How accurate are budget mechanical watches?
A bit of a long post today, so sit back and enjoy
My collection is made entirely of budget watches, and I have many mechanical watches as well, 8 in total, and I was wondering how accurate the watches you buy on the cheap really are. So, not willing to fork out for a timegrapher (cover photo for attention, not mine), I installed a watch accuracy app onto my phone and got testing. Due to this, please don't take any results here too seriously, it's all a bit of fun, so let's get started! I'll be including how much I spent on all of the watches as we go, and a summary at the end.
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1960s Oris Super - £15
Bought at a car boot sale on holiday for £15, I expected a high beat error on this one due to the occasional difficulty getting it to start once wound and...
+5 s/day
>9.9ms beat error (the app maxes out at 9.9ms, yikes)
21600BPH
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1980s (?) Sekonda square - £13
A Soviet watch this time, bought off eBay for £10+postage, totaling £13, wasn't sure what I would expect here, apart from some fairly solid numbers.
+15 s/day
0.4ms beat error
18000 BPH
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Boldr Safari GMT Serengeti - £300
As the most expensive watch in this roundup and featuring a brand new Seiko NH34 movement, I expected good numbers, I definitely got decent numbers, but I've seen better from Seiko movements.
-10 s/day
0.9ms beat error
21600 BPH
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Rotary Greenwich Skeleton - £50
Another eBay found, being sold by a charity for auction, it's a lovely watch, but unfortunately, one that doesn't see much wrist time, might find itself on the chopping block eventually. Was skeptical of the numbers I'd get from the Hangzhou movement but was pleasantly surprised.
-4 s/day
0.7ms beat error
21600 BPH
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1960s Pobeda Zim - £12.50
A lovely little dress watch, and the watch that got me into collecting as a hobby, wasn't expecting a miracle here, but this is still a watch near and dear to my heart, hopefully I can get it on another strap at some point, a better quality bund perhaps.
-21 s/day
6.3ms beat error
18000 BPH
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Diesel MS9 Skeleton - £80
Bought this one on a whim at a local Watch Station outlet that was selling this for 60% off in a post-Valentine's sale. Just a fashion watch, but my first ever mechanical watch, and one I find quite attractive even if lacking in horological significance. Powered by a Miyota 8000 series movement so expecting decent numbers.
+9 s/day
0.3ms beat error
21600BPH
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Seiko 5 SRPH29K1 - £150
Expectations tempered slightly by the results of the Boldr, I went for this Seiko 5 Flieger, still one of my favourite-looking watches in my collection, the green on the dial is, to quote a certain Dutch racing driver, simply simply lovely. Was pleasantly surprised by the numbers here in the end.
+5 s/day
0.7ms beat error
21600 BPH
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1970s (?) 'Rotary PRX' - £40
A recent purchase here, a watch I can't find much about online, Swiss made so presumably powered by a Swiss movement, but I haven't yet been able to get the caseback off. Definitely a watch for me that scratches the PRX urge, at a considerably lower price. Wasn't sure what to expect, having only owned the watch 1 day, but I was confident.
+7 s/day
0.1ms beat error
21600 BPH
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Summary, and the winners (and losers)
After putting the watches through accuracy tests, the results were certainly a mixed bag, a lot were about what I expected, a lot were far better, and some left me wanting more.
According to my measurements, 3 of my 8 watches would theoretically reach COSC parameters, my vintage Oris Super, my Rotary Greenwich skeleton, and my Seiko 5. That being said, the ridiculous beat error of the Oris would probably eliminate it, it definitely needs a service. Granted, these apps aren't always 100% accurate, so this is more fun than a serious exercise in anything. The Rotary skeleton was the biggest shock, with a Hangzhou movement running within COSC parameters. Also interested to see an odd beat rate from the Soviet watches, 18000BPH, or 2.5Hz, as opposed to the more common 21600BPH (3Hz) or 28800BPH (4Hz) in most Western watches. Long story short, all this really taught me was what was already known, buying budget and vintage watches can be a crapshoot, and my Oris really needs a service quite urgently.
Hope you all enjoyed, and thanks to all who stayed all the way to the end!
