While watch brands do like to like celebrate anniversaries and such milestones, this typically has to do with the brand’s story or a technical innovation, not an entire movement. With the Grand Seiko Elegance SBGA499, the occasion is the 20th anniversary of the Caliber 9R Spring Drive series. Spring Drive was born from a groundbreaking idea in the 1970s: to create the perfect watch by merging the power of a mainspring and the aesthetic potential of a mechanical movement with a quartz regulator. In doing so, it was thus possible to achieve a level of precision beyond that of traditional mechanical watches. Twenty years ago, this revolutionary technology evolved into the 9R movement, which is now a hallmark of Grand Seiko's craftsmanship.
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