Grand Seiko Ups the Ante in Precision with ‘Ultra Fine Adjusted’
The new designation denotes the the most accurate Spring Drive yet, with an annual deviation of just 20 seconds.
A few seconds gained or lost in a day might seem inconsequential to most people, but for Grand Seiko — a brand long revered for elevating the art of precision — it is a challenge worth conquering.
This pursuit of high accuracy stretches back to 1969, when Grand Seiko introduced the designation “V.F.A.”, or “Very Fine Adjusted”, to denote a mechanical movement with a monthly deviation of just one minute. It was an impressive feat at the time, one that the Japanese watchmaker aimed to surpass less than a decade later with an even more revolutionary development: Spring Drive.
Using state-of-the-art electronic watchmaking powered by a traditional mainspring, the first Spring Drive Calibre 9R65 debuted in 2004 with an astonishing monthly deviation of 15 seconds. Fast-forward to 2025, and the latest Spring Drive Calibre 9RB2 has its accuracy measured not per day, week or month, but year. An annual deviation of 20 seconds, to be exact. To honour this incredible achievement, Grand Seiko introduces the new designation “U.F.A.”, short for “Ultra Fine Adjusted”.
This next-gen movement is presented in two Evolution 9 models, one in platinum and the other in high-intensity titanium. Both feature icy blue dials with a textured motif inspired by the frost-covered forests of the Kirigamine Highlands — a perfect visual cool-off to counter the summer scorch.