19-year-old student in the English Midlands with a low-budget collection. Got into watches while researching Soviet timepieces, still have a love for USSR watches. Getting more interested in stepping...
Awesome insight
One thing to keep in mind with the Oris is that it's not a Swiss-lever escapement in there like most Swiss watches -- it's a pin-pallet movement, more akin to a pre-quartz Timex. Switzerland had some very odd laws beginning in the '30s that prohibited companies from employing new technologies in their movements that they weren't already using. Since Oris was only making pin-pallets at the time, they were barred from using Swiss-lever escapements for many years.
That rotary prx looks gorgeous, can't believe you got it for £40 only. Nice find!
One thing to keep in mind with the Oris is that it's not a Swiss-lever escapement in there like most Swiss watches -- it's a pin-pallet movement, more akin to a pre-quartz Timex. Switzerland had some very odd laws beginning in the '30s that prohibited companies from employing new technologies in their movements that they weren't already using. Since Oris was only making pin-pallets at the time, they were barred from using Swiss-lever escapements for many years.
I love learning new information! 🙏🏼🥂
That rotary prx looks gorgeous, can't believe you got it for £40 only. Nice find!
Was so proud of myself for that find, the dial is stunning, a really nice sunburst that makes the dial shift from royal blue to light blue to almost purple depending on the light. Can't seem to find much about these watches though, only 2 selling on eBay, and nothing online about them, so perhaps a bit of a rarity? An amazing PRX alternative though at a fraction of the price!
My Seiko turtle loses 0,5 seconds a day.😂almost spring drive precision from that 4r caliber!🔥
Nice! Glad you found a few winners in your group.
I’ll probably get a timegrapher at some point
I’m using a different app and these are some pricier watches to compare with (some spelling mistakes and nicknames, some watches have been measured a few times)
The spring drives crush accuracy. My sakura 413 is at ~ +3 seconds in 4 months. All my springs average 0.0 seconds a day and need long time frames to detect anything
My alpinist is a 6R35 movement
Oris is a stock Swiss SW-200.
SSW is the super sea wolf from Zodiac, a Swiss STP 1-11. It’s COSC certified with paperwork
Prospex Turtle is my 4R movement
Nice! Glad you found a few winners in your group.
I’ll probably get a timegrapher at some point
I’m using a different app and these are some pricier watches to compare with (some spelling mistakes and nicknames, some watches have been measured a few times)
The spring drives crush accuracy. My sakura 413 is at ~ +3 seconds in 4 months. All my springs average 0.0 seconds a day and need long time frames to detect anything
My alpinist is a 6R35 movement
Oris is a stock Swiss SW-200.
SSW is the super sea wolf from Zodiac, a Swiss STP 1-11. It’s COSC certified with paperwork
Prospex Turtle is my 4R movement
Good to see a step up in accuracy with more price, some of those watches are in the sort of price range I'm aiming to move my collection into, particularly the Alpinist, the Turtle, and the Oris at the highest end. I am currently eyeing up whether to save for an Oris 65. Love those watches.
The 65 in your favorite colorway would be a winner. Oris are great money vs quality ratio.
Very solid and reliable movement
buy used maybe to save the most
Not sure if you like Zodiac but mine was a crazy good deal on used market. It’s a COSC certified dive watch and I got a new condition used one for 1100. Nothing else comes close to that value.
look for word “chronometer”, the models with that are COSC
If you go Alpinist buy at a dealer and verify movement is good, if not Seiko will regulate or replace for free
Was so proud of myself for that find, the dial is stunning, a really nice sunburst that makes the dial shift from royal blue to light blue to almost purple depending on the light. Can't seem to find much about these watches though, only 2 selling on eBay, and nothing online about them, so perhaps a bit of a rarity? An amazing PRX alternative though at a fraction of the price!
It's a keeper. Love the Tissot PRX also but your Rotary is more distinctive.
Is it a Real Pobeda ZIM? Been seeing a lot of weird Frankenstein Zim's on ebay lately...
Is it a Real Pobeda ZIM? Been seeing a lot of weird Frankenstein Zim's on ebay lately...
As far as I can tell yes, the movement is legit and obviously that's always the first red flag