VIDEO: The Grand Seiko SLGA001 is big and brawny, but make no mistake, it has brains too

Nick Kenyon

There’s no doubt about it. The latest 47mm professional dive watch from Grand Seiko makes a dramatic first impression, but that shouldn’t overshadow just how remarkable the technical achievements are inside that large and in charge case. The Grand Seiko SLGA001 certainly isn’t for the faint of wrist, measuring in at 46.9mm in diameter and 16mm tall, but the technology powering it is impressive to the highest degree.

The new Spring Drive movement is thinner than its predecessor, as well as being more shock resistant thanks to a single-piece central bridge. It boasts a full five days of power reserve as a result of two mainspring barrels. The accuracy has also been improved to ±0.5 seconds per day, an achievement possible thanks to technology borrowed from the 9F quartz movements used by Grand Seiko. The case and bracelet are constructed in hard-wearing titanium, which eliminates what would have been significant weight if the watch was made in the typical steel used in watchmaking, and makes it remarkably more wearable considering its size. This is a watch designed for the professional diver, and ticks just about every box someone who spent their life underwater would want.

The Grand Seiko 60th Anniversary Limited Edition Professional Diver’s 600M SLGA001 is limited to 700 pieces worldwide, and has an RRP of $16,500 AUD.