Here’s how it works to pick up the hands. Then you slide the tray over and perfectly install it. Essential for production. They even have automatic ones.

Yeah, new this thing would be thousands but I found it for a few hundred in Switzerland, stoked to have snagged a deal that is designed for the 11.5 ligne movements I use

Seiko has watches at all price points. Why get stuck on their lower segment and deny yourself their great stuff? Have you tried this on? It may quiet that doubt

It’s hard to say in regards to shock and what you experienced. When impacting your watch it’s basically luck of the draw on how it lands and how much energy is absorbed. Incabloc and kif systems are easier to service and maintain. I don’t know exact shock absorbency metrics but I’d bet they are negligible and close, it’s really protection for obliterating the balance staff - not protection against shifting the regulator or anything else that might happen.

I’m assuming the magic lever failure is the propensity for the pawl arms to cut a smooth groove into the ratcheting wheel, at least that’s what I’ve witnessed.

I think these things do matter, maybe not as much as people make it out sometimes, but a watch should keep imperceptibly good time each day. I’m a watchmaker, brand owner and have been surrounded by watches for years and I can only humanly detect when a watch is off when it’s more than 20 seconds. Otherwise I need my tools/timegrapher. It’s also a luxury industry, so price isn’t always a reflection of manufacturing cost but in certain watches and price points it’s disingenuous to charge so much without the best, or at least commensurate for the price, components and timekeeping capabilities.

There is no such thing as perfect, there are trade offs and things that are perfect under certain conditions. The fact that Seiko can make and sell mech movements for bulk prices of $15/unit is wild and their price segment lets lots of people enjoy mechanical watches - or when I was starting my company with only a couple thousand dollars to my name, it helped me to be able to afford production. Their timekeeping is variable and they aren’t the “best” movement but they certainly are the best mechanical movement for that price segment. As you move up, things get more competitive.

The watch industry has an awful lot of smoke and mirrors going on, a lot of stuff only exists in an oral space - where written or hard copies are so sparse and closely guarded that provable truth of certain things would be close to impossible to prove. I think at the end of the day it’s what makes you feel good and happy - that should be why we all do this, because it’s enriching.

Personally, I have some sort of truth and justice fetish so finding reductive truths where I go is important to me. It’s also part of watchmaking, to be able to develop a skill through repetition and repeatable technique. When you handle hundreds or thousands of movements you start to see how and where they fail, how frequently they fail, and all sorts of things. We do see big brands phasing out movements with the 2824 architecture and it’s for good reasons. That movement was the staple for a lot of brands and at one of the largest mechanical price segments. Was it the best movement for that time? Price point? Demographic? I can’t say for sure but there was definitely a time when the 2824 was ubiquitous with “Swiss mechanical watch” and I think that time is coming to an end.

I did above, I don’t think we get to excellence with automatic and winding systems so prone to failure. Those are huge components of a movement and fatal flaws in regards to timekeeping.

The thing is, it’s not an excellent design by any metric, especially comparatively today. You’re free to like it for whatever reasons but on the technical and objective side it would be “adequate” not excellent.

We have a few things to break apart here:

• It appears unmatched by Seiko because Seiko doesn’t really have a competitor, they are all lower price point movements. Presuming you mean the NH/4R series. Which generally don’t have as good oscillators but have more robust winding designs. High grade seiko can easily compete with low grade 2824 in timekeeping.

• The point of “fine regulator” is entirely moot. Watchmakers are trained, in many cases and specifically in the case of ETA to not touch this - for aesthetic reasons. The presence or absence of a fine regulator should not hinder your ability to regulate a watch and doesn’t mean the 2824 is superior because it has one. Miyota 9s run pretty well and their timekeeping is pretty comparable to the 2824 (unless it has a chronometer balance). I will concede that the shock protection and oscillator is probably a bit higher grade on the 2824 but in regards to winding design, automatic design, and thickness the 2824 loses handily. With the former 2 being very consistent points of failure. Taking that into account, the 9 series, imo, is a better movement. Even if the oscillator isn’t as good but these are things that the G100 improves upon (and more).

• The 2824 has a brutal winding mechanism. The gearing between ratchet wheel, not to mention the steel to brass, is such a harsh difference that this fails frequently. The way the automatic system was designed (an after the fact addition of a module style) doesn’t integrate well. Gear train ratios result in large amounts of energy being sent into the automatic system, without decoupling during winding this means that the reversers are exposed to tons of wear and tear each time you wind it. Ever experience a helicoptering rotor? That’s from worn out reversers.

The 2824 has existed for decades, with glaring engineering flaws, solely to be the “lowest hanging Swiss made fruit” and that niche it has served well. Can you achieve excellent timing with the addition of chronometer grade balances? Absolutely. Does it have a nice reliable escapement? Yep. The rest of it, however, is primed for failure which is inherent in its design. Which is why I will not use it. The SW300/2892 remedies many of these issues and the result is a much finer and more contemporary movement. To me, the 2892/SW300 deserves the fame and reputation the 2824 has - but the 2824 got there by being cheap, and the 2892 is virtually twice the cost. With the miyota 9s being on par more or less with it, the G100 appears superior. This is, for me, why the 2824 is not the best affordable movement but exists as a means for brands to achieve “Swiss Made” nomenclature on a budget. This is why it’s so famous, because so many brands from Tudor to many micros are dependent on the good reception of it. Its had its time in the spotlight and now there are much, much better options.