Date transition

[sarjoo]

Being a relatively new owner of a snowflake, I noticed yesterday for the first time as hadn't glanced at the watch at the right time of day before that, that when the date shifts to the next date it does so gradually....not the sudden instantaneous flip over as seen with the Rolexes (which incidentally doesn't happen at exactly midnight on the Rolex but a number of minutes after.)

Presumably that is normal on a grand seiko for it to start transitioning the date sometime after 11pm until reaching about midnight before completion?

Maybe the gradual change is normal for several other watch brands too.

[Old Expat Beast]

Yes, it's normal. The GS 9F quartz movement supposedly flips the date (and day if it has one) in 1/2000 of a second, though.