Grand Seiko Adds a New Dress Watch with the 9SA4 Caliber to the Collection, Plus a New Tentagraph
Almost as soon as Grand Seiko released the SLGW002 and SLGW003 at Watches & Wonders 2024, we started to wonder what this new class of manually wound dress watch from one of our favorite brands might look like in different variants. This seemed like a natural platform for expansion, and we figured it was just a matter of time before we saw some alternative dial options and new metals. In the year and a half or so since Grand Seiko introduced these watches, and the 9SA4 caliber powering them, things have been quiet on the manually wound dress watch front. That is, until this week, when we finally got a peek at the new SLGW007, Grand Seiko’s first new launch with this case and movement since the big debut at Watches & Wonders last year. While the most obvious update on the surface here is certainly the new dark blue dial, it’s actually the case itself that really has my interest. The SLGW003, you’ll recall, was crafted from Grand Seiko’s Brilliant Hard Titanium. This is a very cool material, for sure, but has a niche appeal in a classically styled dress watch like this thanks to its ultra light weight and the associations we all have with titanium and tool watches. The SLGW007 is in stainless steel, and I’m incredibly curious to see how this might change the character of the watch on the wrist. One would certainly expect it to be a bit heavier, but I imagine the finishing will also have a slightly different, perhaps more traditional look to it, at least in the con...