The perfect daily watch is a deceptively difficult thing to make. It needs to look good with almost anything, be legible at a glance, then disappear comfortably onto the wrist. Bonus points if it also says something about the person wearing it. For a watch brand, it also offers the ultimate design challenge: How do you distil an entire design language into something someone would want to look at every day? Grand Seiko's answer came in 2020, with the launch of the Evolution 9 collection for its 60th anniversary.
The collection’s signature Zaratsu polishing, deeply faceted indexes and hands, nature-inspired dials, and impressive movements have already garnered a legion of fans, and that base is about to get bigger. Because the newly refreshed Evolution 9 models prove that the brand hasn’t just been listening closely to its customers but, more crucially, acting on what it hears.
A total of nine references are getting the refinements collectors have been asking for since the collection’s launch. Most noticeably, three-step micro-adjustment clasps now allow for tool-free adjustments in 2mm increments — a godsend for swelling wrists in this heatwave — while the bracelet tapers more noticeably towards the clasp.
(Related: Grand Seiko introduces two new boutique exclusives inspired by nature)
Among the nine are five Spring Drive models: the SLGB007, SLGB009, SLGB011, SLGB013, and SLGB015, all of which are getting new movements. While we will miss the five-day power reserve of the outgoing Spring Drive 9RA2 calibre, the trade-off is double the accuracy thanks to the Spring Drive U.F.A 9RB2, the “Ultra Fine Accuracy” movement with an annual deviation of +/-20 seconds, introduced last year.
The faces here are familiar. The Lake Suwa blue of the 40mm SLGB013 and 37mm SLGB015 is now slightly lighter, while the White Birch pattern of the SLGB009 has been given deeper grooves. The SLGB011’s Atera Valley green has been darkened and is now paired with an Ever-Brilliant Steel case instead of High-Intensity Titanium. Then there’s something completely new: the 40mm SLGB007 introduces the collection’s first black take on the Lake Suwa pattern, inspired by waves shimmering under moonlight. It is also the only Spring Drive model in the lineup to use High-Intensity Titanium.
The Hi-Beat side of the Evolution 9 lineup gets four updates of its own. The “Green Birch” SLGH033 and much-loved “White Birch” SLGH031 now come in the brand’s proprietary Ever-Brilliant Steel, used for both their cases and bracelets, while the “Night Birch” SLGH029 makes the switch to High-Intensity Titanium. The newcomer is the SLGH035, with a pale blue dial inspired by the summer streams of Genbi Valley and a textured pattern drawn from its rock formations.
The Spring Drive U.F.A models will arrive this month, with the Hi-Beat 9SA5 ones to follow in October.
These changes may seem modest compared to, say, a new patented ultra-complication that changes the very way we look at time, but that doesn’t make them any less exciting. The sexy innovations will come. But for now, it’s reassuring to know the everyday heroes are getting their due with thoughtful tweaks and purposeful refinements that make a good watch that much better.
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SLGB007
SLGH033
SLGH031
SLGH035
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