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Are there movements from any Major Makers that you avoid?

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3.3K views 41 replies 36 participants last post by  Paxman  
#1 · (Edited)
I've owned watches with mechanical movements made just about everywhere. I was into Soviet watches for a while (still own 2) with movements that you hoped were made on a Wednesday.
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I've owned many Seikos and a far few Orients over the years. The old Seikos were clunky with no hacking or hand winding but I have a 7000 series watch that was in an attic for 20+ years following my father's death that started up the instant I picked it up and has been working reliably for years when I wear it on my father's birthday. The old Seiko Gyro-Marvel is still running after many decades. The Orients had their stutter (which I just could not get over) but were rock solid and simply worked.
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Of course there are the ETA and Valjoux movements. Still love the 7750 series movements. I have several older watches with movements from Bulova, UTC, etc. in them. And there are the various Chinese watches with home grown movements and those based on movements like the Venus 175. Even the very inexpensive Chinese movements have been fine with performance within their specs (and often better).
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Of all the movements I've owned (even those long gone watches like the Crown) none gave me any problems nor did any require maintenance other than routine cleans and oils except for 1 brand. That one I've had trouble with both watches and each was sent in for adjustment/maintenance within the first year of ownership. This whole range of experiences has led me to the decision that I will not buy anything with a Sellita movement in it again.

So, do you have any movements from major makers that you just won't own?
 
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#4 ·
Sopard's can be hit or miss for me.

Some Seiko movements.......well it's a Seiko.........nuff said.......
Definitely agree about Soprod. My own C125 died TWICE before it got dialed in by the guy who made it. Even had a broken pallet fork, if I recall correctly. That said: it's been running well since then.

As for the seikos? I've never had a problem with them - but then again, both my Seikos are vintage pieces. (nuff said).
 
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#3 · (Edited)
I'm not a huge fan of the Sellita SW200. Anecdotally, I've had better accuracy luck with its ETA predecessor. I also don't find the Seiko 4R/NH movements particularly intriguing. At this point, any watch using either of these is a tough sell to me.

Edit: Adding Seiko 6R movements to my list. Plenty of great looking watches have gone unbought by me due to being 6R powered.
 
#5 ·
I'm trying to avoid getting another NH34/NH35 - mainly because they're a right pain to regulate and I don't feel like accidentally breaking them if I try regulating them again...

Other than that? I try to avoid the no-name Chinese automatic movements where possible.... which is pretty easy to do since I don't really buy cheap knock-off watches very much... (Although their mechanical/manual movements tend to be rather robust).
 
#6 ·
I had a Ronda 515 GMT quartz movement. Pushing in the crown always popped the GMT hand off the correct spot, and they ran somewhat out of sync anyway. Plus the seconds hand wobbled every time it ticked.
 
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#8 ·
I avoid indirect seconds hand movements that means all of the Miyota 8000 series even the newer ones where they added a hacking lever. The stuttering of the second hand is annoying to look at.
 
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#9 ·
Seiko: all movements – I have had too many bad experiences with their movements
ETA: the complete C07.XXX series – I don't really have a specific reason for this, I just don't like these movements.
 
#11 ·
Seiko automatic 7Sxx, 4Rxx, 6R3x unless they are going cheap, the quartz chronograph with 24h subdial dial and any quartz chronograph with a 24h subdial.

Mitota automatic 8 series. Might change my mind about the 9 series if it's a very very nice watch.

ETA automatic 2824 and clones along with the Powematic 80. Modern entry level ETA quarz below the PreciDrive/HeavyDrive.

Ronda anything less than a 715Li.

Every Vostok.
 
#12 ·
While the V7750 is one of my favorite watch movements, I now tend to avoid any movement with "Danger Hours".

I think of danger hours as a design flaw and I don't like flaws that are not fixed.

The only thing worse than a design problem is knowing about it and not fixing it.

Quartz and digital fixes the problem.
 
