BY HARLAN CHAPMAN-GREEN
For 2025, Grand Seiko released four main novelties of which we’re presenting three, although I’m sure, like with most brands, there are some “off-catalogue” specialities you can order if you know how to.
Tentagraph SLGC009
The first watch is the most eye-catching of the bunch; it’s based on the Tentragraph, which Grand Seiko unveiled two years ago. The design of this one is, uh, unique. The case design is inspired by the “Tokyo Lion” design Grand Seiko used in the past, only this time it’s the chronograph watch. I think it looks more like it’s had the Godzilla treatment, but that’s just me.
Inside the wild 43.0mm x 15.6mm ‘Brilliant Hard Titanium’ case lies the self-winding calibre 9SC5, which has a 5Hz beat rate and 72 hours of power reserve with the chronograph running. The watch is 200m water resistant and the rubber strap has 2.7x the tensile strength of Grand Seiko’s regular watches. The price is $16,400 and is not a limited edition watch.
Spring Drive U.F.A. SLGB001 and SLGB003
SLGB003
The more exciting releases, at least for me, come in the form of the limited edition SLGB001 and non limited edition SLGB003 Spring Druve U.F.A. (Ultra-Fine Accuracy) watches. The dials, inspired by the frost-covered trees of the Kirigamine Highlands near Grand Seiko’s Shinshu Watch Studio, are beautiful but are not so much the focus of my interest.
SLGB001
Inside the 37.0mm x 11.4mm platinum case of the SLGB001 and the ‘High-Intensity Titanium’ case of the SLGB003 sits the calibre 9RB2. This movement builds on the decades of research into accuracy conducted by Grand Seiko, research which culminated in their unique ‘Spring Drive’ system, which uses automatically wound mainspring barrels to power an accurate quartz regulator. The previously most advanced movement was the 9R35, which debuted in 2004. That movement is accurate to within +/-15 seconds per month, which is better than lots of mechanical watches can manage in a day.
To cut to the chase here, the new 9RB2 movement in these watches promises deviations within +/- 20 seconds per year, far exceeding anything they’ve made before. Grand Seiko says this is the most accurate movement powered by mainspring barrels, although it doesn’t use a traditional regulator, of course. They’ve published a handy writeup about it on their website which you should read. The price of the SLGB003 is $10,900, and the cost of the platinum version (which is limited to 80 watches) is $39,000.
Grand Seiko’s newest watches show that they’re committed to innovations, be they new designs like the Tentagraph or technical prowess, as seen in the U.F.A. watches. We can’t wait to see what they do next and hope they’ll be able to send us a review model soon.
