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



Crafted from Everbrilliantsteel, the new watch features a dial every bit as striking as its high-precision movement.

This spring, at the "Watches & Wonders" exhibition in Geneva, Grand Seiko unveiled its record-breaking Spring Drive Caliber 9RB2 to the world. According to Grand Seiko, it's the most accurate mainspring-driven watch movement currently available, boasting an accuracy of ±20 seconds per year. This is by design. The Spring Drive movement eschews purely mechanical construction, juxtaposing a traditional mainspring and gear train with a proprietary sliding wheel and integrated circuit with a quartz crystal. This creates the truly smooth Spring Drive movement we've come to expect and love. Yet, its accuracy is astonishing by any standard, marking a significant leap forward for Grand Seiko's Spring Drive work at the Shinshu Toki no Takumi workshop.

Following the platinum SLBG001 and the bright titanium SLGB003, Grand Seiko recently unveiled the third model in its UFA collection—the new SLGB005. From a distance, you might mistake it for just another 37mm titanium model, with just a different dial. While the two are very similar, subtle changes set it apart.

The SLGB005 is crafted from Grand Seiko's Ever Brilliant stainless steel, a material that is more corrosion-resistant than traditional steel alloys and has a slightly lighter hue, especially when polished. In the Evolution 9 design language, this primarily means brushed surfaces embellished with wide Zaratsu-polished chamfers. With a smaller case diameter of 37mm and a thickness of 11.4mm, and water-resistant to 100 meters, this watch will undoubtedly appeal to those who find the compact case of the SLGB001 a bit light, as it adds a touch of heft to their timepiece.

Perhaps confusing many Grand Seiko collectors is that this stainless steel model doesn't feature the new fine-adjustable clasp featured on the SLGB003, which was just released (and received widespread acclaim) in April of this year. This is likely because the steel clasp isn't ready for mass production yet, but it will undoubtedly disappoint many collectors who had hoped it would remain a fixture on subsequent releases.

As a visual identifier for this limited edition, an 18k rose gold Grand Seiko emblem is inlaid on the flat, standard Evolution 9 clasp. We've seen the 3D "GS" logo on the dial in gold finishes in the past, but I prefer the classic silver look on this watch, as it complements the dial's hue more beautifully. Honestly, I'd prefer the rose gold elements removed entirely or replaced with white gold, as they stand out too much against the watch's vibrant color scheme.

But I digress. The focus here is squarely on the dial. The "katauchi" (template) pattern, inspired by the frost-covered trees of Suwa Kirimine Plateau (near the Shinshu Toki-no-Takumi workshop), inherits the design of the previous two models. This nearly abstract herringbone pattern is a deep, inky purple, fading to a lighter purple toward the center. As with many of Grand Seiko's darker dials, the dark hue of the underlying lacquer coating appears solid and lustrous in dim light, transforming into a vibrant, undulating dial in bright sunlight. It wouldn't be a new Grand Seiko dial without a slightly poetic press release. In this case, the dial color is described as "reminiscent of a frosted forest emerging at dawn."

As we often say about many Grand Seiko dials, the embossed pattern in the "Violet Dawn" colorway is particularly gorgeous. While the Caliber 9RB2 was one of the most striking dials we saw at Watches & Wonders, ice blue as a dial color has never resonated with me. Therefore, I've longed for a darker dial on the Evolution 9 UFA. This new purple dial is absolutely stunning, with a gradient around the edges creating a dynamic look and just the right amount of lacquer to give it a (literally) shimmering sheen. During my brief time wearing this "Violet Dawn" dial watch, I held it up to a window several times to compare the dial under indoor and outdoor lighting. It was fascinating to see how it reacted so differently under various conditions.

Thankfully, the caseback, etched with a more discreet, frosted Grand Seiko logo, reveals the Caliber 9RB2 automatic Spring Drive movement. It boasts a 72-hour power reserve and exceptional accuracy of ±20 seconds per year (approximately ±3 seconds per month). Grand Seiko attributes this performance improvement to a new manufacturing and processing method for the quartz crystal, as well as an improved temperature-compensating integrated circuit. Furthermore, a lesser-known feature: for the first time, a Spring Drive movement features a regulating switch, making maintenance much easier for the watchmaker.

This watch, powered by a stunning Spring Drive movement, is a truly stunning sight. But since the dial is so stunning, I personally hope that it will become a regular production model along with the titanium SLGB003, rather than a limited edition. However, I hope that one day we will see a non-limited edition UFA stainless steel model, preferably with a micro-adjustable clasp.