Grand Seiko have undoubtedly been at the forefront of the trend that’s seen watch dials become a palette for sophisticated textures and patterns. The release of the ‘White Birch’ ref. SLGH005 in 2021 was a revelation, and became hugely influential to brands large and small. Of course, it wasn’t just the dial that impressed, with it, Grand Seiko used their high-beat, dual-impulse caliber 9SA5 first seen in the SLGH002. This was a full package watch with appeal that breached both the formal and informal genre enthusiasts. Grand Seiko has fleshed out the concept further in a number of references in the Evolution 9 collection using the 44GS style case design, and this week, takes a step further with the introduction of a new SLGW007.
When the White Birch was released, my only note of criticism was centered around the framed date aperture at three o’clock, which I felt wasn’t worth the distraction to the subtle nature of the texture being achieved on the dial. This was addressed with the release of the SLGHW003 (covered here), which used a similar texture within a white dial, though it was oriented horizontally rather than vertically. This watch debuted the caliber 9SA4, which removed the date complication altogether. It was also a hand wound movement, and placed a priority on the tactility of that winding action. As a result, the case was trimmed to under 10mm in thickness while keeping the same design hallmarks of the White Birch.
This week, with the release of the SLGW007, Grand Seiko follows up on this trim, dateless expression of the Evolution 9 concept, this time using a Moonlit Blue dial that uses the same horizontally aligned birch texture. The result is a watch that truly feels like the best of all worlds. The darker textured dial dials back the formality just a tad, the 9SA4 ditches the date, and the thin but still muscular case could be pushed either way depending on strap choice. The hour markers are slightly longer and thinner than you’d find on the White Birch, but the serenity of the texture is left unbroken by the symmetry.
The manually winding caliber 9SA4 gets 80 hours of reserve thanks to twin barrels, and that dual-impulse escapement. This escapement, which is developed entirely in-house by Grand Seiko, delivers power to the balance via direct (escape wheel to the balance), and indirect (through the pallet fork) impulses, creating an overall more efficient system of power delivery. FYI this also means that the movement cannot be read for accuracy by a traditional timegrapher. It’s a truly impressive system placed under a full balance bridge, within a surprisingly well finished movement.
These are the kinds of details and innovations that make Grand Seiko such a compelling value next to their Swiss counterparts, who would undoubtedly create far more bombastic marketing campaigns around such achievements. Grand Seiko watches equipped with the 9SA4 and 9SA5 are not inexpensive, but the more you dig into their processes and techniques, the more reasonable and even surprising those prices become. The SLGW007 is priced at $10,000, and I promise you this is one of the most satisfying movements to wind and behold you’ll come across at anywhere close that price point. Grand Seiko