Most Accurate Movements?
Discussion
What's the most accurate movement for the price? I'm not sure if this could be boiled down into a stat like seconds per £ or something?
The reason I ask is that I recently had my Seiko 6R35 movement regulated, and it's so much more accurate than it was, it's a game changer. I can't believe I put up with it being 20+ seconds a day out, even though it's within spec. I was always adjusting the time, now it's once a week.
I was looking at some of the Christopher Ward range, and the COSC movement with its +6/-4secs p/day seems very good for the price (as they are usually more accurate than stated), I was wondering if there are any other brands with automatics that have a stated range around the 5secs p/day for an affordable price?
As much as I love Seiko, their accuracy ranges are off the wall until you get into much higher prices.
To be clear, I'm not looking for quartz.
The reason I ask is that I recently had my Seiko 6R35 movement regulated, and it's so much more accurate than it was, it's a game changer. I can't believe I put up with it being 20+ seconds a day out, even though it's within spec. I was always adjusting the time, now it's once a week.
I was looking at some of the Christopher Ward range, and the COSC movement with its +6/-4secs p/day seems very good for the price (as they are usually more accurate than stated), I was wondering if there are any other brands with automatics that have a stated range around the 5secs p/day for an affordable price?
As much as I love Seiko, their accuracy ranges are off the wall until you get into much higher prices.
To be clear, I'm not looking for quartz.
Edited by Bob_Defly on Monday 25th November 19:47
If you want great accuracy, you need to go for quartz. Most mechanicals can be regulated to be pretty good - a couple of seconds a day or so - but they will all drift over time, especally if not serviced. Quartz doesn't tend to do that, though some are more accurate than others - I think the ETA Superquartz movement is good to a few seconds a year, whereas most are a few seconds a month at worst.
There's a Seiko which is solar powered and corrects itself based on GPS signals. How does 1 second in 100,000 years sound for accuracy?
There's a Seiko which is solar powered and corrects itself based on GPS signals. How does 1 second in 100,000 years sound for accuracy?
OMITN said:
And if you want to stay mechanical/automatic then seiko’s Spring Drive movements (generally found on their Grand Seiko models) are highly accurate.
(And before anyone starts, no they aren’t quartz watches..!)
Seiko Spring Drive uses a quartz crystal oscillator as part of it's regulator, so is a quartz watch.(And before anyone starts, no they aren’t quartz watches..!)
The fact that it is powered by a mainspring doesn't change that.
OMITN said:
And if you want to stay mechanical/automatic then seiko’s Spring Drive movements (generally found on their Grand Seiko models) are highly accurate.
(And before anyone starts, no they aren’t quartz watches..!)
I agree that it's not quartz per se, but I'm looking at 100% mechanical.(And before anyone starts, no they aren’t quartz watches..!)
The question is, if CW can offer +5/-5secs p.day for just under £1,000 , can anyone beat that?
Bob_Defly said:
OMITN said:
And if you want to stay mechanical/automatic then seiko’s Spring Drive movements (generally found on their Grand Seiko models) are highly accurate.
(And before anyone starts, no they aren’t quartz watches..!)
I agree that it's not quartz per se, but I'm looking at 100% mechanical.(And before anyone starts, no they aren’t quartz watches..!)
The question is, if CW can offer +5/-5secs p.day for just under £1,000 , can anyone beat that?
Edited by Super Sonic on Monday 25th November 18:54
Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres (COSC) is a Swiss institute that certifies watches meeting precise accuracy standards, specifically within -4 to +6 seconds per day. Below are COSC-certified automatic watches:
Christopher Ward: Christopher Ward provides models like the C60 Trident COSC 600, which features their in-house SH21 movement.
Tissot: The Tissot Le Locle Automatic COSC is a notable option, featuring a chronometer-certified ETA 2824-2 movement.
Certina: Certina's DS-8 collection includes models with COSC-certified movements.
Mido: Mido offers several COSC-certified models, such as the Multifort Chronometer 1.
Formex: The Formex Essence features a COSC-certified automatic movement.
If I had to choose one for the best value, I would recommend the Christopher Ward C60 Trident Pro COSC.

Christopher Ward: Christopher Ward provides models like the C60 Trident COSC 600, which features their in-house SH21 movement.
Tissot: The Tissot Le Locle Automatic COSC is a notable option, featuring a chronometer-certified ETA 2824-2 movement.
Certina: Certina's DS-8 collection includes models with COSC-certified movements.
Mido: Mido offers several COSC-certified models, such as the Multifort Chronometer 1.
Formex: The Formex Essence features a COSC-certified automatic movement.
If I had to choose one for the best value, I would recommend the Christopher Ward C60 Trident Pro COSC.
paddy1970 said:
Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres (COSC) is a Swiss institute that certifies watches meeting precise accuracy standards, specifically within -4 to +6 seconds per day. Below are COSC-certified automatic watches:
Christopher Ward: Christopher Ward provides models like the C60 Trident COSC 600, which features their in-house SH21 movement.
Tissot: The Tissot Le Locle Automatic COSC is a notable option, featuring a chronometer-certified ETA 2824-2 movement.
Certina: Certina's DS-8 collection includes models with COSC-certified movements.
Mido: Mido offers several COSC-certified models, such as the Multifort Chronometer 1.
Formex: The Formex Essence features a COSC-certified automatic movement.
If I had to choose one for the best value, I would recommend the Christopher Ward C60 Trident Pro COSC.

Interesting (and thanks for actually answering what I asked).Christopher Ward: Christopher Ward provides models like the C60 Trident COSC 600, which features their in-house SH21 movement.
Tissot: The Tissot Le Locle Automatic COSC is a notable option, featuring a chronometer-certified ETA 2824-2 movement.
Certina: Certina's DS-8 collection includes models with COSC-certified movements.
Mido: Mido offers several COSC-certified models, such as the Multifort Chronometer 1.
Formex: The Formex Essence features a COSC-certified automatic movement.
If I had to choose one for the best value, I would recommend the Christopher Ward C60 Trident Pro COSC.
I had a look through all of these, and I think I agree, CW seems to be the best bang for the buck. The others are nice, but are either generally more expensive than CW, or the design looks a bit 'DW / mall watch' if you know what I mean. I think CW stands out a bit design-wise.
Bob_Defly said:
Smurfsarepeopletoo said:
Citizen ECO-Drive Radio Controlled watches?
Isn't that just Quartz?So while they are very accurate (some versions claim +/- 1s or 5s per year even without radio corrections), they aren't what you were asking about!
Citizen do make some accurate mechanical movements too though, apparently the 0200 is -3/+5 seconds per day.
Edited by GravelBen on Monday 25th November 23:41
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