Fratello Favorites: The Best Watches Under €10K — Lex’s Picks From Grand Seiko, IWC, And Zenith
With €10K to spend, I decided to play it safe on the brand side and a little wilder on the color side. That’s why I ended up with a furiously red Grand Seiko, a sinister black IWC, and a Zenith that makes me slightly indecisive: do I decide on the version with the green or the black dial? I will choose at the end of this Best Watches Under €10K article.
First up is a watch that Grand Seiko released very recently. It is a limited dial variant of an existing Elegance model. My watch of choice is the C-shaped SBGY035, an edition of 700 pieces priced at €9,200. I considered the Omiwatari (SBGY007) with its pale blue dial for this shortlist but decided on something more punchy.
The best watches under €10K — Pick #1: Grand Seiko SBGY035
Under the dual-curved, AR-coated sapphire crystal of the SBGY035, there’s a dial inspired by Japanese nature. Let me say something about that. Yes, “GS” often uses this strategy and offers many special editions. Some say GS releases too many limited editions and nature-inspired dials and wonder how the Japanese brand repeatedly finds all these different shades and textures. It’s thanks to an eye for detail, I guess. In the end, when GS releases the watch of your dreams with a dial in your favorite color, does it matter if there are more than a dozen other options? You don’t have to buy and consequently wear them anyway.
In any case, the red hue of the SBGY035 expresses “the harmony of the Hotaka mountain range blushing at sunrise and the vibrant transformation of autumn leaves in the same morning light.” Since I am Dutch, I describe the dial as deep red. Even if I’m having difficulty understanding and picturing what the poetic marketing people at GS tell me, the dial’s fading dark red hue and texture, which do make me think of autumn leaves, speak to me. And in the end, that’s all that matters.
Gliding through time
There’s more poetry inside the 38.5 × 10.2mm C-shaped stainless steel case. The limited-edition SBGY035 celebrates the 20th anniversary of the unique Spring Drive technology with caliber 9R31 on board. You can look at the hand-wound member of the Spring Drive family through the display case back. The movement with its gliding seconds hand has an autonomy of 72 hours but no “disturbing” power reserve indicator to interrupt the leaf-like pattern of the dial.
Although I selected the Grand Seiko SBGY035 based on its dial color and the presence of a hand-wound Spring Drive movement, its precision did not play a part in the selection process. Still, an average daily deviation of about one second never hurt anyone. Would I leave the burgundy crocodile strap attached after purchasing the watch? I would give it a go, and if it didn’t work — too stiff, classic, or shiny — I would find a nice replacement. I have €800 left, so that should be fun.
Image: Second Movement
Pick #2: IWC Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 Top Gun
No, it’s not because of the two Top Gun movies or the logo on the case back of the watch. I picked the IWC Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 Top Gun (ref. IW389401) because the €9,700 timepiece is a contemporary classic. It’s a mix of IWC’s long-running expertise with pilot’s watches and ceramic cases, and it works. For a while, if you wanted to wear a ceramic pilot’s watch from IWC, you had to accept the XL case size. The IW389401, on the other hand, has an easy-to-wear 41.9 × 15.5mm case and comes on a 20mm black rubber strap with IWC’s EasX-Change system. It makes life easier if you want to pair this monochromatic critter with, let’s say, a wild pink rubber strap from the IWC catalog. I think I’d like to do that at some point.
Inside the 100m-water-resistant ceramic case, which contains a soft-iron inner case for protection against magnetic fields, beats the automatic, IWC-manufactured caliber 69380. This 4Hz movement comprises 242 components and has a somewhat underwhelming power reserve of 46 hours. The column-wheel chronograph movement uses IWC’s bidirectional, pawl-arm Pellaton winding system, which is fairly similar to Seiko’s Magic Lever.
Image: Second Movement
Fond of the functional day and the date
Underneath a convex sapphire glass with an antireflective coating on both sides, the instrumental dial guarantees easy readability. The chronograph’s elapsed hours and minutes are displayed in the sub-dials at 9 and 12 o’clock, and the running (hacking) seconds are in the sub-dial at 6. The little red-filled hand is the only colorful element, breaking the tension of the black and white dial over which it spins. A day-date display uplifts the overall soberness of the Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 Top Gun and adds functionality.
The best watches under €10K — Pick #3: Zenith Chronomaster Revival Safari
In the end, the IWC provided enough black. That’s why my last watch of choice is not the Zenith Chronomaster Revival Shadow but, rather, the Safari edition. Its basis is a svelte 37mm barrel-shaped case executed in matte micro-blasted and darkened titanium. The reference 97.T384.400/57.M384 pairs that case with a deep green dial featuring a black tachymeter and sub-dials, beige-lumed hour markers, and matching luminous central hands. Recently, Zenith began offering the watch with a micro-blasted titanium ladder-style bracelet with a folding clasp. In this configuration — so not with the green fabric strap you see in the first picture — the price stays under the €10K mark, if only just.
Is €9,900 a fair price for a small titanium chronograph with an automatic El Primero movement? In a world where chronographs from respected brands with interesting/in-house movements have become increasingly rare, I would say “yes,” especially when the Safari is paired with a historically interesting bracelet. The ladder bracelet was designed exclusively for Zenith by the Gay Frères company in 1969. It was paired with some of the earliest El Primero stainless steel models, including the A384, A385, and A386. The design with alternating open center links is not for everyone. But it wears well and is airy, and now in matte-finished titanium, it looks and wears even better.
What do you think of my curated trio? I tried to stay as close as possible to the limit of my budget, and I think I did well. I’m also curious about which of the watches I picked would be your top choice. Let me know in the comments below.
