Spring Drive Service Frequency and Cost?
Hi all,
I’ve been looking at GS for a bit and had the opportunity on my lunch break today to try on what I think is the best of their spring drive line (for me at least). It’s a gorgeous watch in the metal and combines my two wishes for a GS - a lake suwa/birch type textured dial without a date window and PR.
One thing that’s got me nervous about entering the spring drive world is the recommended service frequency and cost. Per GS, they recommend once every 3-4 years and it looks like servicing would be like $700-900 a pop.
I have no experience with spring drive and don’t know if they’re more finicky than other mechanical movements and really would require more frequent service.
I’d be interested in hearing the experiences of GS owners here on the forums. If you’ve had a spring drive for a while, how often do you send it in for service, and what’s the cost been?
If it matters, I’d anticipate putting the GS in heavy rotation - maybe getting 25% of my wrist time.
Seattle landscape photographer with a watch habit. Portfolio: WashingtonStatePhotography.com
Beautiful watch, and I agree that it’s much better without a PR or date. I don’t own one, but if I did, there’s no way I’d be paying that much every 3-4 years. Maybe I’d kill the thing, but I just can’t live with something that needs that much servicing and costs that much.
Beautiful watch, and I agree that it’s much better without a PR or date. I don’t own one, but if I did, there’s no way I’d be paying that much every 3-4 years. Maybe I’d kill the thing, but I just can’t live with something that needs that much servicing and costs that much.
Yep exactly. I’m wondering if that recommended schedule has any grounding in reality because if so it’s Nomos time
Beautiful!
I'm gonna make this response my canned response with regard to service and service intervals, so TLDR... Ain't much to worry about.
#1 - Warranties and what they tell us about manufacturing quality
Most respectable manufacturers used to provide 2 years of warranty
Even today, almost any ETA-powered watch will typically come with a 2-year warranty
Why is that?
Well, because manufacturing used to suck - we were just AWFUL at manufacturing
Look at any car manufactured by the Big 3 from the 70's and compare that car to one produced today - it isn't a difference in degree, but a difference in kind entirely
Or, better yet, go check out a vintage example of the supposedly vaunted, robust tool watches of yore - like a Rolex Sub - and you will find it to be the jangliest, jankiest, junkiest piece of junk out there!
Today, almost all of the big brands offer 5 year warranties, because manufacturing techniques and technologies are so advanced that the manufacturers can comfortably offer longer and longer warranty periods
#2 - Lubricants
In the bad old days, watch movements used to use mineral oils, and they sucked
If they weren't in constant motion, they would gum up
If they were in operation too long, they would break down
You couldn't let a watch sit around all the time, nor could you have it running all the time!
Service intervals were short, because the mineral oils had short useful lifespans, and watches needed to be re-lubricated often
Nowadays we have the wonders of synthetic lubricants - they don't gum up, they don't separate, and their heat tolerances are far, far, far superior
#3 - Combination of factors
Given this combination of factors, should we take our watches in for service at the recommended 4 year mark? 8 year mark? 10 year mark? Whatever it is that the manufacturers recommend?
Why?
If modern materials are robust and resistant to corrosion, and all the parts are precision machined, and they continue to operate flawlessly, and the lubricants can last 50-100 years at normal operating temperatures... why would one take that machine apart?
If it ain't broke, why fix it?
Now, with regard to GS in particular, I have 14 GS, and have had no issues whatsoever. But, then again, I've only had mine for, say, 2 years. But, then again, I had a couple of brand new Breitlings that broke within 1 month of ownership! Ha! Haven't had that experience with GS.
At this point, one should ask, "What is the most common failure mode for mechanical watches?" Well, in the bad old days, it used to be bad things happening due to the breakdown of the oils in the movement! Next on the list, the fiddliest part of the watch is the escapement and the balance spring. Well, GS Spring Drive watches don't have traditional escapements! It's the tri-synchro regulator that's a magnetic brake that does the work of an "escapement" - and that's why you can't magnetize a Spring Drive the way you can a normal mechanical watch! There is no balance spring to magnetize!
Given the tri-syncro regulator set up, the Spring Drive movement has fewer parts and doesn't even have the fiddly parts that typical mechanical watches have.
Thus, am I gonna bring any of my Spring Drive watches in for service at the 4, 8, 10, 12 year marks? No siree, Bob! If it ain't broke, I ain't gonna fix it.
