Reunited With My Grand Seiko Tough Quartz SBGX341 — Back From A Long-Overdue Watch “Onsen” Session
Sometimes the little chores in life feel like herculean tasks, don’t they? I’m not just talking about lubricating that squeaky hinge on the front door; I’m also referring to taking your beloved watch to a watchmaker for some love and attention. I know what I’m talking about. Not only does the hinge of my front door sound like an evil witch on acid whenever I go out and come back home, but I also have a watch that, although it’s one of my absolute favorites, desperately needed a revitalizing treatment. I denied that watch this treatment for several months, but not so long ago, I managed to set the wheels in motion and brought the watch in for a new battery and some cosmetic touch-ups. And now I’ve reunited with my Grand Seiko Tough Quartz SBGX341. It came back reborn from a long-overdue session at the watch onsen.
It must’ve been early this past summer when I noticed my Grand Seiko Tough Quartz SBGX341 wasn’t ticking. I purchased this watch in October 2021 after seeing it in my colleague Gerard’s pictures from a Fratello × Grand Seiko event in the brand’s Place Vendôme boutique. I bought the SBGX341 partially because of its muscular and angular 40 × 44 × 11.65mm case, which looks like a futuristic take on the classic 44GS theme, but also because of its fascinating white dial with hints of red and orange. The Zaratsu polishing of the bezel and the meticulously finished, razor-sharp hands and indexes are details that made me instantly smitten when looking at Gerard’s pictures. In the metal, the watch is even better than I had imagined. Its crisp aesthetic is lively, and the case, bracelet, and clasp feel rock solid.
Reunited with my Grand Seiko Tough Quartz SBGX341: why did I neglect it for so long?
While I’m not trying to make excuses for neglecting the watch I love dearly, I did read something interesting on Very Well Health. I learned that if you procrastinate, it doesn’t mean you’re lazy. You might have more negative associations with the task and want to avoid feeling the aversive sensation. Full disclosure here: in my case, there was also a bit of laziness involved. Plus, there was the fact that my Grand Seiko is not the only watch love in my life. I am, probably just like you, a polygamist when it comes to watches.
Therefore, my GS, which got a nasty scar on the angled shiny side of the bezel the first week on my wrist when I hit a doorknob, sat in my watch box like a lame duck. It did witness its fellow watches go out and come back with smiles on their faces. No matter how tough the SBGX341 is (and it doesn’t carry the Tough Quartz moniker for nothing), that must’ve been traumatic.
Anyway, when talking to a local Seiko representative, I learned that the brand’s Schiedam facility in the Netherlands is outfitted to service Grand Seiko timepieces. The service center handles movement servicing and that kind of stuff but also, importantly, Zaratsu polishing. Truthfully, it took another couple of weeks before I snatched my lifeless and scarred GS from the box and handed it in for a new power source and a cosmetic makeover. But when I did, I already started feeling a bit better about myself and less guilty about the watch.
Rekindled watch love
It didn’t just feel “good” when I got my SBGX341 back from the watch onsen (a Japanese natural hot-spring bath — and the ultimate stress reliever — heated underground by the volcanic activity of the land). Instead, I felt ecstatic. The watch looked so fresh and rejuvenated. I thought I could even see a spring in its step — yes, I’m referring to the precise beat of the quartz-powered central seconds hand. Speaking of precision, inside the case beats the caliber 9F61. This is the only 9F movement without a date display, and it provides an estimated accuracy of ±10 seconds per year. It’s also resistant to magnetic fields of 40,000 A/m, as the crispy white dial indicates.
FYI, magnetic fields don’t only affect mechanical movements. They can also hurt a quartz movement because they could interfere with the step motor. Doing so could accelerate or even completely stop the movement. Inside the step motor is a crucial part, confusingly named a rotor. That’s a permanent magnet with a pinion. To protect the rotor and the step motor from the effects of magnetism, a pure iron shield has been placed over the crucial parts of the caliber.
That sweet dial and bezel magic
Back on the wrist, the SBGX341 confirmed my opinion of its matte white dial. This watch has one of the best white dials I’ve ever seen. Take a look at the elevated chapter ring with the seconds track. There are two black 15-minute segments and two reddish-orange ones that match the color accent on the seconds hand, which hits every hash mark on the flange with great accuracy. It looks tight and functional.
The hands and indexes are just as tight, sharp, and finished to a level that rivals perfection. In the dark, the applied indexes’ green and blue Lumibrite lights up. The hour markers at 12, 3, 6, and 9 o’clock glow green (as do the hour and minute hands), while the other ones glow blue.
New Year’s resolution
The quartz caliber 9F61 has an expected three-year battery life, so come the summer of 2027, I will bring my SBGX341 for a new one and book it a beauty treatment. You can consider it a long-term New Year’s resolution. A short-term one is that I will immediately and without hesitation or procrastination bring any of my watches for a service or a helping hand as soon as I notice it is needed.
I hope to serve as a good example to others in this regard. I know I’m not the only one guilty of watch neglect. Take it from me: having your watch return from service is a joyful experience. I’m pretty sure my Grand Seiko hugged my left wrist when it finally returned to the spot it loves the most. And that love is mutual.
