NH35 - "The Modders Choice"

I like it a lot. Robust and replaceable - if a have a watch running it and the movement ever goes wonky for any reason, I know I can replace the movement without having to lean on Seiko Service or a watchmaker.

But I'm not an accuracy freak and it's not a thin movement which can be stuffed into a thin case.

 

NH35 - "The Modders Choice"

I like it a lot. Robust and replaceable - if a have a watch running it and the movement ever goes wonky for any reason, I know I can replace the movement without having to lean on Seiko Service or a watchmaker.

But I'm not an accuracy freak and it's not a thin movement which can be stuffed into a thin case.

Thanks. I know Seiko gives a lot of bang for the buck. I see that is in the limited edition Trump watches. I was thinking of buying one for an small investment. At $499 for a limited run could go way up in value.

 

I don't care for the NH35 because it is a fairly thick movement, so it only fits into fairly thick watch cases.

 

You can pick a new one up for around $30 and if you damage it you’re not out a bunch of $. Accuracy can be decent or a little fast or slow but can be adjusted. It’s a workhorse and takes a beating from my personal experience. I believe I’ve purchased 16 over the last couple of years? I’m a modder.

 

If you will enjoy wearing this watch more than the multitude of alternatives you could get for the same price or less, then buy it. The same logic applies when considering to buy any other watch, by the way.

Just don't expect it to increase in price, because it won't.

Best,

 

My personal opinion - I’m not interested in anything with that movement or any of the 7S26 variants. At all. And I think Seiko is about 30+ years past due to retire the 7S26 design and replace it with something better.

I came to that opinion after buying numerous watches with that movement, building about 30+ watches using that movement, modifying it, regulating it, and servicing it myself. I still gift NH35 builds to friends and family who don’t care about nerdy WIS things like beat rate, positional variance, and delta but I would never wear anything with one myself.

It’s cheap and durable. But those are the only two things it has going for it in my opinion. Nowadays there are vastly, vastly superior options available that aren’t even much more expensive. I see it now as a movement that’s not good for much more than being used only for the sake of being able to call a watch mechanical / automatic instead of quartz.

For folks who want something cheap, reliable, and don’t care about other nerdy WIS things, it’s great. But for me personally If I want something cheap and durable I’d rather have a quartz than anything with a NH35 or 7S26 variant.

I mean no offense to anyone. It's just one opinion. And you know what they say about opinions.

 

It’s cheap and durable. But those are the only two things it has going for it in my opinion. Nowadays there are vastly, vastly superior options available that aren’t even much more expensive..

Can you name them for us?

 

Maybe thinking about the SKX007 and variants. It was an automatic and it became wildly desirable. A cheap watch that they now make tons of aftermarket pieces for. For me it’s a hobby with a lot of variety and choices. If your screwdriver slips you don’t cry either. It’s fun and a challenge to go as far as you want. An automatic is more organic? More personal? Opinions, everybody has one. 😀

 

Bear movement ever.
Contextually I believe the Honda Civic or the Toyota Camry or that Toyota Hillux are the best autos created. Widely used, easily fixed, common enough that you can do anything and not really worry.

Best movement ever.

 

I think a quartz Timex, Citizen or digital Casio would be a more accurate analogy to a Civic or Corolla.

A Civic or Corolla will get you from point A to point B reliably and consistently. A quartz Timex or Casio will tell you the time accurately, reliably and consistently (a watch with a Nh35 might or might not).

 

Tough, cheap and (in my experience) sometimes ridiculously accurate. For example... I purchased an inexpensive San Martin military style 3 hand watch a while back to use as a "toss on" beater. Initially, out of the box, during normal usage, it was running +2 spd. It settled in to less than +20 seconds per week. So, I keep it on a winder and grab it frequently when engaging in an activity that might not be compatible with what I am wearing at the moment. I rarely think about resetting the time. Every few weeks, I might pull it back a minute or so.

 

Easy to get. Robust. Not expensive.