When I purchased my spring drive Grand Seiko, my AD mentioned the service interval being ~8-10 years.
3-4 years is the Seiko recommended interval from the booklet, but in reality the duration can be longer. Here is a link to a post where Joe Kirk from Grand Seiko goes into it in more detail about some of the factors.
https://www.watchuseek.com/threads/faq-regarding-grand-seiko-service.4203962/
This was something that I looked into a lot when I was researching before pulling the trigger. I hope it helps you as well, it is a beautiful watch.
@Mr.Dee.Bater @Shin0896
Nice guys that’s the sort of info I’m looking for! As a M.E. I was thinking the lack of rapid oscillation in the spring drive movement should result in less wear but the way the electromagnetic brake works is somewhat of a mystery to me. Feeling better about it thanks.
@Mr.Dee.Bater @Shin0896
Nice guys that’s the sort of info I’m looking for! As a M.E. I was thinking the lack of rapid oscillation in the spring drive movement should result in less wear but the way the electromagnetic brake works is somewhat of a mystery to me. Feeling better about it thanks.
https://youtu.be/d0iBbfR0uCE
So behind the scenes many from Grand Seiko expect most spring drives to last 20+ years between needed services.
That is not official, but I wouldn't worry about a spring drive giving you problems for well over a decade.
Beautiful!
I'm gonna make this response my canned response with regard to service and service intervals, so TLDR... Ain't much to worry about.
#1 - Warranties and what they tell us about manufacturing quality
Most respectable manufacturers used to provide 2 years of warranty
Even today, almost any ETA-powered watch will typically come with a 2-year warranty
Why is that?
Well, because manufacturing used to suck - we were just AWFUL at manufacturing
Look at any car manufactured by the Big 3 from the 70's and compare that car to one produced today - it isn't a difference in degree, but a difference in kind entirely
Or, better yet, go check out a vintage example of the supposedly vaunted, robust tool watches of yore - like a Rolex Sub - and you will find it to be the jangliest, jankiest, junkiest piece of junk out there!
Today, almost all of the big brands offer 5 year warranties, because manufacturing techniques and technologies are so advanced that the manufacturers can comfortably offer longer and longer warranty periods
#2 - Lubricants
In the bad old days, watch movements used to use mineral oils, and they sucked
If they weren't in constant motion, they would gum up
If they were in operation too long, they would break down
You couldn't let a watch sit around all the time, nor could you have it running all the time!
Service intervals were short, because the mineral oils had short useful lifespans, and watches needed to be re-lubricated often
Nowadays we have the wonders of synthetic lubricants - they don't gum up, they don't separate, and their heat tolerances are far, far, far superior
#3 - Combination of factors
Given this combination of factors, should we take our watches in for service at the recommended 4 year mark? 8 year mark? 10 year mark? Whatever it is that the manufacturers recommend?
Why?
If modern materials are robust and resistant to corrosion, and all the parts are precision machined, and they continue to operate flawlessly, and the lubricants can last 50-100 years at normal operating temperatures... why would one take that machine apart?
If it ain't broke, why fix it?
Now, with regard to GS in particular, I have 14 GS, and have had no issues whatsoever. But, then again, I've only had mine for, say, 2 years. But, then again, I had a couple of brand new Breitlings that broke within 1 month of ownership! Ha! Haven't had that experience with GS.
At this point, one should ask, "What is the most common failure mode for mechanical watches?" Well, in the bad old days, it used to be bad things happening due to the breakdown of the oils in the movement! Next on the list, the fiddliest part of the watch is the escapement and the balance spring. Well, GS Spring Drive watches don't have traditional escapements! It's the tri-synchro regulator that's a magnetic brake that does the work of an "escapement" - and that's why you can't magnetize a Spring Drive the way you can a normal mechanical watch! There is no balance spring to magnetize!
Given the tri-syncro regulator set up, the Spring Drive movement has fewer parts and doesn't even have the fiddly parts that typical mechanical watches have.
Thus, am I gonna bring any of my Spring Drive watches in for service at the 4, 8, 10, 12 year marks? No siree, Bob! If it ain't broke, I ain't gonna fix it.
What he said!
This is a great question and thanks for putting it out there. I own an earlier Ananta Spring Drive from 2009 and it has never been serviced. It continues to run flawlessly, but this is something that is in the back of my mind as I wait for a malfunction.
