Spring Drive ‘Lake Suwa Before Dawn’

The textured dial of this timepiece is inspired by the beauty of the Suwa Lake located near the Shinshu studio in Japan, where Grand Seiko Spring Drive watches are created.

The design represents the ‘Nature of Time’ – a uniquely Japanese spirituality where time is viewed as nature itself with each fleeting moment, minute and second a unique expression, unveiled through light and shadow. The watchmakers’ pride in their surroundings is represented from engineering watch movements which emulate the smooth motion of time passing, to creating dials reflecting the beauty of Japanese nature. The dial pattern reflects the gentle ripples of the peaceful Suwa lake and this serenity belies its forward-looking accuracy inside, featuring the latest in-house built 9RA2 Spring Drive movement with a 5 day power reserve.

This timepiece is within the Evolution 9 Collection; watches created with a contemporary design format based on the recognisable 1967 44GS Grand Seiko Style. This new grammar of design takes the brand’s ideals of beauty, legibility and wearability to new levels with nine design elements, based around the three design principles; an “evolution in aesthetics” – reflecting light, an “evolution in legibility” – through clear markers and prominent hands, and an “evolution in comfort” making it easier and more durable to wear.

The SLGA021 is powered by the in-house proprietary 9RA2 Spring Drive movement which generates energy like a traditional mechanical watch but combines this with an electronic regulator to deliver a level of precision that no mechanical watch can match. The signature of Spring Drive is the smooth motion of its Second hand, moving in a silent and beautiful glide motion, rather than the tick of a quartz watch or the rapid beat of a mechanical watch.

The 9RA2 calibre has a ±10 seconds per month accuracy and a slim design through the Offset Magic Lever. The position of the crown is back, giving the watch a low centre of gravity and comfort on the wrist and its Dual-size Barrels of differing sizes mean expanded capacity in a small space to provide a 120 hour power reserve. The One-piece Centre Bridge provides the movement’s strength, durability and shock resistance.

Every Grand Seiko features signature high standards of precision, durability and legibility, handcrafted in Japan by Takumi artisans. Grand Seiko: beautifully, precise Japanese watchmaking, from the pinnacle of Seiko Watch Corporation’s in-house ‘manufacture.’