#13 ·
In house…

I avoid them if possible, as in my experience this means long waits, and big bills, when the movement needs looking at.
 
#14 ·
Ani-digis with dual, unsync'd modules. (Think Armitron Ridgemont.) These are usually Miyotas.

Even sync'd unimodules for ani-digis. Just seems like a massive hassle to restore vintage ones. The ones I have seem very delicate and I'm grateful they work at all, and I hold my breath when I change their batteries.

I'll take a Miyota or SII quartz over a Ronda, but it won't stop me.

I dislike the VH31 movements, but again it won't stop me if I like the watch.
 
#15 ·
The STP 3-13 in one of my Zodiacs failed after about a year and a half, fixed by FG Service under warranty. It currently runs fast, but well enough otherwise that I haven't bothered to do anything with it. If it fails again, it will be swapped out for an SW200. No way I am actually spending money to fix a 3-13. They were so bad that Zodiac sh*t canned the movement entirely after I think two years or so. Nobody outside of Zodiac, STP, and FG knows what the actual failure rate percentage was on the 3-13, but I'm going to guess based on anecdotal evidence that it was astronomically high.

My SW200s have all been fine. Seiko NH35s are all fine, one of them survived a drop onto a wooden floor from table height. Beat error on it is high now, but the actual time keeping is still around +2, so I'm not worried about it. No issues with either of my 6R15s. My one 6R35 was killed somehow I'm pretty sure by USPS on its way back to me after being modded by 4:44pm watches. That one is currently being fixed.

It hasn't dissuaded me from ever buying another 6R Seiko (though I'm not going to pay what Seiko charges for 6R movements now - $2,000 for some 6R KS models), but the way Nathan handled it does mean I will never be using 4:44pm watches ever again for Seiko modding.

Given what Serica went through, definitely wouldn't buy any watch with a Soprod Newton. I also likely wouldn't buy an in-house Yema movement, or most likely any Yema.
 
#17 ·
Sellita SW200. Maybe I'm just unlucky, but I've had three of the die on me. All covered by warranty, but c'mon...

I trust Chinese clones - PT5000 and ST2130 - much more, and specifically purchased an older Sinn 656, instead of a 556A, in part because it guaranteed an ETA movement.
 
#22 ·
I have two watches with the SW200-1, and always think of this when I 'wake them up', and always gently wind them no more than 15-20 times. So far, all are working well, including my Seiko movements, but I've only been into this for past 6 years. With all the watches in the rotation, they are not operating full time either. Very impressed with my Miyota 9015 movement watches as well so far.
 
#20 ·
+1 for Seiko 6RXX movements being a red flag for me. I understand that they have the potential to be regulated to a reasonable standard but twice I have moved on from watches that I otherwise adored due to timekeeping issues. Then again, maybe I should quit whining and learn how to regulate for myself? :unsure:
 
#25 ·
Maybe it's easier to say which movement you would buy.
For me, the Miyota 9000 series is about it.
 
#26 ·
I avoid the 8xxx series Miyota’s with the stuttering seconds hand. It annoys me.
No more kinetics for me either, not that there are many around these days anyway.
I don’t think I have any NH3* left in the collection.

I’m satisfied with the watches I own containing various Miyota 9xxx series, SW200/210, and ETA 2824.

I had the Yema CMM.20 microrotor and it was trouble free but I didn’t like the lack of stop/hacking seconds hand.

My favorite movements are the SW300 and the new Yema CMM.10. I own a few of each.
 
#27 ·
Two watches that had recently intrigued me both had SW200 movement; and both were an easy pass. I had winding issues on new/old stock purchases with 2824 movement and Powermatic 80 movement that I'd like to avoid down the road for subsequent purchases.
 
#28 ·
Sellita SW200-1, had two now have only one both with winding and time setting issues. One of them the crown pulled right out the movement and Glycine wanted 200 dollars more to repair it and service it than I paid for the watch. No more Selitta movements for me no matter how much I love the watch that it is in.