Grand Seiko just shrunk its Snowflake watch – but I liked it better before

Grand Seiko has just announced smaller versions of its popular Snowflake and Skyflake watches – but I think I liked them better before. Available to pre-order from today, the new timepieces now measure 33mm to cater to the smaller watches trend that we’re seeing in 2026.

The new Snowflake and Skyflake watches keep most of the same features and design of the originals but are just significantly smaller. Both cases are crafted from stainless steel and have an integrated bracelet, and are powered by the 9F51 quartz movement.

The dials of both watches are kept relatively simple, with stainless steel hour markers, and hours and minutes hands. For a further pop of colour, the watches have a blued steel seconds hand.

The Snowflake is exactly what it sounds like – the dial looks like a beautiful snowflake! It’s inspired by the snow from the Hotaka mountains in Japan and has a lightly ‘scratched’ pattern which looks similar to the texture of settled snow.

My favourite of the two is the Skyflake which has a light blue dial with a similarly etched pattern to the Snowflake. The dial is designed and patterned to look like the blue sky when it’s reflected on snow.

Compared to the original watches, the new editions are now just 33mm which has been shrunk down from 37mm. Losing 4mm might not sound like that much in the grand scheme of things, but when a watch is shrunk so aggressively, something has to give.

In this case, it’s the date window which is not available on the smaller Snowflake and Skyflake watches. I love a date window – it’s such a simple watch feature but it makes all the difference to the look of a watch so I’m disappointed to see it missing.

If you’re a smaller watch fan or have tiny wrists, both models are perfect additions to your winter watch collection. Available to pre-order now, the Snowflake and Skyflake watches are priced at £2,800 and expected to ship in April.