Rules for a collection - Does variety in movements matter to you?

I like variety period. Movement variety is something I look for, but I’m not bothered by having two Powermatic 80s and I three 4R-36s.

This was a reason that held me back from buying a Christopher Ward Dune series. Already having a SW200 based caliber watch in my rotation, albeit one that was redesigned slightly. I am not one to care for movements too too much, but I do enjoy variety.

Now what sucks, is that a lot of brands are starting to use Selitta SW200 as a movement, until I can get past this... I'm missing out on a lot of watches!! 😢

I prefer different movements but I wasn't going to turn down the Sugess Top Time copy for using the same ST19 as my Seagull. I have many with the same, it's not as important as the dial for me.

I’ve had issues with the Sellita SW-200 in my Oris so I would prefer not to own another SW-200 watch. But I do find myself gravitating to watches that have movements I don’t have. Like a Spring Drive or a Breitling B01. Does it have to be unique? No. But I’d prefer it to be.

While I do like variety in movements, I do not mind having two watches with the same movement. I have two watches with the Miyota 9039 movement, and two Citizen watches with the B877 movement.

The Spinnaker/Islander Croft and the Islander/Urban Gentry Rangemaster both use the Miyota 9039 movement.

Citizen Promaster GMT World Time and Citizen Promaster Nighthawk both use the B877 module.

I also have a number of watches that use NH movements, which are popular among microbrands and AliExpress brands.

I have a few watches with ETA and SW200 movements, why mess with what works?

I even have two different pairs of near identical watches.

CW C60:

Marathon Navigator:

It's a mixed bag. I want variety in both makes and movements, but having the same movement in different watches isn't bad. I mean, a $10 Domestic Unified Movement 7120 from China does the exact same thing as the movement in the Royal Oak. It's the whole overall design that matters most. And quality too, of course! My 7120 is running around +2 sec/day, but I have no illusions about it being a generational watch that will be handed down over and over.

I have a selection of 4R36 and 4R35 to NH36 and NH35

😜🥳🍻

I like variety so as long as it's reliable, I'm open to all kinds.

I am on a bit of a mecaquartz kick right now.

It’s all about aesthetics for me. But I don’t have any watches with a same movement either.

So far my two movements that are the most accurate are the Kinnissi movement & my Smiths Miyota 9000 series movement, I had a SW200 in the Sinn 104ST that was accurate as the Tudor! So yes it’s good to compare movements I reckon . Oneday I would like an Omega and a MIDO as both reputable movements .

My SW-200 ran sweet ! Damn that sucks to get a watch that isnt right . Don’t be put off by Selita as by and large it’s rare to get a dud .

Awesome watches!

So beyond how the thing is wound, approximate size, power reserve, maybe beat frequency, and of course oddball functions, how the heck would you even know?

If someone sneaked in and magically shuffled movements into other watches, is the odds of noticing over 50%?

So you’re saying there’s more than ticks, ticks fast, and spring drive? Seriously, I choose variety in dial and overall aesthetic first.

I have a rule that says I keep a couple of quartz, other than that the automatic movement in my watches has to reflect the price I pay for the watch. For example, as much as I may rate the Miyota 9000 series, I wouldn't pay more than £400, and although I think an NH35 is a good workhorse, I wouldn't pay more than £300 for a watch with one in. As my collection of watches is so diverse in price, the movements vary quite a lot, but of course there are duplicates

I have several watches with the SW200 in them. The ones in my Christopher Ward watches and my Tudor BB36 wind like silk, whilst in a few others they are quite gritty. In general though I find the winding action of an SW200 nicer than the ETA2824.

Nice KS.Good luck with it.My 3 month old is back to seiko for the second time.

Good logic

Was it running slow?

Very!!! & when I’d try to set time.It felt like something was binding in the movement.It’s been away more than with me,in three months of ownership.

To be more specific : I don't mind having an ETA 2824-2 or similar in more than one watch if the movements work well.

But I do enjoy having automatic and hand-wound mechanical movements, battery powered High Accuracy Quartz (Grand Seiko) and solar powered HAQ (Citizen) in my watchbox.

Life is too sort to enjoy only one flavour of icecream

At first I thought yes, but then realized that after 3 years of watch collecting that I’d ended up with 3 variations on the 2892:

Cartier Pasha (Regular 2893)

Omega Seamaster 300M (Omega 2500 - ETA2892 modded with the coaxial)

Steinhart Ocean 1 GMT (ETA 2893 is just the 2892 with a GMT hand)

Conclusion - it matters a lot less than I thought 🤷🏻‍♂️

Ironically though, now 2 years later none of my watches’ movements are the same - but I can’t say that was on purpose either.

I have automatics, manual wind, spring drive, quartz, tourbulion and solar quartz watches. I find the engineering aspect part of the charm.

I seem to almost be collecing SW330 movements...

I don't know that there are ever really "rules". If you're imposing rules on yourself are you not limiting the fun of the (any) hobby?

I have a variety of movements in my pieces, but it is more of a product of picking a variety of watch styles than specifically aiming for variety in movements. That said, I do tend to aim for 4Hz automatics when I can.

My collection to date is:

• JLC Master Control - JLC Calibre 899

• Tudor Black Bay GMT - Kenissi MT5652

• Longines Master Complications Chronograph - Longines Calibre 678 (ETA Valjoux 7753)

• TAG Heuer Carrera Twin-Time - TAG Calibre 7 (ETA 2893-2)

• Glycine Airman DC-4 - Glycine GL293 (Sellita SW330-1)

• Glycine Combat Sub -Glycine GL224 (Sellita SW200-1)

• Zelos Mako Frost GMT - Miyota 9075

• Victorinox Swiss Army Ambassador - ETA 2834-2

• Phylida Moonwatch Homage - Seagull ST1902

• Cronos IWC Mark XVIII Le Petit Prince Homage - HK PT5000

• Tandorio Field Watch - HK PT5000

• Citizen 2nd Gen Skyhawk Blue Angels Ti - Eco-Drive

• Geneva Gold Dress Watch - Unknown Quartz

• Gevril S0111 - ETA Quartz

If there was a really great movement, that I was really in love with, I think the question would be, why don't I want this movement in multiple watches? That, to me, is a no-brainer. Getting the same, preferred heart, beating in watches that look totally different. That would be my ideal scenario, to be honest.

I can definitely see your point. I do like the Powermatic 80 overall because of its accuracy and power reserve so I don't mind that I have it in two watches.

I have so many different examples of movement types, manufacturers, features, etc....

My current manufacturer favorite is Kenisi. My latest "englightenment" is STP.