The ritual of winding a watch is one of life’s pleasures. The simple act of turning the crown taps into the senses to forge a deeper connection with time’s natural flow. In 2024, for the first time in more than 50 years, Grand Seiko announced a new hand-wound high-beat movement, the Caliber 9SA4.

Grand Seiko watchmakers took on the challenge of designing a manually wound high-beat movement while paying special attention to the tactile, aural, and visual sensations encountered during hand-winding to create an ideal experience for the watch’s owner.

The click is in the shape of the wagtail, a bird recognized as special to Morioka, a city close to the studio where the watch is made. The click and the click spring have been tailored to perfect their feel and sound, and the click’s bird-like pecking motion, together with the beauty of the movement’s finishing, can be enjoyed through the sapphire crystal case back during the hand-winding process. Thanks to the movement’s proprietary and highly efficient Dual Impulse Escapement and twin barrels, the new high-beat movement achieves a long power reserve of 80 hours to complement the feel and sound experienced during hand-winding.

The case and clasp are made of Grand Seiko’s Brilliant Hard Titanium. The alloy commands a hardness double that of standard stainless steel while shining brighter than traditional titanium. Using this special metal causes the case’s Zaratsu-polished surfaces to appear even more radiant while achieving a sparkle of quality and beauty befitting the first dress watch from the Evolution 9 Collection. Thanks to its thin, thoughtfully designed movement, the watch is a very comfortable 38.6mm in diameter and just 9.95mm thick.

The new creation’s dial is inspired by the slender white birch trees that grow in profusion near the Grand Seiko Studio Shizukuishi, and the exquisite dial pattern echoes the beauty of the birch tree’s bark with its intricate, multi-dimensional texture. Combined with the elegant design and the movement’s high precision and beauty, Grand Seiko’s new manually wound, high-beat watch offers a refined experience of the nature of time.