A Condensed Guide To Grand Seiko Releases From 2024
Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you celebrated in style last night! As you may know, every year, we recap all the Seiko and Grand Seiko releases we covered here on Fratello. Last week, we published an overview of all the 2024 Seiko releases we wrote about. This time, we’ll focus on the Grand Seiko releases we covered in 2024. As we all know, with a stream of reference numbers as names, it can be hard to remember which watch is which. That’s why we created this overview of all the Grand Seiko goodness of the last 12 months.
Grand Seiko celebrated the 20th anniversary of its Spring Drive-powered watches in 2024. Due to this, the brand graced us with several new Spring Drive releases, reminding us of what makes the technology so special. But that was not all that we saw from Grand Seiko in 2024. Indeed, there was a wide variety of new references with all types of calibers. So, without further ado, let’s jump in.
Jumping into February for our first coverage
Our Grand Seiko coverage in 2024 started on the first day of February with the SBGX355 “Snowflake Quartz.” As Mike explained, the watch follows the design of the Grand Seiko Snowflake SBGA211, which is arguably the brand’s modern-day classic. However, thanks to the smaller 37mm High-Intensity Titanium case and quartz movement, the SBGX355 is a notably different watch.
But its most defining feature is the beautiful white dial with its windswept snowy texture and the beautiful blue seconds hand hovering above it. Inside the case, you will find the brand’s quartz 9F62 caliber, which offers an incredible accuracy of ±10 seconds per year. Overall, this was a stunning way to open the year alongside the 28.9mm STGF385 “Ladies’ Snowflake.”
February continued with Thomas’s hands-on review of the Grand Seiko SBGA497. It was the first of the 20th-anniversary Spring Drive models we covered in 2024. The 1,500-piece limited edition combined a 41mm High-Intensity Titanium case and bracelet with a stunning pink dial that reminds me of the brilliant SBGH413 “Shunbun.”
Inside the elegant case, you will find the automatic 9R65 Spring Drive caliber, which is accurate to ±15 seconds per month and has a 72-hour power reserve. In good Spring Drive tradition, a power reserve indicator sits between 7 and 8 o’clock on the dial, showing how much “juice” remains in the mainspring. The SBGA497 is a brilliant display of Grand Seiko’s watchmaking capabilities.
More impressive Grand Seiko releases in February
I already mentioned my favorite SBGA413 “Shunbun.” In February, Grand Seiko launched the Hi-Beat mechanical version of that 62GS model in two dial versions that Daan covered. The first featured a pink dial similar to that of the Shunbun and inspired by the cherry blossom petals hiding behind the spring snow. The green-dial version was inspired by the cherry flowers blooming and the young leaves sprouting simultaneously. But these watches are more than just Hi-Beat versions of the SBGH413.
These two new models also feature a smaller 38mm titanium case, perfectly fitting wrists of various sizes. Inside the case, you will find Grand Seiko’s familiar Hi-Beat caliber 9S85 ticking away at 36,000vph. Thankfully, Grand Seiko added the pink SBGH341 and the green SBGH343 to the regular collection, making them available to everyone (budget permitting, of course).
An abundance of brilliant Grand Seiko releases in April
During Watches and Wonders, we saw a plethora of wonderful Grand Seiko novelties. The standouts were the SLGW003 and SLGW002 “Birch Bark” that Thomas covered. This pair of Evolution 9 models introduced the manual-winding caliber 9SA4. Furthermore, the new 38.6mm cases proved the perfect modern evolution of the classic 1960s 44GS case. While the SLGW003 features a Brilliant Hard Titanium case, the 80-piece LE SLGW002 comes in 18K rose gold.
The new Hi-Beat caliber 9SA4 is based on the existing automatic caliber 9SA5 and offers 80 hours of power reserve and an accuracy of +5/-3 seconds per day. If that’s not impressive enough, the calibers look amazing and make for a stunning pair of watches that were a highlight of the fair in Geneva.
