In an era of battery-operated and automatic movements, watches featuring manual winding may seem a little passé. The fact that there are still so many on the market is in part due to the longevity of the watch movements but also to the emotional attachment their use elicits. Winding the watch daily has a sensory appeal. It is a lovely ritual that can serve to reinforce the connection to a product like a watch. For the first time in 50 years, luxury Japanese watch brand Grand Seiko has developed a new manual-winding movement, the calibre 9SA4, for the slim SLGW003 titanium dress watch with a black crocodile strap in the Evolution 9 Collection. Its architecture offers greater winding efficiency and a power reserve of 80 hours, displayed on the back. With an eye to providing the ultimate manual winding experience, particular attention was paid to the tactile and acoustic aspects of winding. The transparent back of the case allows users to see the movement and shows fine details inspired by the natural surroundings of the Grand Seiko Studio. The repeatedly engaging click spring, for example, is based on the typical pecking motion of a wagtail. As hand-wound movements save space, the watch is slim, and its low centre of gravity and gently curved side profile ensure it fits comfortably around the wrist. Its design antecedent can be traced back to the legendary 44GS from 1967, which was largely responsible for the creation of the Grand Seiko style, but it is more discreet and elegant. The distinctive, grooved indexes, for instance, have been slimmed down and create a beautiful contrast to the delicate, silky structure of the dial inspired by white birch bark. Case and clasp are made from a brilliantly hard, proprietary titanium alloy while the fine, discreet sheen of the watch is the result of an artisanal Zaratsu polishing technique. “Everything about the SLGW003 from the Evolution 9 Collection by Grand Seiko – from the proportionality of the components to the details such as the finishing and polishing – looks incredibly balanced and harmonious, a rare thing for a watch,” was the enthusiastic verdict of the jury. And, “the design language developed over decades by the brand has found its highest form of expression in this watch.”
