White Birch, Wobbly Crown
I'm very close to pulling the trigger on the Spring Drive or Hi-Beat Grand Seiko white birch. While still very popular, they are not perfect. One thing that concerned me on a review video from @engineer_wannabe was when the crown is fully pulled out, there is a slight wobble in the crown itself. It almost seems loose and is not solid. I even went into my AD and found the same thing on a new Hi-Beat and Spring Drive models.
Clearly doesn't effect the operation of the watch, but it kinda bugs me from a quality control level on a watch that is more up-market.
White birch owners. Have you noticed this quirk? Does it bother you? Has anyone every attempted to contact Grand Seiko about this. Curious about your feedback. Thanks!
Toronto based watch enthusiast looking for a friendly community to nerd out with. Striving for a perfectly balanced collection.
I have not experienced a wobbly crown with the White Birch but occasionally the crown sticks cannot go to position to change the date. My ad has investigated as has his wmaker but seems to require more testing. They suspect that might be the fact that I do not rotate enough of my watches. Absurd, I have watches that I don’t wind more than once a month without issues.
I haven't had any issues personally. But... maybe I just don't notice these sorts of things? I guess I'm just not a detail-oriented person! Ha!
I’ve heard that Vostoks apparently have loose crowns too, but claim it’s intentional to prevent accidental damage. Maybe Grand Seiko is doing the same?
That's a screw down crown, it's how they are to some extent. It will depend on how stiff the spring inside is I would think. Not a flaw as Marc explains.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USZwfHeXEsk