Watch News Briefing: TAG Heuer, Grand Seiko, and Greubel Forsey

Three Very Different New Releases: With the Gulf, TAG Heuer draws on motorsport aesthetics, color, and chronograph character. Grand Seiko reimagines the Evolution 9 Collection in terms of both technology and design. With the Balancier QM, Greubel Forsey focuses on construction, finishing, and mechanical architecture.

TAG Heuer: Formula 1 in Blue and Orange

Some color combinations need little explanation. In motorsports, blue and orange are among the most recognizable color schemes of all—closely associated with Gulf, endurance races, and images that have had an impact far beyond the racetrack. TAG Heuer is now revisiting this signature look and presenting the Formula 1 Automatic Chronograph x Gulf.

The watch is the fourth edition of the collaboration between TAG Heuer Formula 1 and Gulf Oil. Its design is correspondingly clean: a black opaline dial, blue and orange Gulf stripes, a blue minute track, an orange central chronograph hand, and three sub-dials at 12, 6, and 9 o’clock. The tachymeter bezel, featuring a forged carbon insert and Gulf markings, reinforces the watch’s racing heritage.

^{TAG Heuer Formula 1 Automatic Chronograph x Gulf}

Technical Specifications:

• Case: Grade 2 titanium, sandblasted
• Diameter: 44 mm
• Movement: Automatic Chronograph Caliber 16
• Water resistance: 200 meters
• Limited edition: 1,000 copies

Grand Seiko: Evolution 9 Gets a Makeover

Grand Seiko is revamping the core models in its Evolution 9 Collection. The update includes a total of nine new models: five Spring Drive models and four mechanical models.

^{Grand Seiko E9 Models: White Birch with Spring-Drive and Lake Suwa Black in Titanium}

The Evolution 9 Collection is one of Grand Seiko’s newer—but now central—lines. Its design philosophy was introduced in 2020 and builds upon the Grand Seiko style that has shaped the brand’s design foundation since 1967. Evolution 9 embodies a more modern, bold design language, excellent readability, and improved comfort. Grand Seiko itself summarizes this direction through the principles of aesthetics, readability, and comfort.

For this latest model update, it is not so much the individual models that matter as the direction of the redesign. Grand Seiko is refining Evolution 9 across three areas: materials, comfort, and movement. Seven of the nine models are made of Ever-Brilliant Steel, and two are made of High-Intensity Titanium. In addition, there is a new three-stage folding clasp with fine adjustment, which allows for adjustment in 2-millimeter increments without tools.

^{Grand Seiko E9 Models: Genbi Alley with High-Beat and Atera Valley with Spring-Drive}

In terms of design, Grand Seiko continues to draw on familiar natural motifs. Lake Suwa appears in new interpretations, including—for the first time—a model with a black dial inspired by the water’s surface in moonlight. In addition, there are redesigned White Birch models and other dial motifs that draw inspiration from landscapes surrounding the Grand Seiko studios in Shinshu and Shizukuishi. Most of the watches retain a 40-millimeter diameter; one Lake Suwa model is available in 37 millimeters.

Technical Specifications:

• Watches: five models with Spring Drive, four mechanical automatic models
• Spring Drive: Caliber 9RB2
• Spring Drive accuracy: ±20 seconds per year
• Spring Drive Power Reserve: 72 hours
• Movement: automatic Hi-Beat caliber 9SA5
• Frequency: 36,000 vibrations per hour / 5 hertz
• Mechanical power reserve: 80 hours
• Materials: seven models made of Ever-Brilliant Steel, two models made of High-Intensity Titanium
• Bracelet/Clasp: new folding clasp with fine adjustment in 2-millimeter increments
• Diameter: mostly 40 mm; one Lake Suwa model measures 37 mm
• Water resistance: 10 bar

Greubel Forsey: Balancier QM in White Gold

With the Balancier QM, Greubel Forsey presents a watch that makes its case not through a multitude of complications, but through its design, spatial effect, and finishing. The white gold case measures just under 40 millimeters, making it comparatively compact for a Greubel Forsey watch. Nevertheless, the highly domed sapphire crystals create the sense of depth that is characteristic of the manufacture.

The technical appeal lies less in the number of displays than in the way they are implemented. The hours, minutes, small seconds, and power reserve are arranged in a multi-level architecture. Added to this are three-dimensionally shaped lugs, raised engravings on a stamped background, nickel silver bridges, gold chatons, black-polished elements, and blued steel hands.

The regulation mechanism also underscores the manufacture’s commitment to watchmaking excellence: The variable-inertia balance wheel features six gold regulating screws, allowing for exceptionally precise fine-tuning of the watch’s rate. The seconds stop function operated via the crown, in turn, facilitates the exact setting of the watch, as the balance wheel is stopped when the crown is pulled out.

With the Balancier QM, Greubel Forsey showcases a refined form of haute horlogerie: less emphasis on complications, and more focus on design, proportion, and craftsmanship.

Technical Specifications:

• Case & Clasp: White Gold
• Diameter: 39.60 mm
• Movement: Manual-winding
• Power reserve: 72 hours
• Barrels: two coaxially coupled, high-speed barrels
• Functions: Hours, minutes, small seconds, power reserve indicator
• Balance wheel: variable-inertia balance wheel with six gold regulating screws
• Stopwatch: via the crown
• Dial: multi-layered, gold, rhodium-plated, engraved, and lacquered
• Water resistance: 3 bar