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THE DIAL REFLECTS THE SERENITY OF THE FOREST SURROUNDING THE STUDIO IN JAPAN WHERE IT IS MADE GRANDSEIKO’SWHITEBIRCH
Grand Seiko has become widely recognized for its dial treatments, one of the elements that distinguish the Japanese watchmaker as a luxury brand. The dial of the Grand Seiko SLGA009, or White Birch, for example, is grooved to represent the trees of the white birch forest that surrounds the watchmaking studio in Shinshu, Japan, where all Grand Seiko Spring Drive watches are crafted. The watch bears Grand Seiko’s signature Series 9 case with a high zaratsu polish, a mirror-like finish that has attracted the attention of collectors to the Grand Seiko brand. It measures 40 mm wide by 11.8 mm thick, which makes it solid but wearable. The dial is set with dauphine hands and long chamfered markers. It contains Grand Seiko’s state-of-the-art Spring Drive Caliber 9RA2, a movement that
offers an impressive 120-hour (five-day) power reserve and a precision rate of +/- 0.5 seconds per day, or +/- 10 seconds per month. There is a stop seconds function for accurate, to-the-second setting, and a date function, displayed at 3 o’clock. In 2017, Seiko Corporation separated its hand-assembled luxury collection, Grand Seiko, from its lower-priced core Seiko lines, making it a stand-alone marque with its own distribution and design philosophy. The move represented Seiko’s push into the luxury segment of the U.S. watch market. Today, Grand Seiko is one of the leading luxury watch brands, known for its highly-crafted and finished watches at prices that represent true value.
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