The much-anticipated refresh of Grand Seiko’s Evolution 9 line has arrived with new bracelets for six existing dials, as well as a newcomer and a mid-size version of the fan favourite Lake Suwa. The update brings much-improved bracelets to Grand Seiko’s upmarket, and very successful, Evolution 9 line, fuelling Seiko’s global ambitions for its flagship luxury brand.

If the UFA Ushio Diver launched earlier this year proved anything, it’s that Grand Seiko is listening to its customers, and those customers want slim watches, case back power reserve indicators, better bracelets, and a tool-less quick adjust clasp. The Evolution 9 line, launched six years ago in 2020, met half of these requirements, being let down by only the bracelet. With this refresh, the Evolution 9 becomes an even more competitive, and compelling, collection.

Unfortunately, the changes also come with a significant movement downgrade for the Spring Drive models, replacing the extended power reserve cal. 9RA2 with the simplified cal. 9RB2. That said, the UFA designation will be seen as a significant upgrade to all but the nerdiest collectors, making it a coup for Grand Seiko as the new movement adds value for the customer while presumably being less expensive to manufacture.

But before you run out to buy one of the five-day Spring Drive watches while supplies last, the new bracelet and clasp — in Ever-Brilliant Steel, no less — easily make up for two fewer days of going and simplified movement decoration. In short, the changes align the brand’s offerings with what consumers value. And the more sophisticated five-day movement will live on in existing and upcoming precious metal models.

For the Hi-Beat mechanical models, this generation is outright better than the outgoing and only a little more expensive. While these Hi-Beat models won’t hit stores until October, they will be well worth the wait. And last but not least, the new additions to the Spring Drive family are the mid-sized Lake Suwa SLGB015 and the new full-sized Moonlit Lake Suwa SLGB007, which are welcome extensions to the lineup — the former is a prospective addition to my watch box.

While most of these dials are direct transplants from the first generation Evolution 9 models, the dials of the updated Lake Suwa duo — the 40 mm SLGB013 and 37 mm SLGB015 — are a hint lighter than those of the outgoing models, and more obviously blue in low light rather than fading into black, and the Moonlit Suwa SLGB007 introduces a new colourway altogether. While the Spring Drive White Birch SLGB009’s dial is very different from its mechanical counterpart, that was also true of the first generation; the emerald-green Atera Valley SLGB011 is similarly unchanged.

The returning cast of mechanical models includes three flavours of birch – Night Birch SLGH029, White Birch SLGH031, and Green Birch SLGH033, as well as the refreshing Genbi Valley SLGH035.

The new bracelets feel more substantial than those they replace and more comfortable, being essentially an upsized version of those that equip the existing 37 mm Evolution 9 models. It now tapers from 22 mm down to 18 mm at the clasp on the 40 mm models and from 21 mm to 17 mm for the 37 mm Lake Suwa SLGB015.

Materials are the most significant change to the cases, with the new models made from the brand’s proprietary Ever-Brilliant Steel, only excepting the Night Birch SLGH029 and Moonlit Lake Suwa SLGB007 which are made of High-Intensity Titanium. This more lustrous and corrosion resistant alloy is similar in concept to Rolex’s Oystersteel, though the alloys are different. It is denoted by an EB marking on the case back, which is new for this wave of watches.

Seiko has made major strides in its bracelets, from the new Marinemasters to the new UFA dive watches launched earlier this year. The clasps on this octet are made in-house and feature three points of tool-less quick adjustment over 6 mm: simply rotate the bracelet to be perpendicular to the clasp, push in, and slide.

All the moving parts are well machined, and the overall package works well enough, though it cannot be easily resized while on the wrist, like Brogioli or Tudor clasps. Note that because of part sharing, some components of the Ever-Brilliant Steel clasps are made from titanium.

Like the cal. 9RA2 it replaces, the cal. 9RB2 features active temperature compensation and passive vacuum insulation, resulting in extremely stable timekeeping. Seiko’s official tolerance is within three seconds a month and 20 seconds a year. All Spring Drive movements feature a power reserve indicator which doubles as a stopwork, which some love but many don’t. As a result, the indicator has been assigned to the back of the watch.

The Hi-Beat models see no changes to the movement, still the 9SA5 with 80-hour power reserve thanks to two barrels and a modified Robin escapement optimized for high beat rates. Timekeeping standards are rather loose compared Grand Seiko’s Swiss peers — with a prescribed daily deviation of -1 to +8 seconds per day — but its decoration and construction are excellent for the price.

Grand Seiko Evolution 9 Hi-Beat (9SA5-00M0 & 9SA5-00N0)
Ref. SLGH029 (Night Birch)
Ref. SLGH031 (White Birch)
Ref. SLGH033 (Green Birch)
Ref. SLGH035 (Genbi Valley)

Diameter: 40 mm
Height: 11.7 mm
Material: Ever Brilliant Stainless Steel or High-Intensity Titanium
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 100 m

Movement: 9SA5
Features: Hours, minutes, seconds, and date
Frequency: 36,000 BPH (5 Hz)
Winding: Automatic
Power reserve: 80 hours

Strap: Bracelet with micro-adjust clasp

Limited edition: Not limited
Availability: At Grand Seiko boutiques and retailers starting October 2026
Price: US$11,400 (High-Intensity Titanium), $10,200 (Ever-Brilliant Steel) excluding taxes

Grand Seiko Evolution 9 Spring Drive UFA (9RB2-0AE0 & 9RB2-0AH0)
Ref. SLGB007 (Moonlit Lake Suwa)
Ref. SLGB009 (White Birch)
Ref. SLGB011 (Atera Valley)
Ref. SLGB013 (Lake Suwa)
Ref. SLGB0015 (Lake Suwa, 37 mm)

Diameter: 40 mm or 37 mm
Height: 11.7 mm
Material: Ever Brilliant Stainless Steel or High-Intensity Titanium
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 100 m

Movement: 9RB2
Features: Hours, minutes, seconds, date, and power reserve
Frequency: 32,768 Hz
Winding: Automatic
Power reserve: 72 hours

Strap: Bracelet with micro-adjust clasp

Limited edition: No
Availability: At Grand Seiko boutiques and retailers starting September 2026
Price: US$11,400 (High-Intensity Titanium), $10,200 (Ever Brilliant Stainless Steel) excluding taxes

For more, visit Grand-seiko.com.

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