Beautiful watch AJ. I don’t own a GS of my own though i do have a lot of interest in the brand. So i don’t know how valuable you will find my opinion but personally I wouldn’t be able to be convinced to bring a watch into service that often ESPECIALLY if it coast that amount of money. I think that sound a little gimmicky to be honest. A well made watch should perform fine for at least 5-10 years and I would probably wait 10 years if that to even have it looked at. But that’s all just me. ✌🏾
If you don't get it serviced keep it out of water after 5 years because the seals die at 6 years.
Spring Drive is a mechanical movement, yes/no? It has a rotor that turns, a spring in a barrel that turns and drives gears and an electrical generator. These are all potential sources of wear no different than a traditional mechanical watch.
The secret of the tri-synchro regulator is that the integrated circuit with its quartz reference will keep the watch in perfect time even as the gears, pinions and jewels are grinding themselves to dust. When will that happen? We don’t really know. Each watch will have a different experience, I presume.
With regular mechanical watches, there will generally be clues to condition of movement from its timekeeping. It might get slow. It might get fast. This won’t happen with Spring Drive because the computer’s only concern is keeping the output on time, regardless of happening within the movement.
I think it comes down to an individual willingness to risk or trust the actual condition of the movement after 10 or more years. Could it be perfect? Sure. Could it show wear? Sure. Over 10 years, the seconds hand will complete 315 million full revolutions. Could that be a source of wear? Sure.
Personally, I’d want to know what’s going on inside the movement after a certain amount of wear for my own peace of mind given that there will likely be no other indication of trouble before total failure.
Beautiful!
I'm gonna make this response my canned response with regard to service and service intervals, so TLDR... Ain't much to worry about.
#1 - Warranties and what they tell us about manufacturing quality
Most respectable manufacturers used to provide 2 years of warranty
Even today, almost any ETA-powered watch will typically come with a 2-year warranty
Why is that?
Well, because manufacturing used to suck - we were just AWFUL at manufacturing
Look at any car manufactured by the Big 3 from the 70's and compare that car to one produced today - it isn't a difference in degree, but a difference in kind entirely
Or, better yet, go check out a vintage example of the supposedly vaunted, robust tool watches of yore - like a Rolex Sub - and you will find it to be the jangliest, jankiest, junkiest piece of junk out there!
Today, almost all of the big brands offer 5 year warranties, because manufacturing techniques and technologies are so advanced that the manufacturers can comfortably offer longer and longer warranty periods
#2 - Lubricants
In the bad old days, watch movements used to use mineral oils, and they sucked
If they weren't in constant motion, they would gum up
If they were in operation too long, they would break down
You couldn't let a watch sit around all the time, nor could you have it running all the time!
Service intervals were short, because the mineral oils had short useful lifespans, and watches needed to be re-lubricated often
Nowadays we have the wonders of synthetic lubricants - they don't gum up, they don't separate, and their heat tolerances are far, far, far superior
#3 - Combination of factors
Given this combination of factors, should we take our watches in for service at the recommended 4 year mark? 8 year mark? 10 year mark? Whatever it is that the manufacturers recommend?
Why?
If modern materials are robust and resistant to corrosion, and all the parts are precision machined, and they continue to operate flawlessly, and the lubricants can last 50-100 years at normal operating temperatures... why would one take that machine apart?
If it ain't broke, why fix it?
Now, with regard to GS in particular, I have 14 GS, and have had no issues whatsoever. But, then again, I've only had mine for, say, 2 years. But, then again, I had a couple of brand new Breitlings that broke within 1 month of ownership! Ha! Haven't had that experience with GS.
At this point, one should ask, "What is the most common failure mode for mechanical watches?" Well, in the bad old days, it used to be bad things happening due to the breakdown of the oils in the movement! Next on the list, the fiddliest part of the watch is the escapement and the balance spring. Well, GS Spring Drive watches don't have traditional escapements! It's the tri-synchro regulator that's a magnetic brake that does the work of an "escapement" - and that's why you can't magnetize a Spring Drive the way you can a normal mechanical watch! There is no balance spring to magnetize!
Given the tri-syncro regulator set up, the Spring Drive movement has fewer parts and doesn't even have the fiddly parts that typical mechanical watches have.
Thus, am I gonna bring any of my Spring Drive watches in for service at the 4, 8, 10, 12 year marks? No siree, Bob! If it ain't broke, I ain't gonna fix it.
