Which Grand Seiko?

I want to add a spring drive Grand Seiko to the collection. Ideally I would add a high beat one later in life, but for my first GS I want it to be spring drive. I don’t really have any color dials in my collection and all my watches have black dials right now. If you had to pick between the white birch and cherry blossom which one would you choose?

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get the cherry blossom. and i’m saying that while being an owner of the Spring Drive White Birch. i love the White Birch but i kind of wish i had gotten the Hi-Beat one instead. the Hi-Beat movement of the White Birch is beautifully decorated and I wish i had that. getting it now while i already have the Spring Drive version seems silly because they’re too much alike in every other way. so i wish i had gotten the Cherry Blossom and then the Hi-Beat White Birch.

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BillableHours

get the cherry blossom. and i’m saying that while being an owner of the Spring Drive White Birch. i love the White Birch but i kind of wish i had gotten the Hi-Beat one instead. the Hi-Beat movement of the White Birch is beautifully decorated and I wish i had that. getting it now while i already have the Spring Drive version seems silly because they’re too much alike in every other way. so i wish i had gotten the Cherry Blossom and then the Hi-Beat White Birch.

That was what I was thinking. I was able to view the 9SA5 high beat in person and it is probably the most beautifully decorated movement I've seen so far. I also think the 5 day spring drive is really cool and have looked at the Lake Suwa option, but the dial didn't really speak to me on the Lake Suwa.

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In usage, the 120 hours reserve and 0.5spd accuracy are really good. Don't forget that.

I own the SLGA007 and Snowflake and the 5 day reserve (really more like 6) makes a huge difference in day to day wear.

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Tried both multiple times and went with the White Birch. It's a clear step up in the GS catalog. Better movement and better finishing. It's the superior watch of the two. Looks are subjective, but I prefer the white dial over the pinkish dial.

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MaterialGuy

In usage, the 120 hours reserve and 0.5spd accuracy are really good. Don't forget that.

I own the SLGA007 and Snowflake and the 5 day reserve (really more like 6) makes a huge difference in day to day wear.

Definitely. My White Birch is running +2 seconds per month. Between the accuracy and the power reserve I really only need to set the watch when daylight savings time ends/starts.

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The WB is getting close to twice the price of the Shunbun isn't it? OK not quite twice but definitely not in the same ball park. If that's not a factor then great! But it's not really an apples for apples comparison :)

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If going for a Spring Drive I would definitely go for one without the power reserve on the dial. GS is making some of the best dials in watch industry but I was never a fan of the PR on the dial. Telling you while owning a GS High-Beat GMT.

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sim303

The WB is getting close to twice the price of the Shunbun isn't it? OK not quite twice but definitely not in the same ball park. If that's not a factor then great! But it's not really an apples for apples comparison :)

I’m in the fortunate position to not worry about price so just looking for the one I like best.

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chowder9

I’m in the fortunate position to not worry about price so just looking for the one I like best.

👍Fair enough! 😀 Personally the Shunbun is on my list.... The gold emblem on the display case back though.... 😅

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sim303

👍Fair enough! 😀 Personally the Shunbun is on my list.... The gold emblem on the display case back though.... 😅

Yeah the logo on the display case is unfortunate, but the main attraction is the dial anyways haha

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Went through this same thought process recently (just for fun). IMO the white birch is nice but not almost $10k nice. Plus, I prefer the pattern, case, and handset on the Shunbun.

Very much a matter of personal preference though.

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The White Birch will make the markers and minute timer pop. That’s a GADA watch for myself as well👍

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Both #grandseiko are beautiful 😍

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DrColinDTate

Both #grandseiko are beautiful 😍

Yeah it's a really hard decision!

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Neither. Hear me out. The Lake Suwa before dawn SLGA021.

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