Spring Drive Accuracy - not bad!

I've had my GS Spring Drive for around a month now, and I have to say I am extremely impressed with its time keeping.
I set the time against the Watchville app when DST came into effect, and 3 weeks later it is now half a second fast! Also checked it against a freshly sinked Satalite Wave which shows the app is pretty close to spot on.

Without wanting to start a debate over the pros and cons of the Spring Drive movement, do other owners find a similar level of accuracy?

(img)http://i1243.photobucket.com/albums/.../image_11.jpeg(img)

My SBGA127 is about +1 sec over two weeks now.

Can't why its accuracy should surprise anyone. I'd expect that from a quartz regulated mechanism.

You learn something new every day. I have coveted a GS spring drive diver ever since I sold my MM300, (which was big mistake), but I never knew they were quartz regulated.

Yes, even on a 10 year old one!

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Originally Posted by JasH

Can't why its accuracy should surprise anyone. I'd expect that from a quartz regulated mechanism.

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Can you have a word with my quartz Boss? It's -6s/d, I've had Chinese mechanicals better than that. Cheers.

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Originally Posted by JasH

Can't why its accuracy should surprise anyone. I'd expect that from a quartz regulated mechanism.

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My surprise was that a movement rated at plus/minus one second per day is currently running at around plus/minus one second per month.
Even the best quartz only movements would struggle to match that, but as I said I'm not looking to start up another pros and cons "debate" over the Spring drive movement.

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Originally Posted by Skip

My surprise was that a movement rated at plus/minus one second per day is currently running at around plus/minus one second per month.
Even the best quartz only movements would struggle to match that, but as I said I'm not looking to start up another pros and cons "debate" over the Spring drive movement.

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TBH I think good quality quartz movements, as opposed to cheap junky stuff are usually around 1-2 seconds per month IME.

Let's be honest a spring drive could still be within its quoted accuracy if it was thirty seconds or so out every month which for a quartz would be ridiculous.

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Originally Posted by Der Amf

Can you have a word with my quartz Boss? It's -6s/d, I've had Chinese mechanicals better than that. Cheers.

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Must be faulty. I've never had a quartz that bad.

I have 2 quartz watches btw. My Gucci is +1.5 sec per month. My Rado is astonishing, and manages +0.5 sec per month. Both tested repeatedly, and over 6 continuous months.

My best mechanical is my Daytona though, which manages +1 sec per day fairly consistently.

My Chr Ward Slimline mechanical however varies quite a bit between -5/-.05 sec per day.

Basically, a half decent quartz watch is very reliable.

You can't really avoid some debate on the merits of the spring drive,,because accuracy is the whole point of the design. That's what the technology is all about... But, if accuracy is the goal (and it's what this thread discusses) then why wouldn't you buy the even more accurate Quartz GS?
No matter how good the spring drive is, it can't match the GS quartz, and it costs twice as much.

It was this that lead me to buy a good mechanical watch and a GS quartz; between them they cover the ground.
Having said that, the technology behind the spring-drive, and Seiko's decade long search to perfect it, is remarkable. Far braver than anything attempted by the Swiss in my opinion. They are a remarkable design. Courageous even.

Swiss Spring Drive-esque: https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/pr...oussin-xl-700p

Well I didn't even know the CC2006-61E existed until you posted this so thanks, I now want one :)


http://www.ablogtowatch.com/citizen-...-watch-review/

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Originally Posted by Der Amf

Swiss Spring Drive-esque: https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/pr...oussin-xl-700p

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That's very interesting reading. Thanks.

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Originally Posted by TimeOut

Well I didn't even know the CC2006-61E existed until you posted this so thanks, I now want one :)


http://www.ablogtowatch.com/citizen-...-watch-review/

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Funny how that happens isn't it? :) The F100 is IMO almost the perfect grab and go travel watch. Citizen brought out a chrono version of it last year, the F900 - seen below.

http://www.ablogtowatch.com/citizen-...900-gps-watch/

I suspect that what we are seeing here is the Swiss industry trying to answer the threat of the smart watch; which was inevitable really.
Bit too 'techie' for my taste, but it's the future. Soon a GS quartz will seem very old-school. I still struggle to see the point of the spring drive; it's accuracy derives entirely from quartz regulation, but it's not as accurate, robust or serviceable as the real quartz version. Just costs twice as much.

Isn't the real treat with SD the smooth second hand ? You'll have better accuracy with their 9F quartz movement, and most likely better longevity with a pure mechanical movement (which is my personal biggest aversion against spending much money on a SD watch, what happens if it breaks down in 20 years ?).

I do love the engineering feat though.

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Originally Posted by Der Amf

Swiss Spring Drive-esque: https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/pr...oussin-xl-700p

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Damn, that's fugly..

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Originally Posted by paskinner

I still struggle to see the point of the spring drive; it's accuracy derives entirely from quartz regulation, but it's not as accurate, robust or serviceable as the real quartz version. Just costs twice as much.

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It doesn't have a battery to run out inconveniently?

Leaving aside the aesthetic considerations of a mechanical movement.