Absolutely 💯
I've owned 3 Spring Drive. 1 I regret selling. The other I gifted away. I just purchased a SBGE255 GMT and love it! This watch tech is so damned bulletproof I doubt the watch will need service in my lifetime. Also... what @Mr.Dee.Bater said 👏
Beautiful!
I'm gonna make this response my canned response with regard to service and service intervals, so TLDR... Ain't much to worry about.
#1 - Warranties and what they tell us about manufacturing quality
Most respectable manufacturers used to provide 2 years of warranty
Even today, almost any ETA-powered watch will typically come with a 2-year warranty
Why is that?
Well, because manufacturing used to suck - we were just AWFUL at manufacturing
Look at any car manufactured by the Big 3 from the 70's and compare that car to one produced today - it isn't a difference in degree, but a difference in kind entirely
Or, better yet, go check out a vintage example of the supposedly vaunted, robust tool watches of yore - like a Rolex Sub - and you will find it to be the jangliest, jankiest, junkiest piece of junk out there!
Today, almost all of the big brands offer 5 year warranties, because manufacturing techniques and technologies are so advanced that the manufacturers can comfortably offer longer and longer warranty periods
#2 - Lubricants
In the bad old days, watch movements used to use mineral oils, and they sucked
If they weren't in constant motion, they would gum up
If they were in operation too long, they would break down
You couldn't let a watch sit around all the time, nor could you have it running all the time!
Service intervals were short, because the mineral oils had short useful lifespans, and watches needed to be re-lubricated often
Nowadays we have the wonders of synthetic lubricants - they don't gum up, they don't separate, and their heat tolerances are far, far, far superior
#3 - Combination of factors
Given this combination of factors, should we take our watches in for service at the recommended 4 year mark? 8 year mark? 10 year mark? Whatever it is that the manufacturers recommend?
Why?
If modern materials are robust and resistant to corrosion, and all the parts are precision machined, and they continue to operate flawlessly, and the lubricants can last 50-100 years at normal operating temperatures... why would one take that machine apart?
If it ain't broke, why fix it?
Now, with regard to GS in particular, I have 14 GS, and have had no issues whatsoever. But, then again, I've only had mine for, say, 2 years. But, then again, I had a couple of brand new Breitlings that broke within 1 month of ownership! Ha! Haven't had that experience with GS.
At this point, one should ask, "What is the most common failure mode for mechanical watches?" Well, in the bad old days, it used to be bad things happening due to the breakdown of the oils in the movement! Next on the list, the fiddliest part of the watch is the escapement and the balance spring. Well, GS Spring Drive watches don't have traditional escapements! It's the tri-synchro regulator that's a magnetic brake that does the work of an "escapement" - and that's why you can't magnetize a Spring Drive the way you can a normal mechanical watch! There is no balance spring to magnetize!
Given the tri-syncro regulator set up, the Spring Drive movement has fewer parts and doesn't even have the fiddly parts that typical mechanical watches have.
Thus, am I gonna bring any of my Spring Drive watches in for service at the 4, 8, 10, 12 year marks? No siree, Bob! If it ain't broke, I ain't gonna fix it.
You have 14 Grand Seikos!? Can we see that SOTC?
I've not got myself a spring drive yet looking at that I mean starring dialy at that model love it 🙄🤣but Mr I say again Mr bateses don't broke what isn't fixed policy is the policy,the company's say you should do this every so often because there will be people that follow them guidelines probably spend more on servicing the watch the first year than they payed for it,think of it as a visual thing you wouldn't change the crystal if it wasn't scratched so why would you get a watch serviced if it's working properly 👍
Beautiful!
I'm gonna make this response my canned response with regard to service and service intervals, so TLDR... Ain't much to worry about.
#1 - Warranties and what they tell us about manufacturing quality
Most respectable manufacturers used to provide 2 years of warranty
Even today, almost any ETA-powered watch will typically come with a 2-year warranty
Why is that?
Well, because manufacturing used to suck - we were just AWFUL at manufacturing
Look at any car manufactured by the Big 3 from the 70's and compare that car to one produced today - it isn't a difference in degree, but a difference in kind entirely
Or, better yet, go check out a vintage example of the supposedly vaunted, robust tool watches of yore - like a Rolex Sub - and you will find it to be the jangliest, jankiest, junkiest piece of junk out there!
