Hands-On: Grand Seiko’s Record Breaking Ultra-Fine Accuracy Watches, SLGB001 And SLGB003

A watch, like many things, is a sum of its parts. But it’s rare when two parts are such big news that they threaten to be bigger than the watch itself. Grand Seiko’s SLGB001 and SLGB003 are solid releases – nice finishing, attention to detail, pretty dials – and, on paper, have everything we expect from the brand’s releases. But when Grand Seiko – a brand not frequent to boast – says that they have both likely broken a world record for mechanical accuracy and given the community the micro-adjust it’s asked for, well, it’s easy to understand why it’s easy to miss the forest for the trees.

First, this is (as far as I can tell and Grand Seiko has found) the most accurate watch in the world powered by a mainspring. Yes, it’s a Spring Drive movement with a quartz oscillator, but ±20 seconds per year (yes, per year) is an outstanding achievement that culminates decades of work for Grand Seiko. 

In 1969, the brand released its first “Very Fine Adjusted” movement, which was ±1 minute per month. Now, 56 years later, the new 9RB2 caliber – the Ultra Fine Accuracy or U.F.A – is 36 times more accurate. It’s also nine times more accurate than the Caliber 9R86 – Grand Seiko’s next most accurate movement today. On top of all that, the movement has a solid 72-hour power reserve and a compact 30mm by 5.02mm size. While I might have missed a few releases at this Watches and Wonders, this watch alone, as it stands now, would have been enough to rank among the most impressive achievements this year—but they didn’t stop there. 

Last fall, I sat down for an interview with Seiko Watch Corporation President Akio Naito while I was in Japan for a tour of Grand Seiko’s manufacturing. After I ran through all of my prepared questions, we approached the end of our allotted time. Mr. Naito then asked, “so what do you really want to ask me?” I replied, “well, since you asked – and opened the door before – let’s talk about bracelets.”

Mr. Naito, of course, was aware of the feedback from customers who thought that Grand Seiko’s bracelets were holding the brand back. He acknowledged that changes were coming, specifically micro-adjust, in a comment on LinkedIn that went (the watch nerd version of) viral. But my unscripted question caused at least one PR person in the room to tilt their head back as if to say, “not this again.” Naito said, among other things, “we haven’t been able to execute it fully yet, so there’s no timeline. But the idea is there.” Well, it’s far more than an idea now. It’s a reality, and it works quite well.

The newly introduced three-step micro-adjust gives the new High-Intensity Titanium bracelet an extra 6mm of total flexibility. However, it functions essentially the same as most similar bracelets on the market. Pressure on the inside of the clasp near the arrows releases the bracelet and lets it slide smoothly before locking it into a groove, which makes for a watch that fits much better and has fewer cumbersome adjustments. The watch in the image below wasn’t sized to my wrist, but I adjusted it to fit just fine.

It’s worth noting that the bracelet isn’t going to be available on all models right away, nor will it retroactively find its way to watches beloved by collectors like the Snowflake, White Birch, or Shunbun. The bracelet also doesn’t have a significant amount of taper that some people might have wanted – it goes from 20mm to 18mm– but I’ve come around to it. I don’t want my Grand Seikos to be a Rolex with a Grand Seiko dial. This is how Grand Seiko has found balance for their cases, and it works.

But I think some people will overlook these two big portions of the SLGB003 (and the SLGB001, in platinum, which lacks the bracelet) because the watch looks pretty much like any other Grand Seiko. I’ve yet to decide if this is a good thing or an instance where I wish they would have punched up the dial. I had similar questions about the IWC Eternal Calendar last year, but eventually, I came around somewhat to the reserved design. It offers a lot at $10,900 compared to the rest of the market.

The dial supposedly emulates the hard frost on the trees near the Grand Seiko Spring Drive studio in Shinshu, but more simply, it looks like a herringbone pattern. Research has shown that white dials are more versatile and sell better, but I’m curious to see what else they can do with the movement and bracelet in future releases. This is a big part of what excites me about these releases—not the watches themselves (though they’re quite nice) but the options for the future.

The U.F.A. Spring Drive Caliber 9RB2 deserves an in-depth story when the dust from Watches and Wonders settles, but here are the basics for now. In addition to the 72-hour power reserve, a power reserve indicator is visible through a skeletonized rotor. The movement uses a quartz oscillator that has been aged for three months. A newly designed integrated circuit with thermo-compensation programmed for each watch and individual oscillator. These are vacuum-sealed to minimize temperature differences and protect against external factors such as humidity, static electricity, and light, ensuring precise temperature adjustments and stable performance. And, for the first time in Spring Drive, the movement has a regulation switch that can be used during after-sales service to correct any divergences in accuracy.

The SLGB001 and SLGB003 were purposefully sized at 37mm by 11.4mm. I don’t think this is the most practical sizing for the average consumer. Yes, it’ll play well in Japan, but 39mm might have been better in the United States. But that’s not the point (from my perspective). The point is to prove that you can make a small watch – and in fact, I think Grand Seiko could go smaller. But they kept it here, with cases in titanium and platinum, and still maintained 100m of water resistance.

The SLGB001 is an interesting watch, and I’m sure the brand will sell all 80 pieces, even at $39,000. The ice blue dial is eye-catching, and the watch’s size makes it suitable for most people.

The reality is, I can nearly guarantee this isn’t the most interesting application of the U.F.A. we’ll see – not by a long shot. What one collection from Grand Seiko struggles the most in terms of wearability? For my money, it’s the dive watches. At 44mm by 14mm, the SBGA463 is a beefy watch. Some people will like it, some won’t, but imagine a Grand Seiko diver with a case that measures 39mm by 11.5mm and 100m of water resistance. Or what is a slightly more robust 200m at 40mm by 12.5mm? With hyper-accurate movement and micro-adjust, now, all of a sudden, I’m shopping for a Grand Seiko diver for the first time.

This is a rare instance where two strong releases from Watches and Wonders aren’t about the releases themselves but the potential for the future. The SLGB001 and SLGB003 are going to be the right watches for a lot of customers. But for everyone else, there’s plenty more where this came from.

For more information and specifications, read our Introducing story or visit Grand Seiko’s website.

Stay tuned for more over the coming days from Watches and Wonders – you can follow all of the show’s new releases right here.

​Hodinkee 

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