!
@@theknightswatch I understand gold isn't for everyone, same for me fifteen years ago(but now I am a gold lover 😅). But besides the case, its perfectly clean dial design is my major reason. I don't totally hate the power reserve indicator (in fact I also own the SBGA001 which has the same design), but in my opinion this kind of artistic dial will definitely be better with a cleaner design.
@Leya Y im more of a platinum or white gold guy myself. It’s hard to argue with how beautiful and symmetric a spring drive without a power reserve is especially on an intricate dial. I do hope they start offering so more “budget” options with a handwound spring drive movement like the sbgy003.
@@theknightswatch l have the sbgy003. It's beautiful. If it's precious metals, l would go for white gold or platinum too.
Came across the Sky Flake a while back and immediately fell in love with. And immediate ban on all travel and flights followed by a few months that changed the world forever meant I had to wait well over 4 months to get the watch and by then the live was just gone and I immediately put it up for sale having not worn it even once. Just came across this episode and somehow that love raged again. Maybe I’m being childish here, but it isn’t for sale anymore. I owe you one, pal👌😉
I’m glad I could reignite that connection for you. The snowflake is a killer watch 🔥 hope you continue to enjoy it for a long time!
@@theknightswatch you most certainly did, pal. That’s one utterly beautiful Sky Flake saved already👍🏼
Keep it up, buddy👌
Beautiful watch!
Josiah Durrell agreed!
Great, in-depth review. I'm still agonizing over this watch, or a few others in the Heritage collection; SBGA413 or SBGA415. Tough choice for me. I guess taking time to decide will allow me to save more.
Thank you. That is definitely a tough choice and at that point it comes down to whether you just want the piece that is objectively the best or one that makes the most sense in your collection. If you don’t have a blue watch boom skyflake. Don’t have grey maybe the winter. The 413 I usually advise against unless you are ok with how not pink it is. It leans very silver, white with pink undertones and looks best against anyone not as pale as I am.
The texture of the 413 and 415 beat the Skyflake any day but the cases wear very different. May be a case of trying to see them in person.
My first real watch after university. Bought it with a steel bracelet from Little Treasure Jewelry, can’t compliment it enough. I think It wears much better in a bracelet than a leather strap
I’m not a huge bracelet guy but I can see the appeal. Congrats on the watch and I hope you enjoy it for many years to come!
Beautiful. I have the one with white dial. I wear it white a strap too. The finishing on the markers and hands are second to none, whatever the price points.
I consider this kind of watches as casual wear, so l am fine with the size. It's easier to read. For dress GS, l have the 37 to 38.5 ones. I have also have many smaller vintage GS.
My smallest is the 34.5mm 1st GS and the 5646 5010 with the tonneau case. It has one of the most beautiful GS dial. It's olive green with shades of gold. The rest are from 35 to 36.5mm. Awesome dress watches. My sons wear my bigger modern GS as office wear. Makes sense.
Now this is the watch I want..
Thanks for the wonderful review TKW. Does it wear like a true 40mm? Thanks.
Thank you. And I would say it depends what 40 you are used to. If your used to 40mm dive watches than it will feel much larger since this one is all dial. It feels relatively how a 40mm watch should and I would say wears well.
@@theknightswatch Thanks TKW. Seiko almost often have the Seiko magic on its watches making them look and feel well below their stated specs. What I meant was being as it is a non-diver, and an all dial timepiece, does it wear and visually appear to be a true 40mm watch when worn? Many thanks
@@ronin7106 ya I would say it wears fairly true. The short lugs help it a lot.
@@theknightswatch Thanks a lot TKW. Appreciate your help and guidance.
This one is beautiful, but I still think the Snowflake is still the better looking one. Not only that, but the Snowflake has a titanium case, not stainless steel like this one. The Snowflake is thinner than this one. The Snowflake also comes on a titanium bracelet, this one comes with a blue leather strap.
In regards to the power reserve, it really blends into the snowflake more than this one. I actually have no issue with the power reserve being on the dial, but for those who do, it's way less noticeable on the original snowflake as opposed to this one. I also really see the texture on the snowflake in great detail with the naked eye. It's prominent. Again, this one is beautiful, but there is a lot more difference than just the look of the dial.
Ya which model people like is very subjective. This is just more interesting to me than the snowflake. Lucky you like the regular one because it’s much easier to get haha!
@@theknightswatch the other one was available when I bought the Snowflake and they are the same price.
@@jimlittle5769 lucky for you but from personally experience I know for a fact Less blue snowflakes are made and there is a higher change an AD or boutique will have a regular snowflake and be out of stock of the blue one. Maybe you’d have to wait a month for one sometimes but in the end blue is just a little more rare.
I think I like the white dial better. I’d have to see them side by side to decide
Mario G I’ll have a comparison video in a couple weeks. Can’t go wrong with the classic white but for me the blue is a little more interesting and I prefer the case size/style.
@@theknightswatch did you ever get a chance to film the comparison with the sbga211 white dial?
@@HasanQazi unfortunately I didn’t ended up selling the Skyflake before that could happen.
Nice Video!
Bought the Skyflake but I find it too light on the wrist even though it’s a steel case. Lovely watch though but I no longer wear it.
Can I ask, do you purchase these for review and keep them? You show the cream of the crop every week when it comes to watches. How do you manage it?
The Gent every watch I’ve reviewed so far I’ve bought myself and either have sold or kept. I have a review coming up soon which was watch graciously lent in by a viewer. I personally don’t have plans to buy anything else “big” until January so may not be too many other heavy hitters coming up!
The Knight’s Watch I’ve just joined Insta with the only purpose to see your collection. Wow! Sorry to pry but how on earth do you manage to purchase such top end time pieces? And so often?
The Gent haha in terms of my Instagram not all those pieces are mine. I am in a place where I every now and then will sell a watch for a friend like the el primero or just have access to see a lot of cool grand seiko and the occasional credor model from time to time. I will be doing a state of the collection sometime this month and the “craziest” pieces i own are this grand seiko snowflake and my reverso.
The Knight’s Watch 😲 you paid 5G’s for this?!!
The Gent yes sir! Bought preowned for about 5100.
great review
Thank you 🙏🏻
From where did u get so many strap options ... can u plz let me know ??
Just bought them online. I say who
I got them from in the video if you are interesting in finding a specific strap
The main advantages this has over the white snowflake is it isn’t Titanium and is on a leather strap. The bracelet on the snowflake really let’s it down, even though it isn’t, it feels like the worst cheap nasty bracelet on some fake crap you buy at a market in Asia.
No mention of the non-matching date wheel?
Ya I meant to mention it but it’s not a big deal in my eyes. There about 60 individual processes that go into making the snowflake dial and I don’t know if it’s possible/ cost effective to do that to a date window. I believe even trying to match the blue would be a difficult process. I think the white does play off the softer tones in the dial because it’s really is like a white iced blue at times. I could see it being a problem for some but I didn’t mind.
To someone with 8inch wrists it’s hilarious to hear someone say 40mm is a large watch. 40 mm is the smallest watch I can wear without it looking like a child’s watch.
I get ya everything is relative. I would say most people are in the 7-7.5 in range and 40mm is not too large by any means for most but as a dressier styled watch, typically they should be on the smaller, thinner, slip under the cuff easy side. Luckily for you this watch is gonna be perfectly sized haha.
@@theknightswatch it is. I’ve just bought one.
Skyflake*
A toy watch for small boys. Probably 200$ with its design of cheap chinese knock-offs.
Feynman981 very true thank you for your wisdom.
@@theknightswatch wow..u bother to reply..
Skyflake