Today, almost all of the big brands offer 5 year warranties, because manufacturing techniques and technologies are so advanced that the manufacturers can comfortably offer longer and longer warranty periods
#2 - Lubricants
In the bad old days, watch movements used to use mineral oils, and they sucked
If they weren't in constant motion, they would gum up
If they were in operation too long, they would break down
You couldn't let a watch sit around all the time, nor could you have it running all the time!
Service intervals were short, because the mineral oils had short useful lifespans, and watches needed to be re-lubricated often
Nowadays we have the wonders of synthetic lubricants - they don't gum up, they don't separate, and their heat tolerances are far, far, far superior
#3 - Combination of factors
Given this combination of factors, should we take our watches in for service at the recommended 4 year mark? 8 year mark? 10 year mark? Whatever it is that the manufacturers recommend?
Why?
If modern materials are robust and resistant to corrosion, and all the parts are precision machined, and they continue to operate flawlessly, and the lubricants can last 50-100 years at normal operating temperatures... why would one take that machine apart?
If it ain't broke, why fix it?
Now, with regard to GS in particular, I have 14 GS, and have had no issues whatsoever. But, then again, I've only had mine for, say, 2 years. But, then again, I had a couple of brand new Breitlings that broke within 1 month of ownership! Ha! Haven't had that experience with GS.
At this point, one should ask, "What is the most common failure mode for mechanical watches?" Well, in the bad old days, it used to be bad things happening due to the breakdown of the oils in the movement! Next on the list, the fiddliest part of the watch is the escapement and the balance spring. Well, GS Spring Drive watches don't have traditional escapements! It's the tri-synchro regulator that's a magnetic brake that does the work of an "escapement" - and that's why you can't magnetize a Spring Drive the way you can a normal mechanical watch! There is no balance spring to magnetize!
Given the tri-syncro regulator set up, the Spring Drive movement has fewer parts and doesn't even have the fiddly parts that typical mechanical watches have.
Thus, am I gonna bring any of my Spring Drive watches in for service at the 4, 8, 10, 12 year marks? No siree, Bob! If it ain't broke, I ain't gonna fix it.
Brilliant treatise my friend 👏! My philosophy as well.
You alluded to it and I’ll expand: the SD lack of balance wheel, spring, pallet etc. and instead having 2 unidirectional smooth turning wheels is vastly more robust than an escapement.
Shocks, vibrations and similar abuse are tolerated better than a mechanical watch
I’m a little more careful with my mechanicals, but my SD are good to take on anything. 😉
😜
You have 14 Grand Seikos!? Can we see that SOTC?
Well, it's 11 GS and 1 King Seiko in my possession at the moment. 1 other GS, the SBGW289, I bought for my wife, and she sometimes wears it, sometimes it's in my collection. 1 GS I bought for my sister, the SLGA013.
https://www.watchcrunch.com/Mr.Dee.Bater/posts/behold-for-it-is-done-i-am-now-atmr-dee-bater-and-sotc-43855
Well, it's 11 GS and 1 King Seiko in my possession at the moment. 1 other GS, the SBGW289, I bought for my wife, and she sometimes wears it, sometimes it's in my collection. 1 GS I bought for my sister, the SLGA013.
https://www.watchcrunch.com/Mr.Dee.Bater/posts/behold-for-it-is-done-i-am-now-atmr-dee-bater-and-sotc-43855
Mr Dee Bater, you are a very generous person. On a completely unrelated note I am available for adoption.
Spring Drive is a mechanical movement, yes/no? It has a rotor that turns, a spring in a barrel that turns and drives gears and an electrical generator. These are all potential sources of wear no different than a traditional mechanical watch.
The secret of the tri-synchro regulator is that the integrated circuit with its quartz reference will keep the watch in perfect time even as the gears, pinions and jewels are grinding themselves to dust. When will that happen? We don’t really know. Each watch will have a different experience, I presume.
With regular mechanical watches, there will generally be clues to condition of movement from its timekeeping. It might get slow. It might get fast. This won’t happen with Spring Drive because the computer’s only concern is keeping the output on time, regardless of happening within the movement.
I think it comes down to an individual willingness to risk or trust the actual condition of the movement after 10 or more years. Could it be perfect? Sure. Could it show wear? Sure. Over 10 years, the seconds hand will complete 315 million full revolutions. Could that be a source of wear? Sure.
