Grand Seiko SLGA008 Review: Checking out the “Annual Rings”

The Grand Seiko SLGA008 “Annual Rings” watch is a 140th-anniversary limited edition Spring-Drive-powered collectible and one of my absolute favorites. Read on to see why I love this watch so much and how the evolution of Grand Seiko as a brand has influenced its flawless design.

It is true that some of the most beautiful things in life come in small doses, and the Grand Seiko Spring Drive “Annual Rings” SLGA008 watch is the perfect example of one of them. Just 140 models of this kind were released back in December 2021, celebrating 140 years of the Seiko Watch Corporation. 

For those of you who don’t know, Grand Seiko belonged to Seiko before becoming completely independent in 2017. The move made perfect sense since GS has always been distinct in its design language, its characteristics, and its presentation. 

Becoming an entity of its own enabled the brand to pitch itself much higher than Seiko in the market. It paved the way for watches like the “Annual Rings” anniversary watch, complete with a dial that carefully balances light and dark nuances across yet another nature-inspired dial. 

As with any Grand Seiko watch from the popular Evolution 9 series, there’s a lot to unpack. But to appreciate the watch that honors the heritage of this Japanese brand in more ways than one, we must step back to the very beginning.

The Foundations of Grand Seiko

When you think about it, Grand Seiko is a relatively young brand. Some of the most prestigious names in the industry have been around for over 200 years. Take, for example, Blancpain, which was founded in 1735. The company is still in operation and remains the oldest registered watchmaker in history, closely followed by Vacheron Constantin, of course. 

The Geneva watchmaker has a tapestry of beautiful instruments under its belt, including the Overseas and the Traditionelle, and belongs to the “Holy Trinity” of Haute Horlogerie alongside Audemars Piguet and Patek Philippe. And how about Breguet? The Maison can lay claim to the first wrist-worn watch, commissioned by the Queen of Naples back in 1810.

Looking at some of the oldest watchmakers in the world, their stories derive from innovations like the pocket watch. Not Grand Seiko, though. The Japanese brand originates from a country steeped in watchmaking history but one where traditions merge with futuristic revelations like the quartz movement and the Spring Drive (I’ll get to that bit shortly). Grand Seiko’s story is a relentless pursuit of excellence and innovation, and a huge part of appreciating models like the GS SLGA008 requires a look at the company’s evolution and how its impeccable Spring Drive came to be.

The roots of Grand Seiko stem from the district of Ginza in Tokyo, where Kintarō Hattori founded Seiko in 1881. By the 1950s, Seiko was making huge waves internationally. And while the brand became a go-to for affordable and highly accurate wristwatches during the 1960s, Seiko had other bold ambitions. It wanted to create something altogether more refined and exquisite. A series that would come to define the pinnacle of Japanese watchmaking. 

Grand Seiko arrived and captured the essence of horological perfection. Its liberating designs showed the world it was here to lead, not to follow. The company’s birth in 1960 spawned the Hi-Beat movements, promising greater accuracy with a performance of 10 beats per second. But that was not the end of the brand’s horological endeavors. In fact, it was just the beginning…

The Grand Seiko Quartz Astron exemplified a new-found efficiency in timekeeping in 1969. It was the first watch in history to be powered by a quartz movement. The Caliber 35A differed drastically from the mechanical movement, requiring the use of a small electrical charge generated by a battery as opposed to a coiled mainspring. 

The vibrational frequency of the quartz crystal that received this battery’s charge, so profound, superseded that of the mechanical oscillator, vibrating at a frequency of 32,768 times per second as opposed to a mechanical’s 3 or 4 times per second. The efficiency of the quartz movement soon took off, sending many traditional Swiss manufacturers into turmoil. Many succumbed to the crushing effect of the crises, with quartz not only proving cheaper and faster to produce but also more accurate.

The Pathway to the Spring Drive

The Spring Drive movement by Grand Seiko features many covetable timepieces in the brand’s catalog today. Some examples include the “Omiwatari”, inspired by the snow-dusted landscape surrounding the company’s watchmaking facilities, and the frozen lake phenomenon across Lake Suwa near Shiojiri. Also, the “White Birch” watch is influenced by the birch highland forests that surround the Grand Seiko studios. The movement is also featured in the SLGA008 “Annual Rings” watch.

The origins of the Spring Drive were in the making long before these models arrived, however. Work started on the innovations at Seiko back in 1977, which, for me, is what makes the movement so special. This was no flippant overnight “fad”. Seiko specialists wanted this movement to be the ultimate benchmark setter in precision and efficiency for years to come. 

It was neither mechanical nor quartz but a masterful blend of both. This fusion of mechanical and quartz engineering played an integral role in modern watchmaking. Pretty soon, Grand Seiko’s signature sweeping second hand became a fascination for collectors. It took more than 15 years to perfect the movement, and it was 2004, by the time the first GS watch came outfitted with one.

