It feels like Grand Seiko’s Spring Drive movements are always causing headlines. Not least of all because most publications feel the need to explain how they actually work and create dedicated guides on the subject – even we have. That’s because they’re technically a hybrid form of movement that uses a mechanical mainspring to power a quartz regulator in the escapement, allowing for insane levels of accuracy and precision. And now Grand Seiko are ratcheting up the accuracy to an even higher degree with the launch of the next generation Spring Drive movement, the 9RB2, which is making its debut in the Evolution 9 Spring Drive U.F.A Ice Forest.
Jumping straight to the movement, the headline feature here is the fact it has an accuracy rating of +/- 20 seconds per year. That’s right, per year – which is where the U.F.A designation comes from, Ultra Fine Accuracy. As a human I am prone to the occasional typo and I remember an article from years ago in which I accidentally wrote that a watch had an accuracy of +/- X seconds per year instead of day – the commenter who pointed the error out to me and I both laughed at how ridiculous it would be for a mechanical watch with a mainspring to have an annual accuracy rating and the mistake was quickly rectified. But thanks to Grand Seiko, we now live in a reality where an annual rate is possible and the typo that keeps me up at night doesn’t look quite so ridiculous anymore.
Achieving this level of accuracy over such a long period is made possible thanks to a new and enhanced quartz oscillator in conjunction with a redesigned IC. An IC, or Integrated Circuit, is the small circuit board that translates the power input from the watch into electrical instructions for the quartz oscillator. The IC is capable of monitoring atmospheric conditions such as temperature and compensating for those with the oscillator to account for micro changes in accuracy.
In order to ensure optimum operating conditions, it’s protected in a vacuum-sealed compartment inside the watch to protect it from humidity, static electricity and even light, that might interfere with it. Additionally, for the first time in a Spring Drive movement, it features a regulation switch so that it can be micro-adjusted during after-sales servicing to correct any deviations in accuracy over long periods of time. All of which contribute to the new U.F.A designation found inscribed on the dial.
Of course, a brand new Spring Drive movement needs a home and Grand Seiko are debuting it in a choice of two watches. They’re essentially variations of the same watch in different materials with slight differences in dial colour too. They’re both Evolution 9 models, which is GS’s sporty, angular collection, though only the SLGB003 with its high intensity titanium case could be described as sporty. That’s because the second version, SLGB001, is made from Platinum 950, turning the luxury level up to 11 and beyond.
As for the dials, they feature a new engraved dial texture known as Ice Forest. It’s one of GS’s more stylised patterns that looks almost like paint strokes creating a geometric, almost cross-hatched motif. It’s inspired by the visual of a forest blanketed in snow to such a degree that the trees look like large frozen mounds rather than living plants. Historically I’ve always been a proponent of the less stylised dials that feel more like genuine natural textures but I actually really like this one. It almost appears to shift the more you zoom in on the dial and I suspect that you could lose hours studying it under a loupe. The SLGB003 titanium has a silver version of the design while the SLGB001 platinum has a blue tint to it.
Due to the dramatically different materials on display here, the prices of the two Grand Seiko Evolution 9 Spring Drive U.F.A Ice Forest watches are also wildly different. The luxurious platinum edition is £35,500 and the titanium is £9,950. For a watch that, if kept wound with its automatic rotor and 72-hour power reserve, won’t need significant adjustment for 12-months, that’s pretty mad.
Price and Specs:
More details at Grand Seiko Boutique.