Personally, I’d want to know what’s going on inside the movement after a certain amount of wear for my own peace of mind given that there will likely be no other indication of trouble before total failure.
Thanks for the input! I think everyone here is on the same page that this is still a mechanical movement that will eventually need service, the service interval suggested by GS just seemed a little....excessive.
You bring up a great point about how to know if the internals are experiencing wear if the electromagnetic brake is controlling the speed. I guess you can assume that you wouldn't see it gaining/losing time if something was worn or if lubricants could dry up.
I wonder if you could use the PR time to gage the health of the watch.
Imagine using a chronograph run while letting the watch power down. the additional resistance of the chrono complication may stop the watch before the spring has released all kinetic energy. I wonder if worn down jewels or dried up lubricants may result in the same behavior on a spring drive.
Brilliant treatise my friend 👏! My philosophy as well.
You alluded to it and I’ll expand: the SD lack of balance wheel, spring, pallet etc. and instead having 2 unidirectional smooth turning wheels is vastly more robust than an escapement.
Shocks, vibrations and similar abuse are tolerated better than a mechanical watch
I’m a little more careful with my mechanicals, but my SD are good to take on anything. 😉
😜
Damn man, I literally can’t imagine going out for a ride with anything nicer than my G-Shock. Having visions right now of going over the handlebars in slo mo, trying to contort my body so my head takes the brunt of the impact and saves that zaratsu polishing
Damn man, I literally can’t imagine going out for a ride with anything nicer than my G-Shock. Having visions right now of going over the handlebars in slo mo, trying to contort my body so my head takes the brunt of the impact and saves that zaratsu polishing
I’m a nut who prefers a bike over a car 99% of the time. And Commuting by bike so safe and easy. I take primarily quiet roads and never arterial roads with bad traffic. Be alert and yield when not sure.
I’m a former (and sometimes current) racer, so trackstands , bunny hops, and controlled slides in bad or snowy conditions are all too not hard for me.
If I didn’t wear the watches I love on a bike they wouldn’t get much wear 😉
Anyway - the GS staff at Shizukuishi assured me I need not baby any of my Spring drives!
I’m a nut who prefers a bike over a car 99% of the time. And Commuting by bike so safe and easy. I take primarily quiet roads and never arterial roads with bad traffic. Be alert and yield when not sure.
I’m a former (and sometimes current) racer, so trackstands , bunny hops, and controlled slides in bad or snowy conditions are all too not hard for me.
If I didn’t wear the watches I love on a bike they wouldn’t get much wear 😉
Anyway - the GS staff at Shizukuishi assured me I need not baby any of my Spring drives!
Fair enough! 14 years and 30 pounds ago I used to be a Cat 5 warrior lol. Unfortunately even at 6’1 and 170 I still felt too fat for the sport. Im not a great climber and there are way too many hills here in Seattle.
Anyway I get it, but also thinking about the 1 bigger crash I had plus that one time a car swiped me (ON MY WATCH SIDE) when I was stopped at a light keeps me from wearing anything too fancy. 🍻
Fair enough! 14 years and 30 pounds ago I used to be a Cat 5 warrior lol. Unfortunately even at 6’1 and 170 I still felt too fat for the sport. Im not a great climber and there are way too many hills here in Seattle.
Anyway I get it, but also thinking about the 1 bigger crash I had plus that one time a car swiped me (ON MY WATCH SIDE) when I was stopped at a light keeps me from wearing anything too fancy. 🍻
Kudos on your racing history! Your not too fat, you're perfectly normal and probably will make serious watts if you ride more. Get a bike with some modern gearing and comfy 30mm tires and you'll be set. Ooo, but that would mean one less nice watch, admittedly a hard decision. I need a new Kayak and I keep stupidly burning budget on watches instead 🙄
My teammates who are more hardcore racers (they're in Europe now doing races) make me feel like a fatso for being ~145. Bike racers are worse than super models for weight shaming 😂.
I'd be interested to hear from someone who's had a Spring Drive long enough to need a service. I was a little leery when I bought mine too. The guys at the GS boutique (company owned) brushed it off as unnecessary.
I don't plan to get a service until I notice that it isn't working properly. The logic goes like this: the price of a service is a flat rate, one price whether they just clean and lube, or overhaul and replace parts (most brands seem to operate this way). If that's the case, why spend the money unless something there's something actually wrong?