The Grand Seiko movement uses the “Tri-Synchro Regulator” to control the mainspring as it unwinds and converts this energy into electricity. The electricity then powers a quartz oscillator. All the while, the smooth continuous gliding motion of the graceful second hand across the dial is all that the wearer sees – a harmonious blend of innovation and tradition. 

Since its birth, the Spring Drive movement has become a philosophical statement of excellence and a standard by which many other rival companies can only aspire to achieve.

A Review of the Grand Seiko SLGA008 “Annual Rings”

Personally, I feel like the SLGA008 has a lot to offer the modern watch enthusiast. As with all Grand Seiko watches, the case finishes, execution of the movement, and meticulously crafted dial are all next level. It doesn’t mean to say that every GS watch is met with such resounding success. In the past, the company has been accused of creating boring designs that don’t stand out enough. 

But I can’t quite see how anyone with a penchant for collecting quality wristwatches could look at a Grand Seiko design and feel that it looked similar to anything else on the market. These are not boring designs. As is always the case, the beauty is in the finer details – details that only a true connoisseur can appreciate once they look beyond its face value to see where its true ingenuity lies.

The Case

In terms of wearability, I’d say that the GS ref. SLGA008 watch wearers pretty well. This is a 40mm watch with a lug-to-lug measurement of 47mm, which is an important part of its dimensions. This is a nice fit for a 6-6.5 inch wrist and wears smaller than its spec list would suggest. 

The lug-to-lug measurement, although it sounds quite large on paper, is relatively understated on the wrist thanks to the warm tones of the 18k rose gold case and the chocolate brown tones of both the dial and the alligator leather strap. 

You have to appreciate that at 47mm, this measurement enables a 40mm watch case to become an accessible option for those with slenderer wrists without testing the edges. Other dimensions include a 12.5mm case depth and a strap width of 22mm.

Now, anyone who collects Grand Seiko watches will tell you that the brand excels in the field of case execution. Its Zaratsu polishing technique is second to none and exclusive to Grand Seiko watches. It’s what elevates these dress watches to the high-end, respectable, and refined timepieces that they are. 

While this is not the most affordable of GS watches (being a limited edition model and a solid gold one at that), the brand does execute all of its cases to the same standard, incorporating the same level of attention to detail in each one. This is just an example of standard practice that the brand willingly offers its audience, constituting great value for money. 

Let’s be fair, these are not the most expensive watches out there, but high-grade finishes on a case like this certainly make them feel like they are.

The SLGA008 is abundant in these high-end finishes.  For example, I really like the way the sides of the bezel are polished, yet the top of the bezel is adorned with a vertical brushed finish. It adds depth and dimension to the design, rather than the dial itself holding all the detail. 

The brushed bezel is an unusual look in a dress watch, especially since a polishing technique is often used to enhance that all-important high-end feel of an elegant timepiece. Other features of the SLGA008 include a 100-meter water resistance and a large prominent crown at 3 o’clock, engraved with the GS logo and finished with a grooved surface to aid grip.

The Dial

I’d be lying if I said the dial of the Grand Seiko Spring Drive “Annual Rings” SLGA008 watch wasn’t the star of the show. It clearly acts as the portal through which the brand’s artistic flair is expressed. As I mentioned earlier, the watch belongs to the Evolution 9 series, which is no stranger to avant-garde innovations. 

These designs impart the brand’s reverence for nature and Japan’s ephemeral beauty. Whether a crisp snow-covered landscape, a frozen lake phenomenon, a petal from a native flower, or the drifting cherry blossoms of springtime – all Evolution 9 Series watches have their own story to tell. The collection has been going strong since 2020, incorporating the brand’s values known as “Takumi”. 

For those innovating these masterpieces at the GS design studios, the spiritual ideals of “Takumi” are a way of life. They are the company’s values, passed down from one generation to another. Part of that concept underpins the time-honored techniques mastered by the craftsmen to achieve these textured dials.

The dial of the SLGA008 is a rich chocolate brown color, which pairs beautifully with the rose gold elements chosen to echo the material of the case. I love how the inviting gold-colored hour markers have been polished and faceted with precision. They enable light to catch them, enhancing their blush-pink tones against an indulgent brown backdrop. Underneath the 12 o’clock hour marker is the GS name and logo. 

Even the central hour and minute hands have received a beautiful, faceted edge, which enables light to skim over them, creating reflections and shadows wherever possible. The sweeping second hand, a sure sign of that Spring Drive engine, travels over the brand logo effortlessly while protected beautifully under a dual-curved sapphire crystal.

What I like about this dial is that Grand Seiko experts have left it open to interpretation. While there is no denying that its texture beautifully captures the growth rings of an internal tree trunk, the shade of the dial is also reminiscent of coffee or delicious fondant icing on a chocolate cake. 

Whatever this dial does for you, it certainly imparts that all-important sense of indulgence that the company is so revered for. The date window is also trimmed in a rose golden frame, which makes the numerals stand out with more assertiveness.