 

I've had a half a dozen or so NH35 powered watches. Currently have four. They all run fine, I think the worst one is about +17, the rest are +10 or less.

The "they all have to be thick!" thing really isn't true. The Slim Willards are 12.3mm thick, and Seiko often doesn't even try that hard to make especially thin cases. My Zodiac divers have thinner STP movements in them, but they are not thinner than SW is for the same WR rating.

It's possible to make an NH35 powered watch much thinner than that. Namoki's Pilot case for example is 11.2mm, including the crystal and caseback.

 

I’m no expert, but I like the reliability of the NHxx movements. They’re able to take some abuse and keep on ticking.

 

Damn Straight!

 

If you really want an automatic movement on your watch, it's a great choice.

There are so many parts for it that you can easily make your own watch around the movement.

It's also very easy to replace one if you happen to break it. Regulating the movement is also quite easy.

 

People seem to have it covered here. The NH35 is great for building your own, and once you calibrate the movement it can be extremely accurate. Heck, I even have a 7S26 that basically looses and gains no discernible time to the wearer over 24 hrs of mixed wearing and sitting on the dresser overnight.

If you don't mind a slightly thicker overall watch then the NH35 is a sturdy and reliable movement. I actually prefer it over the Miyota 9015, personally, as the NH35's rotor winds in both directions and I find the 9015, while an excellent movement, isn't ground-breakingly thinner for my needs and tends to not be able to sit long without wear compared to my NH35. If I wanted a fancier movement than the NH35 then I'd just go for an ETA or Selita movement, personally.

 

As many have said, the NH35 is a reliable movement designed for low end budget watches.

While I do have my opinions, I’m not overly political so putting the names of politicians on a watch is lame.

 

It's a good, reliable movement that is vastly overused by microbrands due to the fact that it is cheap and reliable.

 

Cheap, reliable, easily serviced workhorse.

 

I haven't had great luck with accuracy on the NH movements. Unless you get it pre-regulated or do it yourself, I've always had better luck with off-the-shelf movements from Miyota.

 

My most accurate mechanical is a ProDiver with an NH in it that I picked up for $60 shipped to my door. Runs consistently at +3/day when worn, and if I lay it down correctly at night (mostly just forget), then it's bang on accurate for as long as I want to wear it.

 

My opinion based on my experience…💩

 

Personally I think it is in the "to be avoided" category (alongside with Miyota 8k) - it is a mass-produced, not that well looking mechanical movement, reliable but with not-so-great accuracy, high positional variance etc. OK, it is not expensive, but - if higher quality mechanical movement, at least SW200/Miyota9k is not an option - I would select a quality quartz instead.

 

Better deal, classic movement, fraction of the price:

 

The NH35 movement does offer a lot of "bang for the buck " That is because it is a cheap movement that functions reasonably well.
Paying $500 for a watch with this movement is the exact opposite of bang for the buck.

 

It’s a great way to break into watches, watchmaking, and modding. It’s like Harbor Freight. You can do something a few times or go to Home Depot for the good stuff. 😀

 

I voted for him but I wouldn’t buy the watch, the Bible, or the hat. The brand is already there. 🤞

 

So you're saying that you'd buy the shoes, right? hahaha, joking

 

Seiko makes quality mass produced movements in robotic factories. Most Chinese or Japanese branded watches use them, and it is hard to go wrong. Better options in movements would be the PTS5000 high beat movement or the Seagull ST2100 high beat movement. I own all of them and they are excellent. Many brands to consider, make sure you get 316L stainless steel and Sapphire Crystal components. Good luck.

 

Great movements. They are toughened-up versions of a 7s26 which was already one of the most robust affordable movements ever.

People seem to focus only on the added features (it hacks!! It hand winds!!!) and not on the bullet proof addition of upper and lower second reduction wheel jewels and an upper (dial side) barrel arbor jewel which were the only two SLIGHT weak areas of a 7s26 (the “C” variant of a 7s26 had an upper arbor jewel). The time train design of an NH movement goes back to 1969-ish and the first 7xxx series movements. Very tough, proven design.