Why isn't the SW-300 movement as popular/common as SW-200?
On paper the SW-300 is a better movement in every way:
It's slimmer by 1mm (this makes it possible to build slightly slimmer watches)
It has a higher power reserve (56 vs 38 hours)
It doesn't suffer from the infamous SW-200 reverser gear issue
Yet, in the wild there are very few watches with SW-300 and a ton of watches using SW-200. Any ideas why is this the case?
10 comments
Sort by
Neo Matik
Newly minted watch enthusiast (I got seriously interested in watches in late 2022). I aim to build a small collection (5-6) pieces over the course of the years. I'm mostly into Tudor & Seiko these day...
Member since
Last active: 8 hrs ago
6.70” / 17.02 cm
I assume it's a cost and availability thing. I wish we saw more SW-300 movements.
Price
Price, thinner, and less compatible case and dial makers.
Easy cost
I did a quick search online and it seems both movements have prices around $200. According to CaliberCorner there is a bigger difference - $200 vs $280. Still, it's not that much given how expensive most watches are overall.
I am eyeing up the Pittzmann 2 which uses the SW-300 .
I did a quick search online and it seems both movements have prices around $200. According to CaliberCorner there is a bigger difference - $200 vs $280. Still, it's not that much given how expensive most watches are overall.
I love the 300, but the brands then need to find a case and the rest of the parts that fit. Currently researching a build and that seems to be the big difference.
I did a quick search online and it seems both movements have prices around $200. According to CaliberCorner there is a bigger difference - $200 vs $280. Still, it's not that much given how expensive most watches are overall.
Thats nearly 1.5x cost compared to a SW200.
Take the CW pricing model and that extra $80 becomes an extra $240. Most companies don't work on just 3x markup, so that $240 could easily be $300-500+ extra in cost.
Thats nearly 1.5x cost compared to a SW200.
Take the CW pricing model and that extra $80 becomes an extra $240. Most companies don't work on just 3x markup, so that $240 could easily be $300-500+ extra in cost.
Yeah, when you put it like this $80 can be quite the difference.
At any rate - based on the answers so far it seems that SW-200 doesn't have any technical advantages over SW-300.