The Movement

As you’ll already know by now, the Grand Seiko SLGA008 uses the brand’s hybrid quartz-come-mechanical movement – the Spring Drive. The Caliber 9RA2 is an incredibly accurate movement (around half a second a day, to be precise). It belongs to the 9R series and follows on from its predecessor, the 2020 Caliber 9RA5. The 9RA2 was launched by Grand Seiko in 2021 and boasted an impressive 5-day power reserve. 

Thanks to a repositioning of its Magic Lever system, it measures slimmer, while two barrels facilitate a power reserve of 120 hours. This is a great feature for those who have several timepieces that they like to rotate regularly. 

Collectors often refer to watches with ample power reserve capabilities as “weekend-friendly” watches. It means that if you were to take the watch off after work on a Friday and alternate it with another favorite over the weekend, you could return to the watch on a Monday morning to find it had kept the perfect time for you. 

Movements like this also come with an in-built temperature sensor that continually checks for temperature fluctuations while maintaining accuracy to within +/- 10 seconds per month.

If you followed my recent review of the “Omiwatari” watch, you’ll be aware that it shares many characteristics with the “Snowflake” watch, save for the power reserve indicator on the dial. For the “Omiwatari, GS specialists chose to relocate the power reserve indicator to the back of the case, donating more space and clarity to the watch’s beautifully textured dial. 

The “Annual Rings” SLGA008 watch adopts this same design language. You can admire the power reserve indicator through the back of the case while also appreciating the harmonious performance of the Spring Drive in action.

However, if you were to admire the movement much closer through the watch’s sapphire exhibition window, there are even more exquisite details to fall in love with. Grand Seiko artisans execute the bridges and plates in a way that evokes Japan’s natural beauty, its landscape, and its climate. They feature a frosted effect that emulates the snow-covered forests of Shinshu. Similar to how the Zaratsu-polished edges and angles of a Grand Seiko case interact with light, the diamond-cut bridges are a particularly impressive element of the engine, as are the heat-tempered screws and power reserve indicator hand in blue. These are all really nice touches from Grand Seiko – reminders that these are no ordinary dress watches.

The Strap

I think the brown alligator leather strap pairs beautifully with the GS ref. SLGA008 watch’s dial. Quite honestly, I couldn’t imagine this watch on anything other than a brown leather strap or stainless steel bracelet. That said, there are smooth calf leather bands and ostrich leather straps you could outsource that would compliment the watch’s chocolatey brown tones.

If you want to opt for something different here, the key here is to find just the right strap color. You don’t want the beautiful nuances of the brown dial to be lost on a poorly matched band. For me, a classic brown leather strap is perfect on this watch. Grand Seiko pairs it with an 18k rose gold three-fold clasp engraved with the GS lettering and a push-button release mechanism.

The Pricing

The Grand Seiko SLGA008 currently retails for a little under $50k from authorized dealers like Exquisite Timepieces. As one of the most expensive Grand Seiko watches on the market, it begs the question, “Is it worth it?” I’d answer that question pretty simply, a Grand Seiko is worth whatever a collector is willing to pay for it. 

The same goes for pretty much any watch, really. It may not be the rarest of Grand Seiko watches, but you do have to take into consideration that the timepiece is produced in a limited batch, so not everyone will own one. It’s also crafted from 18ct rose gold.

It’s impossible to underappreciate this watch if you’re a keen Grand Seiko fan. The quality of finishing in the case and the detailing of the dial are second to none. The details have a nice change of pace, and the different finishes are impressive, to say the least. 

So, yes, this exclusive watch is worth the price to the right person, and the price simply becomes irrelevant if it’s what you want. Nevertheless, we certainly can’t ignore the fact that it’s one of the pricier models from Grand Seiko’s catalog.

The Takeaway

Grand Seiko arrived on the scene amidst a backdrop where Swiss craftsmanship was seen as the gold standard in accuracy and quality. It changed things up. The reference SLGA008 is just one of many examples of the brand’s pursuit of perfection, but it is one of the most beautiful collectibles to own. 

This watch, along with so many other creations from the company’s “The Nature of Time” concept, captures a moment, transforming tangible, transient natural beauty into a piece of timekeeping art. Grand Seiko’s Evolution 9 collection is home to models that are so much more than just luxury dress watches, and that’s what I love about the SLGA008.

And even beyond aesthetics, these watches are built from the ground up by specialist craftsmen who dedicate thousands of hours to the traditional techniques that define them. The Zaratsu polishing and wave-like dial effect, serving to capture the age rings on the internal trunk of a tree, are all favorite features of mine, and in a way, they personify the evolution of Grand Seiko itself.

Grand Seiko crafts watches like the SLGA008 in an imaginative way. More than anything else, though, it is the band’s solid and steadfast approach to watchmaking that keeps enthusiasts like me so engaged and longing for more.