Over the past few years, the Grand Seiko Evolution 9 series has become one of the stars of the watch world. Debuting in 2020, the collection was launched with the intent of honoring the company’s history and the nation of Japan, all while introducing the world to a new generation of its famed Spring Drive movements.
One of the highlights of Evolution 9 was the White Birch, which has had several takes on the textured dial. However, with its latest timepiece, GS rearranges the tree-inspired markings to evoke the imagery of Japan’s Mount Iwate. Let’s take a look.
Why Mount Iwate?
If you’ve followed Grand Seiko closely in recent years, you’ll notice a lot of timepieces taking inspiration from either Lake Suwa or Mount Iwate. While the former is located near the Shinshu Watch Studio where the brand makes its Spring Drive models, the latter is situated near their Shizukuishi Studio, where it makes its mechanical watches. Mount Iwate has been featured on the dials of several other collections since 2006 but this is essentially the first time it’s appearing in textured form in the Evolution 9.
Grand Seiko Evolution 9 Mount Iwate Ice-Blue SLGH027 Basics
Taking the vertical lines of the classic White Birch — achieved through a series of seven high-pressure stampings onto a brass dial base — the Mount Iwate Ice-Blue (ref. SLGH027) spirals them out a bit, almost like a sunray dial. Given an ice blue, almost white, color, the effect is supposed to give off the appearance of the snowy mountain peak as if viewed from above looking down. Rounding out the dial aesthetic, there’s also a steel blue center seconds hand amidst the Lumibrite-filled handset and applied indices.
The rest of the timepiece is business as usual, including the 40mm case made from Ever-Brilliant Steel, a steel alloy that shines whiter than stainless steel, finished with a combination of brushed and Zaratsu-polished surfaces. Ever-Brilliant Steel is also used for the adorned bracelet with an 18k rose gold folding clasp.
Powering the watch is the in-house Caliber 9SA5, an automatic movement with a 5Hz beat rate and the proprietary Dual Impulse Escapement with 80 hours of power reserve. You can view the movement through the caseback.
Spec Sheet
Case Size: 40mm
Lug-to-Lug: 47mm
Case Thickness: 11.7mm
Case Material: Ever-Brilliant Steel alloy
Water Resistance: 100m
Movement: In-house Caliber 9SA5 automatic
Band: Ever-Brilliant Steel bracelet
Limited Edition?: Yes, 1,200
Pricing & Availability
Limited to 1,200 pieces, the Evolution 9 Mount Iwate Ice-Blue SLGH027 will be priced at $10,500 when it drops in May. Head over to Grand Seiko’s website to learn more.
Recap
Grand Seiko Evolution 9 Mount Iwate Ice-Blue SLGH027
Grand Seiko taps its Evolution 9 collection for a beautiful Ice-Blue version that looks like the top of Japan’s Mount Iwate from above.
