By now it’s pretty well known that Grand Seiko loves to play around with dial textures and colours, and they’re quite good it at it too. So whenever a press release of a new model comes up, we tend to immediately envision a specific type of watch. Faceted case, intricately brushed and polished, a dial inspired by nature in both texture and colour, and a very nice movement to back it all up. Just look at the very successful ‘Birch’ sub-collection, and you’ll know what we mean. This is also the case with the latest new addition to the sporty Evolution 9 collection, the Grand Seiko Evolution 9 Spring Drive 5 Days Lake Suwa Before Dawn SLGA021G.
The exterior should be very familiar by now. A faceted stainless steel case design that follows the Evolution 9 ‘Grammar of Design’, finished with a mix of brushed and Zaratsu-polished surfaces. The diameter is once again 40mm, with a height of 11.8mm, so a pretty good fit for most people. A sapphire crystal covers both the front and back of the watch and the sturdy crown screws down to ensure 100m of water resistance.
The real talking piece in pretty much all GS watches is the dial, and this one is another fine example of why. The deep blue tone looks amazing and is taken from the rippling surface of Lake Suwa before the break of dawn. The wave-like texture is embossed, so it will play with light as your day goes along. The applied markers and hands are faceted, brushed and polished. The GS logo is also applied, and the date window has a bevelled frame.
Inside, the SLGA021G can rely on the formidable Calibre 9RA2, Grand Seiko’s Spring Drive automatic with Quartz regulation (More details here). This highly accurate movement combines the best of both worlds to run within an accuracy of ±0.5 seconds per day. It can be seen through the sapphire crystal caseback, which will also grant you a look at the hidden 5-day power reserve indication. The finishing is very good as always, with blued screws, bevelled edges and frosted plates and bridges.
As with all watches under the Evolution 9 collection, the Grand Seiko Evolution 9 Spring Drive 5 Days Lake Suwa Before Dawn SLGA021G is fitted with a stainless steel three-link bracelet which is secured with a folding clasp. Being a non-limited edition, this Grand Seiko will be available from February onwards from Grand Seiko Boutiques and selected retailers worldwide for USD 9,100. And with that, it does land you a very good-looking watch, but one that is eerily close to the limited edition SLGA007 from last year, just with a darker blue tone and without the gold touches. We’ll leave it at that for now.
For more information, please visit Grand-Seiko.com
Technical specifications – Grand Seiko Evolution 9 Spring Drive 5 Days Lake Suwa Before Dawn SLGA021
Case: 40mm diameter x 11.8mm height – 47.9mm lug-to-lug – stainless steel case, brushed and Zaratsu polished – dual-curved sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating – screwed sapphire caseback – screw-down crown – 100m water-resistant
Dial: deep blue dial with embossed wave pattern – faceted and bevelled applied indexes and hands – applied GS logo – bevelled metallic frame around date window – matte blue inner flange with minute track
Movement: calibre 9RA2, in-house – Spring Drive technology – automatic with quartz regulation – 38 jewels – 34mm x 5mm – 5 days (120 hours) power reserve – accuracy of ±0.5 seconds per day or ±10 seconds per month – hours, minutes, seconds, date, power reserve on the back
Bracelet: 3-link stainless steel bracelet with three-fold clasp with push-button release – Grand Seiko initials in 18k gold on the clasp
Availability: Non-limited edition available through Grand Seiko Boutiques and selected retailers worldwide
https://monochrome-watches.com/introducing-the-grand-seiko-evolution-9-spring-drive-5-days-lake-suwa-slga021g-specs-price/
