Grand Seiko Give the “White Birch” the Spring Drive Treatment With SLGA009

The original Grand Seiko White Birch SLGH005 was widely lauded last year and rightly so, even winning the men’s watch prize at the GPHG. It brought GS’s Series 9 design to the forefront in a new way and combined a typically textured dial with their 9SA5 hi-beat movement. Now though, the design and dial are back in the form of the SLGA009, which houses a different calibre, the Spring Drive 9RA2. It’s about time, we were wondering when it would happen.

This release is very much a case of if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The angular Series 9 case with Zaratsu polishing is the same as before, albeit slightly thicker at 11.8mm as opposed to 11.7mm with a longer lug-to-lug length. Also, Grand Seiko have decreed that ‘Series 9’ shall henceforth be known as ‘Evolution 9’, although that doesn’t affect the watch at all.

Likewise, the dial is unchanged with the now iconic Shirakaba birch pattern preserved with the thick indexes and truncated hands. Interestingly, while the Spring Drive calibre that is now housed inside comes with a power reserve indicator, GS’s recent upgrade to the movement that places it on the back of the watch means the dial is undisturbed.

In addition to the power reserve indicator, the Spring Drive 9RA2 automatic movement also comes with the crazy specs that make it so popular: a 120-hour power reserve and an accuracy of +/- 0.5 seconds per day. When the hi-beat version was released, the overwhelming question from fans and us was when would the Spring Drive version follow? Well, now it’s here and all your prayers are answered.

Priced at £8,100 the SLGA009 is also £400 less than the original SLGH005. It’s win-win, a higher spec calibre and a lower price, yes please. The only minor drawback is the slightly larger proportions and that’s only 1mm here and 0.6mm there.