We might be at a point where every new Grand Seiko release feels like a slight iteration on what came before, but that doesn?t change the fact that sometimes they stumble onto something that is absolutely drool worthy. The brand has taken some heat in some parts of the watch community this year for releasing seemingly endless variations on existing watches without actually producing anything ?new.? Grand Seiko has a particular pattern of slotting familiar dial textures with new colors into case shapes that have been around for awhile using either a next gen movement for a five figure price point or a legacy caliber for something more affordable. While it makes actually tracking new releases somewhat more difficult, the end result is an enormous array of choices for the consumer, which is clearly one way Grand Seiko believes they can differentiate themselves from competitors in a positive way (more watches are a good thing). Also, sometimes, it results in a watch like the SLGH019, a perfectly winning combination, and an immediate standout in a long year of releases. 
There?s nothing in the component parts of the SLGH019 that we haven?t seen before. The case is in the now well understood Evolution 9 form factor (titanium, this time), the movement is the high frequency 9SA5 featuring Grand Seiko?s proprietary dual impulse escapement, and the dial brings back a much loved dial texture in a classic Grand Seiko color. Easy enough to dismiss if you?re an armchair quarterback ...