When one enjoys mechanical movements, despite there being far more accurate technology available, then one's appreciation is working beyond the simple measure of accuracy.

When one prefers the independence of a high end quartz over cheaper watches that correct to a central source of accuracy's transmissions, one is again appreciating technology in a manner which is beyond simply being desirous of the greatest accuracy.

Like both expensive quartz and purely mechanical, spring drive movements are sacrificing accuracy for something intangible, something which can be appreciated but not measured.

If one "gets" mechanicals and "gets" high end quartz, then, with a little shifting of one's perspective from the wholly-subjective end of the spectrum, one should be able to understand how it is that other people "get" spring drive, without having to appreciate them oneself.

The Spring Drives are very complex movements and are a bit of a design triumph.

However, they are ultimately pretty pointless.

Their guaranteed accuracy is less than half that of a cheap quartz for a start. The main trouble is that they have all the problems of a mechanical.......... highly complicated, vulnerable to wear and damage and expensive to service during their lifetime, even more so with spring drives. They have the relatively low shock resistance of a mechanical which reduces its flexibility compared to quartz.

Why not go all quartz if it is accuracy you want, or all mechanical if a mechanical mechanism is your required 'thing'?

It seems a highly complicated and expensive way of doing things just for the sake of it. Smooth sweep? Well you can have that in pure quartz as well if you want it.




Mitch

https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/pr...oussin-xl-700p

If I had a penny for every time I get my research efforts nicked without credit or thanks.

It's actually more irritating that the author doesn't reference the two threads which contain the argument that he obviously researched independently to the same conclusions based on roughly the same data as Eeeb and I, instead he references later threads in which no real debate went on. It's almost as if...

Pah!

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Originally Posted by alfat33

It doesn't have a battery to run out inconveniently?

Leaving aside the aesthetic considerations of a mechanical movement.

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I agree about the aesthetic qualities of a fine mechanical watch; it's the only possible reason for owning one. And clearly a lot of people want that, or there would be no mechanical watches. But the 'battery' issue doesn't make a lot of sense. Quartz watches have a device to give plenty of warning...at least a month.
I'm not arguing against mechanical watches (!), which I wear a lot, but questioning the logic of spring drive, which seems neither fish nor fowl. I nearly bought one, until I thought about it. However, again, if people fancy the technology...and there are a lot of fans out there who do.

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Originally Posted by Mitch

The Spring Drives are very complex movements and are a bit of a design triumph.

However, they are ultimately pretty pointless.

Their guaranteed accuracy is less than half that of a cheap quartz for a start. The main trouble is that they have all the problems of a mechanical.......... highly complicated, vulnerable to wear and damage and expensive to service during their lifetime, even more so with spring drives. They have the relatively low shock resistance of a mechanical which reduces its flexibility compared to quartz.

Why not go all quartz if it is accuracy you want, or all mechanical if a mechanical mechanism is your required 'thing'?

It seems a highly complicated and expensive way of doing things just for the sake of it. Smooth sweep? Well you can have that in pure quartz as well if you want it.

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All watches are “pretty pointless” nowadays!
The appeal of a Spring Drive may differ for some, but for me it’s the combination of what it took to get where it is, the silence of the movement, and the seconds hand's sweep.
Sure, you can emulate it with a Bulova or even the Breguet with its 10Hz escapement, but neither will truly match the gliding motion.

In the same way people find other people of differnet shapes and sizes appealing, so too do they with different technologies (digital/analog, valve tubes/transistors, etc) – watches are simply an extension of that.

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Originally Posted by TimeOut

Well I didn't even know the CC2006-61E existed until you posted this so thanks, I now want one :)


http://www.ablogtowatch.com/citizen-...-watch-review/

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very very great watch!
the color is my favorite, that nice combo of the watch dial and the straps is my cup of the tea,

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Originally Posted by PJ S

All watches are “pretty pointless” nowadays!
The appeal of a Spring Drive may differ for some, but for me it’s the combination of what it took to get where it is, the silence of the movement, and the seconds hand's sweep.
Sure, you can emulate it with a Bulova or even the Breguet with its 10Hz escapement, but neither will truly match the gliding motion.

In the same way people find other people of differnet shapes and sizes appealing, so too do they with different technologies (digital/analog, valve tubes/transistors, etc) – watches are simply an extension of that.

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Very much this. There are many ways to get a smoothly sweeping second hand (f300?) and there are many ways to achieve accuracy (I just checked my superquartz Aerospace with watchtracker: +0.2s over 20.6 days. Extrapolated, that's under 4s PER YEAR). The wonderful thing about this hobby - for me, anyway, is the ability to learn about and explore these different approaches.

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Originally Posted by alfat33

It doesn't have a battery to run out inconveniently?

Leaving aside the aesthetic considerations of a mechanical movement.

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As opposed to the convenience and low cost of the complete-overhaul service in Japan that Seiko recommends to be done every three to four years. ;)

I knew nothing about these before I started reading this thread, but it sounds rather like a bizarre if impressive answer to a problem with a highly viable existing solution has been implemented by Seiko here.