Between Spring Drive and Hi-Beat 36000

[Old Expat Beast]

Congratulations...looks great!

[Rolexavidfan]

Originally Posted by Old Expat Beast

Congratulations...looks great!

Thanks for your nod!


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[subtona]

Congratulations

[Rolexavidfan]

Thanks! Next stop Hi Beat 36000.

[KBM]

Hi-beat for me!

[Rolexavidfan]

Which Hi Beat to go for, if I may ask? I’m looking at the MM 300 reissue aka SLA025 but am not sure on the size and weight of the watch. Getting the other Hi Beat GS in a similar style case like the Snowflake is not something I would go for, unless it makes a lot of sense like amazing dial etc.

[Rolexavidfan]

https://timelessluxwatches.com/revie...sus-snowflake/

Saw this today and thought of sharing them here.

Decided to let go of the manual wound timepiece and to get a Hi Beat 36000 movement.

Will keep you all posted.


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[Jack T]

This is a great thread, informative for me, an interested prospective GS owner. Still getting familiar with different models and movements within the line, I have a ways to go before I’m in a position to choose.
In the meantime, to the OP, enjoy your new watch and I’ll keep reading up.

[Rolexavidfan]

Originally Posted by Jack T

This is a great thread, informative for me, an interested prospective GS owner. Still getting familiar with different models and movements within the line, I have a ways to go before I’m in a position to choose.
In the meantime, to the OP, enjoy your new watch and I’ll keep reading up.

Thanks and hope you’ll be able to get the timepiece of your choice soon.


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[incontrol]

Originally Posted by Fredrik

I have heard nothing about problems with the Spring Drive. My concern is in the far future, say 25 years from now. Electronics will get obsolete and eventually you probably have to replace it with something else, if available, if it stops working.

There are no “electronics” in a Spring Drive movement. There is a Seiko grown and manufactured quartz crystal used for timing, but that is it. Everything else is mechanical. There are no circuit boards or other electronic components.


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[Tmac478]

I like the look of the high beat more than the spring drive. The spring drive hand looks out of place.


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[Fredrik]

Originally Posted by incontrol

There are no “electronics” in a Spring Drive movement. There is a Seiko grown and manufactured quartz crystal used for timing, but that is it. Everything else is mechanical. There are no circuit boards or other electronic components.

Of course there is! How else is it supposed to work? A quartz crystal does not work by itself. here is a link to a Seiko page explaining how it works with pictures of the circuit board with the quartz crystal and the proprietary IC(integrated circuit) used that gets it's timing from the quartz crystal and applies the electromagnetic break accordingly.

https://grand-seiko.us.com/about/movement/springdrive/

Oh, and here is the image from that article.

[incontrol]

Originally Posted by Fredrik

Of course there is! How else is it supposed to work? A quartz crystal does not work by itself. here is a link to a Seiko page explaining how it works with pictures of the circuit board with the quartz crystal and the proprietary IC(integrated circuit) used that gets it's timing from the quartz crystal and applies the electromagnetic break accordingly.

https://grand-seiko.us.com/about/movement/springdrive/

Oh, and here is the image from that article.

I stand corrected. I did not know there was an IC used as part of the regulation.

[Fredrik]

Originally Posted by incontrol

I stand corrected. I did not know there was an IC used as part of the regulation.

Well, you are not alone. It is not widely known and the staff in Seikos boutiques are not exactly willing to talk about it either if they know anything about it. I just happen to be knowledgeable about electronics and got curious of how it really worked after a rather strange conversation with a sales person once.

[Rolexavidfan]

Originally Posted by Fredrik

Well, you are not alone. It is not widely known and the staff in Seikos boutiques are not exactly willing to talk about it either if they know anything about it. I just happen to be knowledgeable about electronics and got curious of how it really worked after a rather strange conversation with a sales person once.

I’m no expert here, but what’s the immediate risk of a Spring Drive watch? Hope you can further share your thought on this.


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[pickettt]

Originally Posted by Fredrik

Well, you are not alone. It is not widely known and the staff in Seikos boutiques are not exactly willing to talk about it either if they know anything about it. I just happen to be knowledgeable about electronics and got curious of how it really worked after a rather strange conversation with a sales person once.

I believe, and correct me if I'm wrong, the only Grand Seiko boutique in the U.S. is in Beverly Hills. All others are Seiko boutiques that happen to sell Grand Seiko also. This being the case, you'll probably find many salesman not familiar with the mechanism. They all should, but what can you do?Personally, I wouldn't have spent that kind of money without somewhat knowing what is going on inside.

[PJ S]

^
If Beverley Hills is Grand Seiko only, it’s because they only want to present that line (and presumably Credor too) to the typical wealth that shops in that area.
The others do the same products too, but happen to carry certain Prospex and Presage models too.
As such, one or two staff may be somewhat conversant with the SD technology — just depends on their propensity to understand it.
This is no different to other brands’ boutique staff being fairly clueless about the mechanics of a regular mechanical movement.

[Fredrik]

Originally Posted by Rolexavidfan

I’m no expert here, but what’s the immediate risk of a Spring Drive watch? Hope you can further share your thought on this.

I do not see any immediate risks at all, it is only in the long run that the electronic parts might be a risk. All mechanical parts can basically be manufactured by any skilled watchmaker in the future.

If the IC goes bust you are toast unless Seiko actually keeps heaps of spares. Plants for manufacturing electronics are not run for that many years.

If there are any capacitors on the circuit board they might go bad, some capacitors have a limited life time. You need to find a suitable replacement and someone who can solder surface mount parts(not hard, but not a watchmaker skill).

If you get moisture inside, the circuit board might go bad, depending on what it is made of.

There are just lots of unknowns. My guess is that Seiko will keep spare populated circuit boards as spares for a long time. We just don't know for how long. The mechanical parts can always be manufactured in the future, this is not the case for the IC.

[Rolexavidfan]

Originally Posted by Fredrik

I do not see any immediate risks at all, it is only in the long run that the electronic parts might be a risk. All mechanical parts can basically be manufactured by any skilled watchmaker in the future.

If the IC goes bust you are toast unless Seiko actually keeps heaps of spares. Plants for manufacturing electronics are not run for that many years.

If there are any capacitors on the circuit board they might go bad, some capacitors have a limited life time. You need to find a suitable replacement and someone who can solder surface mount parts(not hard, but not a watchmaker skill).

If you get moisture inside, the circuit board might go bad, depending on what it is made of.

There are just lots of unknowns. My guess is that Seiko will keep spare populated circuit boards as spares for a long time. We just don't know for how long. The mechanical parts can always be manufactured in the future, this is not the case for the IC.

Thanks for the info. With the SD model being in the marketplace for more than 5 years, there should be stories of broken IC or modules that may have been shared. Will try to look for them and post them in this thread.

[Jack T]

I’m liking this exchange, great insight, product and technical knowledge. Despite what I am sure are sound mechanicals and a reliable manufacturing process, the electronic component to the Spring Drive I need to know more about.

[Fredrik]

Originally Posted by Rolexavidfan

Thanks for the info. With the SD model being in the marketplace for more than 5 years, there should be stories of broken IC or modules that may have been shared. Will try to look for them and post them in this thread.

I do not think you will find many, if any. Check again in say 2030 and see how they have held up.