Overview Of Third-Party Movements: ETA, Miyota, Seiko, & More (A Comprehensive Guide)

Considering the fact that the majority of watches out there on the market are powered by third party movements, there is a surprising lack of insight about the brands who produce them and even the movements themselves. In this video, we’ll present the most important information to know and understand about the biggest third-party brands and movements to help you make more informed watch buying decisions in the future.

Videos Mentioned:

0:00 - Ground Rules And Other Videos to Watch
3:15 - Miyota
6:54 - SII (Seiko)
9:52 - ETA
17:55 - Sellita
19:54 - Soprod
22:18 - STP
23:24 - Dubois Depraz Modules
25:54 - Kenissi

[Mr_Santo]

I have a 39 year old Citizen with a Miyota 8200 movement that's never been serviced and it gets +/-3 seconds a day.

[drchrisfleming-wsuteaching]

It's astonishing to me that it took this long to actually have a watch channel that talks about watches knowledgeably. The vast proliferation of channels which prioritise "unboxing" (basically a kind of strip-show for the intellectually challenged) and various guys saying things like "this thing feels really solid" and "it looks really, really nice" and "you know, to me this looks like a much more expensive watch" is comic. It's like turning up for a meal and being served foam. The sheer educational and entertainment value TB offers is always fantastic. Thanks, Teddy - more power to you.

[angledmusasabi]

I just returned to watch videos as a prime distraction, and I prefer my distractions to at least feel educational. I am _so_ glad I caught this video in particular, because it's not only actually educational, but it's a huge chunk of my DIY watch knowledge that was missing! Thank you for the work, Teddy. It is sincerely appreciated.

[gpaje]

I love the NH35 movement, out of the box in a cheap watch it can be a bit off than you prefer, but a tiny adjustment on the balance wheel adjuster can get it within a few seconds per day, even without a timegrapher. I have one in my first automatic, a Invicta Dive watch, that hasn't been serviced in over 10 years, and it's within a few seconds per day.

[jeffm]

One of our best videos ever. In my humble opinion, this is one of the most educational watch videos I have ever seen. I actually made notes so I would remember what you were saying about each one. TY for putting in ALL the work. You make it easy for the rest of us!

[jmount]

In the beginning of my watch collecting journey i was all about in-house movements. While they are great and Rolex, Seiko, Tudor, Omega, Breitling, Zenith, JLC, Patek, VC, and so on make some reliable and proven movements. But they cost quite a bit to service. Now i honestly appreciate the utility, reliability, and serviceability of ETA and Miyota movements. It doesn't bother me if a watch has one. They are accurate and reliable. The service costs are half of what a in-house movement service is. While im totally fine with ETA, if i had the choice i almost prefer the Miyota. Its still quite accurate and reliable. I dont mind the rotor noise and usually the watch can be alot thinner than the ETA counterpart. If im spending 5 grand obviously i don't want a miyota movement but you get the point.

[porscheguy]

My daily wear watch is using a Miyota 9039. I regulated it myself over the course of about a week... carefully adjusting it back and forth until it consistently runs +1 second per day. This morning I woke up and it was 1/2 second fast from where I hacked it 24 hours before. It can go a few days without deviating by a second or two. It is a fantastic movement. There's nothing practically more that an in-house movement can give you.

[sethmoyer]

Honestly if I see that a watch has a Seiko Instruments or ETA movement, or even some of the Miyota ones, I know that it's going to run great and be easy to find someone who is willing to service it.

[manoflego]

When I hear that a microbrand watch uses a Seiko movement I take that as a sign of quality. My first automatic was an SNK805, and while the 7S26 isn't the best in the world it has yet to let me down.

[randomhandle]

Yes, Teddy B. This is the level of nerdiness I was looking for. Thanks.

[campshay]

Movements usually set the price of the watch. So it's good to know what movement is in the watch you are getting so you don't over pay. Some microbrands will sell a $1000 watch with a NH35 in it which is absurd.

[Podcastage]

Great video Teddy. This was extremely educational and must have taken a lot of research.

[HeuTrn]

I have 2 watches with the movement Miyots 9015 inside and both of them are great! The movement is rather slim making the cases of the watches also very slim. Accuracy wise, both of them are the same at + 3-5 seconds a day. They are so good that I don't want to buy a microbrand watch if it does not have a movement from the Miyota 9000 series.

[coffeeisgood]

Having a background in clock repair, movements are always high on my list when choosing a watch. A watch is only as good as it’s movement. Thanks for sharing this important info to your viewers.

[vapingwithjames]

I’m not saying Seiko is the best but their movements have always worked well and been reliable for me plus I think their movements are reasonably priced. Great video. Thank you

[Wrex]

Huge pill of knowledge, huge amount of research. I love videos like that and this is what separates you from another watch youtubers that I know. We beg for more!

[jodysilvia]

Your wealth of knowledge is impressive Teddy.

[markgrieves]

Wow Teddy. That was an education! Thank you.

[leewimberly]

Teddy you should be proud that this video, as well as many others that you create adds greatly to the equation for watch knowledge in the world. Most watch commentators out there would be unwilling or unable to do something of this quality. We all know that you have a large watch sales enterprise in your stable. But it is so refreshing that you don’t ever try to cram sales down our throats like so many of your colleagues. Congratulations! I close by mentioning that a few months ago I bought a limited edition ceramic dial watch from a small Swiss watchmaker, Lundis Bleus. The watch has a Sellita 300 movement that I feel compares favorably with those of my Rolex and Grand Seiko models.

[davidmarino]

With Swatch turning off the supply to non Swatch watch makers, and them being basically an in house movement supplier to Swatch brands shouldn't we begin to stop calling ETA movements third party - and begin calling them in-house movements for many Swatch brands. Just like Swatch has some 18 watch brands they also have some 17 manufacturers in house of which ETA is one. Swatch seems to be a classic vertically integrated company and I'm sure as a movement specialist they are involved with making Omega movements which for some reason are considered in-house for Omega. I think a more accurate story for ETA would be how they are sharing their in-house technology improvements such as SI hairsprings, to many of the Swatches brands. This story may be a bit more complex to tell, but it may better reflect reality, rather than the old third party movement story.