I covered the other new introductions during Watches and Wonders, including the Grand Seiko SLGH021 “Genbi Valley,” which joins the family of so-called “Birch” models in the Evolution 9 collection. Another standout was the Grand Seiko SBGJ277 “Sekkei,” which introduced a new colorway for the brand’s sports GMT series. Other highlights were the Grand Seiko SBGW314 “Hoshizukiyo” — another modern reinterpretation of the first Grand Seiko — and the two “Tokyo Lion” models.
The first of those was the Grand Seiko SBGE307, a sporty GMT, and the other was the SBGC275, a 700-piece limited edition. This sporty red-dial chronograph GMT commemorated the 20th anniversary of the 9R Spring Drive caliber.
In July, Lex went hands-on with the most spectacular Grand Seiko
Two years ago, Grand Seiko introduced the widely praised Kodo Constant-Force Tourbillon SLGT003. Then, during Watches and Wonders this year, the brand released the follow-up SLGT005. This new Kodo Constant-Force Tourbillon “Daybreak” brings a lighter overall aesthetic that looks spectacular and highlights the technical wizardry even better than the first model.
As Lex explained a few months after the watch’s release, the tourbillon of the caliber 9STL that powers the two Kodo models has an inner carriage that rotates at eight beats per second, while the constant-force mechanism rotates at one beat per second. The constant-force mechanism, which releases the energy from the mainspring into the movement in regular doses, is part of a unique construction with a tourbillon on the same axis. This follow-up SLGT005 was another great reminder of Grand Seiko’s watchmaking brilliance that stunned the world two years ago. It certainly impressed us again in 2024.
August saw more hands-on experiences with the new Grand Seiko releases
In early August, Mike went hands-on with the titanium Grand Seiko SLGW003 introduced during Watches and Wonders. As Mike stated, it was one of the absolute highlights of 2024 for the brand. With a new case shape and manual-winding movement, the lightweight SLGW003 greatly impressed him. He even stated that the new 9SA4 caliber can compete with the most expensive names from Switzerland. Coming from Mike, that says a lot.
More new introductions followed soon with a pair of USA-exclusive Spring Drive models to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Grand Seiko Spring Drive watches once more. Both the SBGA507 and SBGA509 combine a 44GS-style case with a stunning dial inspired by the morning and evening skies over Lake Suwa. As Daan explained, the linen-like texture of the dial is quite distinct, and it works well with the blue dial of the SBGA507.
Meanwhile, the SBGA509’s dial is somewhere between salmon and red, and the same texture looks nice here as well. Both watches house the brand’s Spring Drive caliber 9R65. The power reserve indicator on the dial of these two beautiful watches is a tell-tale sign of this. Grand Seiko released each watch as a 300-piece limited edition available only in the United States.
August was full of more warm surprises
We closed August out with the autumn-inspired Grand Seiko SBGY035 and SBGA499. These two Spring Drive additions to the brand’s Elegance line were produced in limited numbers, and each introduced a warm red dial.
One was the classic SBGY035 with its C-shaped case, produced in a limited run of 700 pieces. The other was the sportier SBGA499, which was limited to 1,300 pieces. The former houses the manual-winding Spring Drive caliber 9R31, which doesn’t have the power reserve indicator on the dial. However, the latter features the tried-and-true Spring Drive caliber 9R65, which prominently features the power reserve indicator on the dial.
September was a month full of highlights
In early September, Daan wrote about two new models that introduced the idea of winter while it was still warm outside. The first of these was the turquoise-dial Grand Seiko SLGA025. This titanium watch joined the Evolution 9 series, which also features the “Birch” models. The color of the Atera River inspired the watch’s dial, which has great depth and brings a lively note to the modern, angular design.
Inside the case, you will find the 9RA2 Spring Drive movement that Grand Seiko introduced with the Evolution 9 series. This Spring Drive caliber is accurate to ±0.5 seconds per day and offers a five-day power reserve.
