Grand Seiko’s New Releases Are Some of My Fall 2024 Favorites

Many watch brands struggle with the same thing: striking a balance between offering the right number of distinct collections and the optimal number of references within each collection. Of course, watch companies — similar to those in many other consumer industries — are forced to continuously develop and offer new products in order to hold fast to notoriously fickle customer attention. Given the development cycle of a brand-new watch (often at least three years, sometimes much more) many of these new releases are simply new dial colors or slight aesthetic alterations. In watch industry parlance, this is often referred to as habillage, French for “dressing.”

Limited editions are another avenue for quickly developing and releasing new SKUs, as are watches made in partnership with other brands or individuals, which may or may not be limited. Waves of such timepieces released in close succession can be fatiguing for the consumer, making for a bloated catalog that’s difficult to parse. Grand Seiko, for one, does engage in much habillage. However, I’m more forgiving in my judgment of this practice in the Japanese brand’s case for one simple reason: namely, that it makes some of the most stunning dials in the industry.

And we’re not talking about hand-guillochéd masterworks, or the type of thing produced on an old rose engine lathe that takes Josh Shapiro 150 hours to make. (And man, are those incredible.) I’m talking about the type of thing that you can buy all day long for under $10,000, but whose color and finish is so mesmerizing and unusual that you can’t help but be drawn to it. Frankly, if the Spring Drive watch in question is the 18th such Spring Drive watch of the year — fine. At the end of the day, if a new dial color is enough to draw me in and hold my interest, then that’s good enough for me.

Grand Seiko Evolution 9 Collection Spring Drive 5 Days SLGA025 — Evolution 9 Collection Spring Drive 5 Days SLGA025

Grand Seiko

Take these two recently released Grand Seiko references, for example: the Evolution 9 Collection Spring Drive 5 Days SLGA025 and the Heritage Collection Hi-Beat 36000 SBGH347. Beginning with the former, the SLGA025 joins a product line that includes plenty of SKUs with both mechanical as well as Spring Drive-powered movements. But within the Spring Drive category, each is distinct enough to offer both collectability and variety. The SLGA025’s dial is particularly striking: Referencing the emerald water of the Atera River in Nagano Prefecture, its texture appears to actually flow across the dial, making for a handsome watch that’s well balanced by a high-intensity titanium case and bracelet. The Spring Drive Caliber 9RA2 beating inside combines the best in quartz and mechanical technology in order to provide 120 hours of power reserve.

Grand Seiko Heritage Collection Hi-Beat 36000 SBGH347 — Heritage Collection Hi-Beat 36000 SBGH347

Grand Seiko

The Heritage Collection Hi-Beat 36000 SBGH347, meanwhile, features a vertically brushed, ice-blue dial that recalls the frozen Nanataki Waterfall in Iwate Prefecture. (Many of Grand Seiko’s designs, you’ll notice, are inspired by Japan’s breathtaking natural beauty.) Complemented by highly faceted dauphine hands and applied indices, the icicle-like appearance is further brought to life by the Ever-Brilliant Steel case and bracelet — one whose alternating brushed and polished edges and perfect proportions encapsulate much of what makes Grand Seiko’s watches so attractive to the design set. The automatic Hi-Beat Caliber 9S85, meanwhile, with 55 hours of power reserve and 35 jewels, is accurate to +5 to -3 seconds per day.

Bring Back These Vintage Watches, Please

Yes, we need horological innovation and fresh blood. We’d also love to see these old classics return.

Blue dials are less widely seen — and perhaps less sartorially versatile — than their black and silver companions, but Grand Seiko’s are some of the best. Indeed, for those on the hunt for a slightly dressier, highly considered, high-end blue-dial watch, it’s tough to find better alternatives. But GS has one last trick up its sleeve for the fall, and though its dial is worlds more restrained than those of the SLGA025 and the SBGH347, it nonetheless packs a sizable punch: The new 45GS, available in both yellow gold and stainless steel, recreates an important model from 1968 that helped cement the famed “Grammar of Design” at Grand Seiko, thus securing the company’s legacy in crafting some of the world’s most aesthetically pleasing watches. (The Grammar of Design, a set of design rules established with the debut of the 44GS in 1967, was applied one year later to the slightly downsized 45GS, which otherwise made use of similar proportions and shapes.)

Grand Seiko Manual Hi-Beat 36000 80 Hours SLGW004 — The new 45GS in yellow gold

Grand Seiko

Limited to 1,200 pieces in steel and 200 in yellow gold, the slightly upsized 38.8mm case measures just 10.4mm thick and comes paired to a black crocodile leather strap. With its light cream (gold) or eggshell white (steel) dial complemented with typical G.S. applied indices and dauphine handset, this dress watch honors a timepiece that managed to anticipate the more adventurous, shaped aesthetic of 1970s watch design while retaining the restrained elegance of 1960s horology. Powering it is the manually-wound 9SA4 Hi-Beat movement, which features an 80-hour power reserve indicator on the reverse and is visible via a large sapphire caseback.

In a horological arms race for the attention of an ever-growing watch-buying public, it can be difficult for a brand to pare back its release strategy. With Grand Seiko, we can always count on a beautifully crafted watch with a stunning dial; the only difficulty becomes selecting one from a positive embarrassment of choices.