ITPV » Grand Seiko SLGB005 Evolution 9 Spring Drive

Hands-On Review of the Grand Seiko SLGB005 Evolution 9 Spring Drive UFA Limited Edition (with " Violet Dawn" Dial)







Constructed from Everbrilliantsteel, the new watch includes dial every bit as dazzling as its high-precision movement.



This spring, within the " Watches & Wonders" exhibition in Geneva, Awesome Seiko unveiled its record-breaking Spring Drive Caliber 9RB2 to the world. According to Fantastic Seiko, it's the most appropriate mainspring-driven watch movement you can buy, boasting an accuracy associated with ±20 seconds per year. It is by design. The Spring Drive movement eschews only mechanical construction, juxtaposing a normal mainspring and gear train along with a proprietary sliding wheel in addition to integrated circuit with a quartz crystal. This creates the particular truly smooth Spring Commute movement we've come to be expecting and love. Yet, its veracity is astonishing by almost any standard, marking a significant revolution for Grand Seiko's Spring Drive work at the Shinshu Toki no Takumi handyroom.



Following the platinum SLBG001 and the bright titanium SLGB003, Grand Seiko not long ago unveiled the third model inside the UFA collection-the new SLGB005. From a distance, you might mistake the idea for just another 37mm ti model, with just a several dial. While the two are certainly similar, subtle changes placed it apart.



The SLGB005 is constructed from Grand Seiko's Ever Fantastic stainless steel, a material that is definitely more corrosion-resistant than regular steel alloys and has a rather lighter hue, especially when lustrous. In the Evolution 9 style and design language, this primarily suggests brushed surfaces embellished having wide Zaratsu-polished chamfers. Along with a smaller case diameter regarding 37mm and a thickness involving 11. 4mm, and water-repellant to 100 meters, this kind of watch will undoubtedly appeal to people that find the compact case on the SLGB001 a bit light, simply because it adds a touch of heft to the timepiece.



Conceivably confusing many Grand Seiko collectors is that this stainless steel type doesn't feature the new fine-adjustable clasp featured on the SLGB003, which was just released (and received widespread acclaim) inside April of this year. This can be likely because the steel hold isn't ready for mass development yet, but it will undoubtedly let down many collectors who had expected it would remain a installation on subsequent releases.



As a visual designation for this limited edition, the 18k rose gold Grand Seiko emblem is inlaid about the flat, standard Evolution in search of clasp. We've seen typically the 3D " GS" emblem on the dial in yellow metal finishes in the past, but I favor the classic silver look within this watch, as it complements often the dial's hue more magnificently. Honestly, I'd prefer the rose gold colored elements removed entirely as well as replaced with white gold, as they get noticed too much against the watch's exciting color scheme.



But I digress. The main objective here is squarely on the face. The " katauchi" (template) pattern, inspired by the frost-covered trees of Suwa Kirimine Plateau (near the Shinshu Toki-no-Takumi workshop), inherits the style of the previous two models. This kind of nearly abstract herringbone structure is a deep, inky pink, fading to a lighter blue toward the center. As with most of Grand Seiko's darker knobs, the dark hue with the underlying lacquer coating presents itself solid and lustrous throughout dim light, transforming to a vibrant, undulating dial with bright sunlight. It didn't be a new Grand Seiko dial without a slightly lyrical press release. In this case, the watch dial color is described as " reminiscent of a frosted do emerging at dawn. "



As we typically say about many Huge Seiko dials, the stamped pattern in the " Violet Dawn" colorway is particularly lovely. While the Caliber 9RB2 seemed to be one of the most striking dials most of us saw at Watches & Wonders, ice blue for a dial color has never resonated with me. Therefore , I've had a desire for a darker dial for the Evolution 9 UFA. The new purple dial is absolutely gorgeous, with a gradient around the is bordered by creating a dynamic look and the right amount of lacquer to give the item a (literally) shimmering glean. During my brief time sporting this " Violet Dawn" dial watch, I organised it up to a window once or twice to compare the dial within indoor and outdoor light. It was fascinating to see the way it reacted so diversely under various conditions.



Thankfully, the caseback, etched with a more highly discreet, frosted Grand Seiko brand, reveals the Caliber 9RB2 automatic Spring Drive mobility. It boasts a 72-hour reserve of power and exceptional accuracy connected with ±20 seconds per year (approximately ±3 seconds per month). Grand Seiko attributes that performance improvement to a completely new manufacturing and processing solution to the quartz crystal, and an improved temperature-compensating integrated rounds. Furthermore, a lesser-known attribute: for the first time, a Spring Drive movement features a regulating transition, making maintenance much easier for any watchmaker.



That watch, powered by a amazing Spring Drive movement, is often a truly stunning sight. A lot of the dial is so beautiful, I personally hope that it will work as a regular production model combined with titanium SLGB003, rather than a confined edition. However , I hope that a person day we will see a non-limited edition UFA stainless steel unit, preferably with a micro-adjustable form.