Grand Seiko Is Finally Getting a Killer Dive Watch

Despite Seiko being one of the first names in dive watches, its high-end sibling, Grand Seiko, has never been able to translate Seiko’s proven formula into a standout luxury dive watch of its own.

Now, Grand Seiko does make dive watches, and has for some time. The problem is, no one seems to care much about them. They’re too large (the brand’s current diver measures 43.8mm across and a massive 14.7mm thick) and too boring, lacking the elegance and je ne sais quoi you’ll find across the rest of Grand Seiko’s catalog.

But it looks like the brand finally got the memo and will be releasing its first absolute standout dive watch at Watches and Wonders next week, according to a teaser video posted to Grand Seiko’s Instagram.

Grand Seiko

Diving in Lake Suwa

The teaser in question is brief, but surprisingly informative. In it, we see three close-up flashes of a dive watch. First, we see a close-up of a Lumibrite-glowing 12 index sandwiched between a lumed bezel pip and an applied Grand Seiko logo on the dial. Then we get a shot of a Zaratsu-polished drilled lug. Finally, there’s a shot of light dancing across a black polished ceramic bezel with engraved numerals.

So far, this all sounds like a standard Grand Seiko diver. But here’s the kicker. At the end of the teaser, there’s a title page that says Spring Drive U.F.A. Diver. This is Grand Seiko literally telling us that its new dive watch will be powered by the Spring Drive U.F.A. movement that debuted last year at Watches and Wonders.

In case you forgot, U.F.A., which, like other Spring Drive movements, pairs a quartz oscillator with mechanical architecture, is the most accurate movement in history to be wound by a mainspring, touting precision to within +/- 20 seconds per year. Not only is that leagues better than any mechanical movement, but it’s more accurate than most quartz movements, too.

What’s more, the U.F.A. movement is pretty compact. Last year, it debuted in the SLGB003, a watch with a diameter of just 37mm. If movement diameters were a factor in preventing Grand Seiko from making its divers smaller in the past, then U.F.A. could provide a shrink-ready solution.

The idea of a U.F.A. Diver is tantalizing in itself, but wait, there’s more! The background of this title page looks an awful lot like the pattern found on Grand Seiko’s “Lake Suwa” dial, a dark blue, wave-textured masterpiece that’s among the brand’s most popular dials.

Grand Seiko

Sure enough, if we turn up the brightness on the teaser’s dial image, we can confirm that it does indeed look like a blue Lake Suwa dial, which is not only beautiful but highly appropriate for a dive watch. It could also be the similar Ushio pattern, which GS has used before on the SLGA023 Diver, but the way the pattern reflects light in the image looks more like a Lake Suwa to me.

We’re still missing some specifics, like whether the watch will be steel or titanium, whether its bracelet will have the microadjustable clasp that debuted on last year’s U.F.A. offering, and most importantly, how big the diver will be (please be sub-41mm across and sub-13mm thick).

But what we do know is that a U.F.A.-powered dive watch with a Lake Suwa dial sounds absolutely incredible. It will almost certainly be the best dive watch ever produced by Grand Seiko, meaning the brand will finally do Seiko proud on that front.

Want to stay up to date on the latest product news and releases? Add Gear Patrol as a preferred source to ensure our independent journalism makes it to the top of your Google search results.

Related Topics