Hands-On The Grand Seiko SLGA025G 'Atera Valley' – The Best New Dial I've Seen In A Long Time

The new SLGA025G "Atera Valley" Spring Drive model is downright gorgeous. I didn't have a chance to look at all the releases from the brand at the end of August, and while my colleague TanTan covered the biggest news (the revival of the 45GS-style watch with the new 9SA4 movement), I didn't know about the SLGA025G. That is until, when on a tour of the Seiko Epson plant in Shiojiri, Japan – home to the Shinshu Studio responsible for Grand Seiko's Spring Drive and quartz watches – I saw a woman in the dial department doing drop tests of this remarkable blue fumé-style dial I had never seen before. Even from 20 feet away, through glass, I was obsessed. About an hour later, sitting in front of me was a completed sample with what might be one of Grand Seiko's best dials in years.

Except for the dial, this watch has the same specifications as the Lake Suwa SLGA019. This is a modern, lightweight example from the Evolution 9 collection, taking cues from the brand's "Grammar of Design" established with the 1967 44GS. Grand Seiko has updated these to be sportier and more contemporary than the older 44GS, and here, that also means a High-Intensity Titanium case measuring 40mm by 11.8mm, with a 22mm lug width and 47.9mm lug-to-lug.

You could derisively call Grand Seiko a dial-first company. But that would ignore all their horological achievements over the years and their emphasis on accuracy, legibility, functionality, and – even more recently – mechanical complications. But it's true, GS has made some dials with cult followings. The white SBGA211G "Snowflake" and subtly pink "Shunbun" have become two of the brand's most successful models. And wouldn't you know, they come from the same minds that created this new "Atera Valley" release.

While at the Shinshu Studio, I got to meet and speak with Mr. Seki, Mr. Tanaka, and Mr. Hata, all members of the team who not only interpret the inspiration for the dial design, but also have to find ways to make their interpretation come to life. They all had a hand in the production of the "Snowflake" and "Shunbun," and I was curious about some of the je ne sais quoi that makes them crank out hit after hit, like the "Jimi Hendrix Experience" of dial making.

Due to confidentiality reasons, I can't tell you much about the dial manufacturing process except that it required a lot of trial and error to end up at this result. But it all starts from their inspiration and love of nature. The dial is inspired by the clear blue-green river that runs through the Atera Valley in Japan, and Mr. Hata showed me pictures of the river on his phone, taken while hiking through the valley. Mr. Tanaka's love of nature comes from his passion for gardening, which helped him think about the textures that would fit with a flowing river.

To create the pattern on the dial, they had to use tools not used before in their studio. Using these tools by hand, they tried to express patterns of large and small flows of water along the river, scraping them in natural patterns across a plate. Using larger tools, they tried to reflect those larger flows, but that led to less control and more trial and error. When they found what felt like an appropriate pattern on that plate and made multiple prototypes, the base of the dial was set, and the experimentation with color began.

Unfortunately, that's about all I can tell you about the rest of the dial process, except to say what's apparent when you look at the dial. It's just absolutely captivating.

Inside the case is the Calibre 9RA2, the brand's in-house Spring Drive technology automatic movement with quartz regulation. The movement has five days (120 hours) of power reserve and an accuracy of ±0.5 seconds per day or ±10 seconds per month. That power reserve is shown on the caseback, which in itself is a blessing. A dial this good shouldn't ever be marred by a power reserve (though the watch already does have a date window that I could do without). 

It's easy to make the argument that out of everything Grand Seiko does, the Spring Drive is the most important bit of horology in their lineup. Combining quartz accuracy with automatic winding and mechanical function is as quintessential to the brand as their outstanding dials. The 9RA2 is the pinnacle of this in their more consumer-level Spring Drive movements, a massive upgrade in size, decoration, precision, and usability over their previous 9R6x movements. The power reserve has been bumped from three to five days, the movement is smaller (using a new system called the offset magic lever) while maintaining that accuracy with two (different sized) mainspring barrels, and the date mechanism is quicker. 

No watch (well basically no watch) is perfect and while I could belabor the same complaints it seems most collectors have become conditioned to ask about (ahem, bracelets, bracelets, bracelets), I don't have an issue so much with the lack of micro-adjust on the whole; it's just that at $10,500, that should be a given. More importantly, I don't love the wide lugs and how Grand Seiko bracelets taper so little. The combination of the two takes away some elegance and makes the watch feel a bit blocky. Combine that with the High-Intensity Titanium – which is much more dull and grey than the brand's Brilliant Hard Titanium – and it doesn't let the head of the watch shine the way it should.

While it might not feel this way, Grand Seiko seems to be making a concerted effort to slow down what had started to feel like a limited-edition overload that started during the pandemic. Instead, the brand is narrowing their focus, and we've seen some of their dials show up in a variety of different case materials (like "White Birch" for example). This watch isn't a limited edition, but it may not be the only "Atera Valley" dial variation we see either.

It also feels like price creep has hit Grand Seiko over the past few years; their releases can cover a wide range of prices (even at the more general consumer level) –  from $5,800 up to $13,700 for their recent mechanical chronograph. All those minor details I mention add up and while that $10,500 price range seems to be the new norm for a lot of the brand's recent releases, crossing the $10,000 threshold might be hard for some collectors to swallow.

Will this watch end up being as classic as the Snowflake or Shunbun? It's hard to tell. Both of those releases were a "moment" for the brand – new dial techniques that surprised the market and the introduction for many to what has become Grand Seiko's ubiquitous love of seasons and nature. As lighter dials, they're also easier to wear in a variety of situations, and the new "Atera Valley" dial is much more bold and attention-grabbing, something that might not be up everyone's alley.

But man, that dial. Really. The way that it shifts in the light is spectacular. Grand Seiko's photos feel a bit brighter and more green than my brief experience with the watch. Like any dial, the play between the dial and environment makes a big difference, and reflecting oblique angles in warm light, the dial picks up almost purple hues. On my wrist, it felt much more blue and dark. Then, in brighter light, the green undertones come out, with the dial looking like striated feathers of a peacock's plumage. So sure, maybe this release is another one from Grand Seiko where the dial is the star of the show. But with a dial this good, it's totally worth a round of applause.

Grand Seiko SLGA025G "Atera Valley." 40mm by 11.8mm, 47.9mm lug-to-lug and 22mm lug-width high-intensity titanium case with 100m water resistance. A combination of Zaratsu polished and brushed surfaces. "Atera Valley" striated dial; Hours, minutes, seconds, date, and power reserve at the rear. Caliber 9RA2, in-house movement with five days of power reserve and an accuracy of ±10 seconds per month. High-intensity titanium bracelet. Price: $10,500.