Alongside the SLGA025, Grand Seiko introduced the 37mm SBGH347. The watch featured an ice-blue dial inspired by the frozen Nanataki Falls near Mount Iwate. It is made from Ever-Brilliant Steel and powered by the 9S85 Hi-Beat automatic movement.
This watch was a bit of a sleeper amid all the Grand Seiko goodness, but it won a battle in our Sunday Morning Showdown series when it beat the popular Rolex Datejust 36. This is perfect proof that you guys appreciate Grand Seiko as much as we do in the Fratello office.
The absolute highlight of the year
Grand Seiko also treated us to the highlight of the year in September. The SLGW004 and SLGW005 reintroduced Grand Seiko’s famous 45GS case style in proper fashion. As Thomas explained, the two watches perfectly respect the original design, size, and proportions of the 45GS models of the 1960s. The first of the two models was the 18K gold SLGW004 available in a limited run of 200 pieces. Grand Seiko also produced 1,200 pieces of the stainless steel SLGW005. Undoubtedly, these flew out the door once they became available in November.
Both versions house the hand-wound 9SA4 caliber that the brand introduced during Watches and Wonders. The design, the beautiful 38.8mm case, and the gorgeous movement make these perfect modern reissues of the Grand Seiko 45GS. As stated, they were a true highlight of the Grand Seiko releases this year!
A pair of European exclusives in October
October was barely a few days old when Grand Seiko treated us to a pair of beautiful European limited editions. As Mike explained, the Grand Seiko SBGY040 and SBGW321 feature mesmerizing dials inspired by tranquil Japanese gardens. The SBGW321 combines a 36.5mm 44GS-style case with a stunning red dial. The dial texture and color were inspired by the scales of Japanese carp, or nishikigoi (錦鯉), that live in the rich Japanese waters. Powering this 300-piece limited edition is the well-known hand-winding 9S64 caliber, which is accurate to +5/-3 seconds per day and offers 72 hours of power reserve.
The second model was the SBGY040, which is part of the Elegance collection. This watch combines a 38.5mm rose gold case with a deep blue textured dial. This one’s texture was inspired by the gentle ripples from a chisen teien (池泉庭園), or Japanese pond garden. Inside the rose gold case, you will find the in-house 9R31 Spring Drive caliber, which is part of the series of movements that celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2024. Later in October, Mike also had a chance to check out the models in the metal, so be sure to read his hands-on article about these two beautiful watches.
The last Grand Seiko release we reported on came in December
Finally, we rounded off our coverage of Grand Seiko’s 2024 novelties with the beautiful SBGH349 “Icefall.” Essentially, this watch is the titanium bigger brother of the steel SBGH347 that I mentioned earlier. It features a 40mm High-Intensity Titanium case and bracelet. Inside it lies a beautiful ice-blue dial inspired by the waterfalls around Mt. Iwate, which freeze due to the harsh winters in Iwate Prefecture.
The watch’s case shape takes after the first Grand Seiko 9S model from 1998, and it hasn’t aged a day. Inside the case, you will find the Hi-Beat 9S85 movement. This familiar automatic movement operates at 36,000vph and offers 55 hours of power reserve. The watch is the perfect lightweight counterpart of its smaller brother. Both watches look amazing and share similar dials. But they are for different people, making them a smart pair of Grand Seiko releases to close out the year in style.
Closing thoughts on Grand Seiko in 2023
With many new releases, it’s been another great year for Grand Seiko. The biggest introduction was the hand-wound caliber 9SA4, which debuted at Watches and Wonders and powered two pairs of extraordinary watches that were easy highlights of 2024. Overall, the stream of releases we covered was less extensive than last year. Nevertheless, it has been far from a quiet year for the Japanese brand. My undisputed highlight was the SLGW005.
I had a chance to try that out and was mesmerized by the watch. Grand Seiko did an amazing job bringing back the classic 45GS and honoring it by respecting the original watch’s details. It was nothing short of breathtaking in a year full of nice watches. After seeing all these releases in one article, we are sure plenty more great releases from the brand are coming up in 2025!
