Three sublime dress watches, three impressive sport watches and a completely bejeweled high jewelry creation. These are the goodies Grand Seiko brings to Watches & Wonders this year. Some fit into the refined Evolution 9 collection and others expand upon the unique angular case design the brand says is inspired by its lion logo. All characteristically aim to evoke natural landscapes and poetic notions through colorways, textured dials and sometimes even movement features. Each deserves a closer look.

The Evolution 9 line represents a refinement of Grand Seiko’s existing design language and technical features to push the brand ever further upmarket. Part of the Evolution 9 concept was a slimmer movement, which is always welcome, and now Grand Seiko introduces a hand-wound movement based on the 9SA5 with the new 9SA4. It’s only the third movement to join the platform which also includes the Tentagraph chronograph (9SC5) from last year.

Inspiration is said to come from the brand’s high-beat movements of the 1960s-’70s. The result is a movement operating at 5Hz (beating 10 times per second) offering a power reserve of 80 hours and allowing the case to be a reasonable 9.95mm thick. The brand says that part of developing the movement was to make special efforts to consider the winding experience in terms of its sound, feel and even look. You can observe the click through the caseback as you wind the watch: its shape and motion are like that of a pecking bird. These are the kinds of details that win watch enthusiasts’ hearts.

It comes in two variants, one in the brand’s Brilliant Hard Titanium alloy and the other in rose gold. Both feature the birch bark-inspired textured dial which has been a hit for the brand in other models. These are some of the most compelling yet.

Movement: 9SA4 manually wound; 80-hour power reserve; 5Hz high-beat
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds
Case: 38.6mm x 9.95mm; titanium; rose gold; 30m water resistance
Availability: Titanium is not limited; rose gold variant is a limited edition of 80
Price: USD 10,700 (titanium); 45,000 (rose gold)

Staying within the Evolution 9 family is a new model featuring the 9SA5 automatic movement. With a 40mm case made from Ever-Brilliant Steel, this model has all the premium features of the Evolution 9 and leans into the brand’s famous expertise in making captivating but minimal and legible dials. This time it’s a molded pattern imitating that of rippling water found on other watches but here in a pale green. The reasoning behind this specific shade of green? The brand is keen to note that it took inspiration from a river in a particular valley called Genbi near its workshops, a National Designated Place of Scenic Beauty and Natural Monument, according to the Japanese government.

Movement: 9SA5 automatic; 80-hour power reserve; 5Hz high-beat
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, date
Case: 40mm x 11.7mm; Ever-Brilliant Steel; 100m water resistance
Availability: Limited to 1,000 examples
Price: USD 10,400

The first Grand Seiko watch was born in 1960, and the brand has returned to it a number of times offering recreations and reinterpretations. The recreations are often near replicas of the original but with modern updates, of course, as well as some liberties taken in terms of executions. This time, the “First Wristwatch Recreation” gets a 38mm rose gold case paired to a deep blue dial with a sunburst finish. Powered by a hand-wound mechanical movement, it stays appropriately thin for its dressy style at 10.9mm.

Movement: 9S64 hand-wound; 72-hour power reserve
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds
Case: 39mm x 10.9mm; 18k rose gold; 30m water resistance
Availability: Limited to 50 examples
Price: USD 26,500

The SBGJ277 stands out among this crop of releases for a couple reasons. It’s the only Sport model with the traditional case shape and it’s the only one south of $10,000, in the price territory with which long-time Grand Seiko fans are more familiar. It’s no compromise offering, though, boasting a high-beat automatic GMT movement. The green portions of its flange ring, sapphire-crystal bezel and GMT hand offer an interesting contrast and colorway—one which Grand Seiko suggests could remind you of a green valley with snow-capped mountains in the background. We just like to think of it as an awesome sport watch, but one which will take a girthy wrist to wear comfortably as its case is a substantial 44.2mm in steel.

Movement: 9S86 automatic GMT; 55-hour power reserve; 5hz high-beat
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, date, GMT, rotating 24-hour bezel
Case: 44.2mm x 14.8mm; steel; 200m water resistance
Availability: Not limited
Price: USD 6,800

The Grand Seiko Sport collection watches this year build upon an existing platform which combines an angular case with a certain dial texture. This case is easily the most contemporary-feeling and edgy (so to speak) in the modern Grand Seiko catalog. The brand says that it takes inspiration from the lion logo which has been in use since its very first wristwatch, back in 1960. How does it channel king-of-the-jungle vibes? It says that the dial evokes the texture of a lion’s mane. The angular lugs: lions’ claws. Do you see it?

This GMT model joins an existing lineup with the “lion” features that includes a Spring Drive model and a chronograph. The heft of its 44.5mm-wide and 14.9mm-thick case and bracelet will be offset some by being produced in High-Intensity Titanium rather than a heavier metal like steel.

Movement: 9R66 Spring Drive automatic; 72-hour power reserve
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, GMT, power reserve indicator
Case: 44.5mm x 14.9mm; High-Intensity Titanium; 200m water resistance
Availability: Not limited
Price: USD 10,700

A year after introducing a totally new design for the brand with a relatively traditional chronograph layout in the Tentagraph, Grand Seiko returns to the distinctive form of its Spring Drive chronographs. Moreover, it combines it with the “lion” theme featuring the large, angular case and mane-inspired dial texture. Here, though, it’s a deep red. This particular model is meant to mark 20 years since the first 9R-family Spring Drive movements.

The dial has the pattern of the other “lion” watches, but the brand says that it used a new technique to create an effect of changing hues as the angle of viewing shifts. The technique involves “layers of nanoscale film” in a patented process called “Optical Multilayer Coating” involving PVD (physical vapor deposition). The subdials are similarly colored but feature sunburst finishes for contrast.

Movement: 9R96 Spring Drive chronograph GMT automatic; 72-hour power reserve
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, date, chronograph, GMT
Case: 44.5mm x 16.8mm; High-Intensity Titanium; 200m water resistance
Availability: Limited to 700 examples
Price: USD 13,400

You might not realize at first that the new SBGD215 also lives within the “lion” themed family. Its jungle of gems might just dazzle you that much. But it’s got that same case shape with its angled lugs as well as the mane texture at the dial’s center. This is, of course, another way of celebrating the 9R Spring Drive’s anniversary, but in very limited amounts for well-heeled collectors in search of serious bling. It follows other watches with a similar theme and execution such as the “White Lion” SBGD213.

You might think of watches such as these as high jewelry watches (and you wouldn’t be wrong), but it retains the bold dimensions of its Sport watch siblings. That’s right, this is a 44.5mm behemoth that’s 14.4mm thick in 950 platinum and covered in a total of 293 stones (comprising 148 diamonds and 145 sapphires) between its case and dial. Limited to only eight examples, this is a special watch, and it’d be a crime to outfit such a watch with anything but a special movement. The 9R01 is a hand-wound Spring Drive movement with three barrels offering an impressive eight days of power reserve. A power reserve indicator is visible on the movement through the caseback window.

Movement: 9R01 Spring Drive; hand-wound
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, date, power reserve indicator
Case: 44.5mm x 14.4mm; 950 platinum; 100m water resistance
Availability: Limited to 8 examples
Price: USD 300,000