Seiko Presage SARX055 Review – Baby Grand Seiko Snowflake
Seiko is mostly known for manufacturing high-quality and well-finished timepieces in relation to its price. Overall, Seiko’s timepieces offer exceptional value for money. Whilst most people perhaps associate Seiko with robust sports watches, including everything from serious divers to durable field watches.
But due to Seiko’s huge popularity, it today caters to a large audience. Having said that, Seiko’s offering and collections of timepieces are huge, including dress watches, daily watches, sports watches, and everything in between.
As mentioned, Seiko is mostly known for affordable watches, and therefore, when Seiko goes onto a pursuit of making more premium timepieces with utmost attention to detail and impressive finish, they have branded it differently in order to differentiate its offerings. These timepieces have a substantially higher price than most Seiko watches but are also miles ahead in terms of finish and quality. These watches go under the name ”Grand Seiko”.
But what if you want a well-made and elegant timepiece similar to those offered under the Grand Seiko brand, but without paying the price tag that comes with it?
Seiko’s answer to that is the Presage SARX055, also known as ”Baby Grand Seiko Snowflake”. This is the watch we are going to review and look closer at in this article.
This watch is, as the name suggests part of the ”Presage” collection. In Seiko’s own words, ”Presage combines a Japanese aesthetic sense with traditional craftsmanship and Seiko’s watchmaking skills in an original collection that offers Japanese beauty, quality, and long-lasting performance.”
Seiko Presage ”Baby Grand Seiko Snowflake” SARX055 Review
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Let’s start with the most interesting part – how has a watch that clearly isn’t a Grand Seiko gotten that nickname?
This name derives as a result of its similarity to the Grand Seiko SBGA011. And yes, if you compare them side-by-side, they are strikingly similar. But because the SARX055 isn’t in fact a Grand Seiko, you get a watch that reminds of the Grand Seiko but at a fraction of the cost. Sounds like a pretty good deal, doesn’t it?
Obviously, because its price tag is much lower, Seiko has compromised on finish, decoration, and details, but considering its price, it’s still an exceptional watch. It’s easy to see why this watch has become so immensely popular.
And this becomes even more evident when you study it in detail and what it offers. So that’s exactly what we are going to do.
Seiko Presage SARX055 case
The watch is presented with a titanium case with a diameter of 41mm. The case has a lug-to-lug measurement of 46mm. This case has Seiko’s Dia-shield coating which is used to make it more resistant to scratches and hairlines. Note that the dia-shield coating does not protect against deep scratches and dings.
Its case size of 41mm is a balance between dressy and sporty, which makes it suitable for everyday wear. The watch is large enough to work as a sporty daily driver, but at the same time small enough to work as a dress watch. In addition, the thickness makes slipping it under a cuff effortless. This is additionally backed by the dial and overall look of the watch, but more on that further on.
The case combines brushed and polished elements which are proof that Seiko has paid attention to the details. Seiko has done an excellent job of creating a sharp transition between the brushed and polished parts. Have in mind that this is also a titanium case and not stainless steel, which makes it even more impressive as titanium is more difficult to finish than steel.
With that said, the watch is extremely light, with a weight of 160 grams on the bracelet. Regarding this, it comes down to preference, but as an everyday watch, it can be nice to wear something that you sometimes forget that you are even wearing.
The case has a lovely lug design that has a ”curved” design. The top of the lugs has a brushed finish and each side is polished. The graining of the brushing is really nice and much better executed than Seiko’s more affordable watches. Instead of just having just a matte finish, you can actually see the brushing here which is a plus.
As an additional detail, the lugs are squared-off. The sapphire crystal of this watch also has an anti-reflective coating. This AR coating has received a lot of praise because it is extremely clear. In fact, it is called ”Super Clear Coating”, and this certainly appears to be true on this watch as sometimes, you may even think the crystal doesn’t exist.
Positioned at 3 o’clock on the side of the case, the watch has a large crown. Since this is an elegant dress/everyday watch, it doesn’t have any need for a screw-down. With that said, the crown is a push-pull. With that said, the watch is still able to offer a water resistance of 100m. This means it is enough for swimming but not for diving. Still, pretty good for a classy everyday watch.
The bezel is rather thin and is polished, which gives it a clean and minimalistic look. Because the bezel is quite thin, it means it gives the dial the opportunity to be big. And what a dial that is….
Seiko Presage SARX055 dial
The dial of the SARX055 ”Baby Grand Seiko Snowflake” is what makes this watch stand out from the crowd and makes it truly something special.
The dial is snow-white and has a lovely texture to it. It’s easy to see where the nickname ”snowflake” of this watch comes from, as the color and texture of the dial remind of snow.
Thanks to this dial texture, it reflects the light beautifully and creates a lovely light show. The dial has applied rectangular hour markers which are beautifully beveled. Around the edge of the dial, there are black printed sub-seconds.
The hands of the watch are beautiful too. The tips are extremely sharp, and so are the edges. This is a whole lot different from the most affordable Seiko watches where the edges are not as clearly defined and may be a little smudged out. It’s really the details that make the difference…
The hands are polished and have bevels to reflect the light beautifully. As a touch of color to the otherwise monochrome dial, the watch has a blue seconds hand.
Also, notice how this watch has no luminous material on it.
At 3 o’clock, the watch has a date window which adds to the practicality of this timepiece. The date window has a metal frame around it.
Seiko has kept the dial text at a minimum with an applied Seiko logo at 12 o’clock. Beneath the center of the dial, the text ”Presage” and ”Automatic” are printed in black.
All in all, the dial is clean, refined, well-finished, and elegant.
Seiko Presage SARX055 movement
Moving on to the movement, the SARX055 is equipped with the in-house Seiko caliber 6R15. This is an automatic mechanical movement beating at 21,600 BPH.
The movement offers a power reserve of 50 hours and has a specified accuracy of +25/-15 seconds a day, but the good news is that owners have reported a much better accuracy from this movement in practice.
Seiko Presage SARX055 bracelet
The Baby Grand Seiko Snowflake SARX055 is presented on a lightweight titanium bracelet that is mostly brushed but has polished accents. With that said, it is nicely finished and gives a great impression of quality. Seiko has really found a perfect balance between casualness and classiness.
The bracelet has a milled clasp with a double push deployment.
Specifications
- Movement: Seiko in-house caliber 6R15
- Diameter: 41mm
- Lug width: 20mm.
- Lug-to-lug: 46mm
- Thickness: 11.5mm
- Case: Titanium with Diashield coating
- Frequency: 21,600 BPH
- Accuracy: +25/-15 seconds per day
- Power reserve: 50 hours
Conclusion
To conclude the review of the SARX055, this watch is a level above Seiko’s standard timepieces in terms of quality and finish. Yes, it is priced much higher than Seiko’s standard watches, but what you pay for is definitely shown in what you get in return.
There is a reason this watch is so immensely popular, and it has to do with the fact that you are getting a watch that is as close to a Grand Seiko as you can get but without paying the Grand Seiko prices.
This watch is very elegant and classy, which makes it perfect for formal occasions, but at the same time, it is sporty enough for everyday wear. This is simply a great watch that offers the best of both worlds.
The Seiko Presage SARX055 is available to order on Amazon.