When this topic comes up, some people insist on "preventative maintenance," and compare it to a car. It's a false equivalence. Sure, for a car you change the oil and get tune-ups to avoid a much more expensive repair down the road. But if the cost of an tune-up and and an engine overhaul is the same, what's the point?
Spring Drive is more robust than a standard mechanical movement. The most delicate part of a movement is the escapement, and the Spring Drive doesn't have one. An escapement is subject to a lot of wear and tear, since it bangs back and forth eight times a second, and the multiple moving parts are susceptible to knocks and jars. The Spring Drive turns smoothly in one direction; there's less wear, and less to go wrong. I worry a lot less about the Spring Drive than other watches.
@Fieldwalker Re watches and bikes: Pretty much 100% of my transportation is by bike, and when I'm on a bike, a G-Shock is on my wrist, and the "nice" watch is in a bag. I once gave road rash to a G-Shock, and my forearm, when I hit the pavement. It came out of a clear blue sky (well, it was at night) on a quiet side street near home I had ridden 1000 times before, but this time I hit something, a crack, some sand, I don't know what, and the bike went out from under me and down I went. Fortunately the GS I had with me was unscathed. Yeah, I would worry less about the GS jouncing around on my wrist, but meeting the pavement is completely unpredictable.
Beautiful!
I'm gonna make this response my canned response with regard to service and service intervals, so TLDR... Ain't much to worry about.
#1 - Warranties and what they tell us about manufacturing quality
Most respectable manufacturers used to provide 2 years of warranty
Even today, almost any ETA-powered watch will typically come with a 2-year warranty
Why is that?
Well, because manufacturing used to suck - we were just AWFUL at manufacturing
Look at any car manufactured by the Big 3 from the 70's and compare that car to one produced today - it isn't a difference in degree, but a difference in kind entirely
Or, better yet, go check out a vintage example of the supposedly vaunted, robust tool watches of yore - like a Rolex Sub - and you will find it to be the jangliest, jankiest, junkiest piece of junk out there!
Today, almost all of the big brands offer 5 year warranties, because manufacturing techniques and technologies are so advanced that the manufacturers can comfortably offer longer and longer warranty periods
#2 - Lubricants
In the bad old days, watch movements used to use mineral oils, and they sucked
If they weren't in constant motion, they would gum up
If they were in operation too long, they would break down
You couldn't let a watch sit around all the time, nor could you have it running all the time!
Service intervals were short, because the mineral oils had short useful lifespans, and watches needed to be re-lubricated often
Nowadays we have the wonders of synthetic lubricants - they don't gum up, they don't separate, and their heat tolerances are far, far, far superior
#3 - Combination of factors
Given this combination of factors, should we take our watches in for service at the recommended 4 year mark? 8 year mark? 10 year mark? Whatever it is that the manufacturers recommend?
Why?
If modern materials are robust and resistant to corrosion, and all the parts are precision machined, and they continue to operate flawlessly, and the lubricants can last 50-100 years at normal operating temperatures... why would one take that machine apart?
If it ain't broke, why fix it?
Now, with regard to GS in particular, I have 14 GS, and have had no issues whatsoever. But, then again, I've only had mine for, say, 2 years. But, then again, I had a couple of brand new Breitlings that broke within 1 month of ownership! Ha! Haven't had that experience with GS.
At this point, one should ask, "What is the most common failure mode for mechanical watches?" Well, in the bad old days, it used to be bad things happening due to the breakdown of the oils in the movement! Next on the list, the fiddliest part of the watch is the escapement and the balance spring. Well, GS Spring Drive watches don't have traditional escapements! It's the tri-synchro regulator that's a magnetic brake that does the work of an "escapement" - and that's why you can't magnetize a Spring Drive the way you can a normal mechanical watch! There is no balance spring to magnetize!
Given the tri-syncro regulator set up, the Spring Drive movement has fewer parts and doesn't even have the fiddly parts that typical mechanical watches have.
Thus, am I gonna bring any of my Spring Drive watches in for service at the 4, 8, 10, 12 year marks? No siree, Bob! If it ain't broke, I ain't gonna fix it.
14 x 800 per every 3-4 years. No wonder you are taking that approach.
I own a Grand Seiko Snowflake that I bought in 2016, I never thought about bringing it for service and it still run as accurately as the first day. I wore it a ton, it was my daily wear for many years.
You can definitely it needs much less maintenance due to its hybrid construction.