![]() After a bit of digging, it looks as though rather than a case finishing process, this refers to the composition of the metal alloy itself titanium, iron and niobium. Seiko is making the cases for this particular range of watches from what they’re calling ‘High-Intensity Titanium’. ![]() The applied markers make it a snap to read at a quick glance. All in all, it’s a standout dial in terms of legibility and clarity as well as interest. The minute hand is a classic Seiko diver-flared arrow end and again plenty of lume. That hour pointer is almost a cathedral hand with its three segments of lume. The brushed hour and minute hands stand out against it clearly (so does the polished second hand with its lumed lollipop base). The dial is just as readable as a plain black face (it still hits ISO 6425 standards for dive watches) and it looks gorgeous too. No matter where Seiko got the idea, it’s a cracker. It’s one of the largest ocean streams in the world. Grand Seiko tells us that the texture on the dial is supposed to reflect the “…dynamic and sometimes violent tides caused by the Black Stream…” This is the Kuroshio Current that runs northwards towards the North Pacific past Japan. Divers are supposed to be all about boring old utility, right? Not in this case. Just take a look at that dial presented in black. There’s perlage on the plate as well as anglage, heat-blued screws and the Grand Seiko name picked out in blue. Accuracy-wise, as you’d expect, the Spring Drive movement is precise with a variance of just 0.5 secs/day. Once fully powered, there’s a significant 5 days of reserve to keep you going. In this case, the Grand Seiko Ushio Tide Spring Drive SLGA015 is powered by the 38 jewel Spring Drive 5 Days cal. The nearest comparison would be the way an old tuning fork Accutron movement’s second hand looks when it’s running. You can spot a Spring Drive by the way the second hand doesn’t tick or even stutter round the dial in tiny steps – it simply glides. The escapement and balance get replaced with a ‘glidewheel’ that powers the watch’s second hand and is regulated with an electromagnetic brake. You get the ‘soul’ of a mechanical watch, with its going train (minus balance and escapement) but the accuracy and reliability of quartz. There’s been plenty written about the Spring Drive movement, so suffice to say it’s a mechanical/quartz hybrid that combines the best of both methods of timekeeping. Since then, the movement has been through four manual-winding calibres and 19 automatic variations before the current two movements saw the light of day. It took more than 20 years from Yoshikazu Akahane’s original idea for the Spring Drive movement to turn into the first Japan-only production model in 1999. There’s no way the watchmaker will send anything out into the world that isn’t as damn near perfect as it can be. It’s fair to say that this attention to detail means Seiko doesn’t go rushing into things. On the contrary, they extend to their unique Spring Drive calibres, just like the one you’ll find in the Grand Seiko Evolution 9 SLGA015. However, the brand’s talents are not just limited to making mechanical movements fitted with the brand’s dual impulse escapement. The Mens’ Watch Prize at the 2021 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) went to its Hi-Beat 36000 80 Hours cal. The Grand Seiko Shinshu Watch Studio alone needs an extension for the watchmaking awards they’ve won. It’s not just persnicketiness for persnicketiness’ sake, though. If Seiko is ‘a bit obsessive’, GS is the sort of place where each sugar crystal in the bowls on the staff canteen tables is hand-polished. Even a basic Seiko will have a finish and a quality that a lot of other makers charging a great deal more would envy. It will do it to a remarkably high standard, too. ![]() Where other watchmakers may buy in a dial here, a set of hands there, a case from somewhere else, Seiko will do it all by itself. It’s probably fair – and a compliment – to describe Seiko as ‘a bit obsessive’. Mark McArthur-Christie points out why Grand Seiko has a tendency to be, well, ‘a bit obsessive’, before going on to share his opinion on this fascinating subaquatic timepiece. The Grand Seiko Ushio Tide Spring Drive SLGA015, unveiled at Watches & Wonders 2022, redefines the utilitarian divers’ watch courtesy of its strongly patterned black dial, exquisitely polished case and supremely precise Spring Drive movement. ![]() Grand Seiko Ushio Tide Spring Drive SLGA015 Watch Review
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