Seiko 6R35 movement. Good or Bad? Keep or Sell?

If you love the 153 keep it. We live in the future, even the "worst" movements are amazing compared to what has come before. Seiko makes great watches.

Its a fine movement - nothing special, but solid and reliable in my experience.

I tell people this about anything repairable: Even "better made" stuff can break or be defective, and selecting specifically for the "best made" product will make you feel pretty lame if it ends up needing to be fixed anyway, which everything inevitably does. Maybe you have a marginally higher chance of having to replace a part when you get it serviced or end up paying for an extra service in the watch's lifespan, but who the hell cares? If you like the watch and it's not poorly made, which virtually no major brand movements are these days, then keep it and wear it. A lot of movement VS movement debates these days are splitting hairs as long as it's not some brand new movement that has no track record.

"A lot of movement VS movement debates these days are splitting hairs as long as it's not some brand new movement that has no track record.

Very True. Thank you

Thank you

Thank you

On that note, people on the quest for "best" often overlook the question of parts availability. Personally I would much rather have an ETA powered watch that's easy / inexpensive to fix than a "top of the line" Rolex that requires special training and exclusive parts to work on.

It's a perfectly fine movement--super easy to service and most any watchmaker can regulate it to COSC standards if that matters to you. I've never had a serious problem with it.

Good perspective. I am not an expert on movements so often time rely on Brand to judge reliability (Tacoma owner). Seiko has always treated me kindly, but the buzz on the net about this made me wonder.

In a sense, treating a watch with an easily repairable movement as if damaging it is catastrophic is almost a rejection of one of the benefits of your choice of watch. It's kind of like buying a knife with a blade steel that's easy to sharpen but then stressing over it, or being selective with its use, in order to preserve the factory edge. You can borderline abuse that knife and maintain it, and it will see you through just about anything. I will wear my mechanical watches doing some things most people would probably stay away from, but I am able to relax because I know that I can fix it relatively hassle free if I break it, which is part of why I bought this watch. Most of the stuff that's "risky" is capable of damaging it, but very unlikely to, so I've yet to actually have to repair anything.

I’ve been pretty happy with mine in the SPB143, has been reliable and accurate enough so far. As others have said if you like the watch don’t worry too much about the movement it can be repaired/serviced. 👍🏻

If you like the watch I wouldn’t worry about it. The 4R and 6R movements are nothing spectacular but they are evolutions of older Seiko movements that are tried and true. I’ve had multiples of both movements. Some aren’t too accurate but they’ve never been troublesome. Don’t get too caught up in the YouTube and forum talk. A lot of it is people just spitting out the same information over and over again.

Thanks

I think sometimes one “expert” will call something crappy or bad and someone will see or read that and spread it like it’s the truth. Most common movements are workhorses and will serve us well.

Thank you

Speaking truth. Much appreciated.

I love Seiko and I am a sucker for an Alpinist, but I would be lying to myself if I said otherwise.

I missed out on the SARB017 when it was still in production and @ $400. Should've, could've...Blah

If it makes you feel any better, there are more fakes than originals out there. I bought one back when for $300 and while it had a Seiko movement, it was not the one it should have. These days, I would just get the SBEJ005 from Sakura and call it day.

Thanks for the recommendation. I'll check it out

I had a horrible experience with that movement. Others have reported the same thing. I’ve had better luck with the cheaper NH35/4R35

The movement is mediocre at best but that is not the issue, it is what it is. Problem is when you put it in +1k watches where you have many ETA, Selita and other better movements to chose from. Sold my Alpinist due to accuracy issues

There are reports of accuracy issues. So the main problem seems to be Seiko's QC practices and QA consistency. This is however how my SPB143 performs, which is not bad at all:

Notice that the first high reading is due to low power reserve (I did not wind the watch upon picking it up).

Mine is currently -1 second over the last ~80 hours or so... It is certainly a movement/brand, that no matter what they do will always have people complaining about one thing or another. There will be dozens of negative comments on every topic, release, news article, while thousands, hundreds of thousands of positive people will just live their lives.

Bullshittalk about people who have never owned one , same people that believe second hand narratives.

Wonder why Seiko doesn't give their ~$1000 and up watches the excellent 8l35 movement?

They are hush hush about how much the 8L costs, but I would bet it is well north of $600 just for the movement, if not closer to $1000, so it would not be economical. I am sure there are other reasons, but cost is certainly a factor.

I highly doubt the movement costs that much. Maybe 150-$200 or so.

Watch movements are a LOT cheaper then people are led to think, especially mass markets mass produced ones.

The 8L is not that mass produced (relatively) and can hold its own against some much higher tier watch movments. I have seen the 8L35B (it is rare, but it happens) alone go for over $1200. Which is why a watch that looks like one that costs $1000 is being sold at close to $3K.

Another example, try to find a top grade LJP 101 without a custom rotor or finishing. Retail is about $300, so of course a little less wholesale and lesser in house, but if one is a microbrand, they could expect to shell out about that by the time any customization is done, and that cannot hold a candle to the 8L35.

Top tier movements can easily cost over $1000 alone as there is a lot more care and attention to them then say the average Seiko 3 or 6 series. Could write 5000 words outlining it, but there are some that no matter what one says, even if they list the price part by part, will never believe it, because hey, “I can buy a NH35 for $20, how much better could it be?” Infinitely.

Think of it like a car engine; every single component can be improved upon. A Koenigsegg engine for example, every piece is its own masterpiece while arguably being the best at what it does. I am not saying an 8L is that, but it is certainly more Lexus than say the NH35 which is more Yaris.

I would not dare try to guess how much a Roger Smith movement costs to make.

A Roger Smith movement costs his hourly or piecework rate 😅 Remember that most watch movements besides ones made one at a time by a watchmaker are usually made with robots. Omega movements, Rolex movements, Grand Seiko movements, all made with machine help. Oddly enough, the LJP G100 movement actually has equivalent of slightly better specs than the 8l35..... More power reserve and an option for better accuracy while the basic version is equivalent accuracy