Is the Sellita SW200 a good movement?

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Re: Is the Sellita SW200 a good movement?

Post by JAFO »

@asqwerth. Maybe it wasn't an internal watch problem,. Maybe the crown was just unscrewing from the stem.
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Re: Is the Sellita SW200 a good movement?

Post by asqwerth »

JAFO wrote: Sun Sep 25, 2022 11:27 am @asqwerth. Maybe it wasn't an internal watch problem,. Maybe the crown was just unscrewing from the stem.
I did think of that, but my (albeit amateur) attempt to try to tighten the crown (either way) on the stem without actually turning the attached stem didn't work. I decided to post it to CW since I was in UK that period visiting my sis (so postage was cheap), and it was around 10 years old and due a servicing anyway.
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Re: Is the Sellita SW200 a good movement?

Post by strapline »

Kyledemo wrote: Sat Sep 24, 2022 8:30 pm
Flef wrote:Alternatives at this price point are numerous but to name a few Rhonda 150, Powermatic 80, h31 and 21 hamiltons. All offer a better spec Cheaper but more reliable with no real issues except Swiss snobbery is myota 9039.
All are in the sub £1000 watch category many a lot less.
Dont get me wrong I love the cw design but I can't live with there choice of movement
The SW200-1 is an outstanding movement

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Just been reading through this thread and this comment piqued my interest. I'd just like to know by your definition what makes the movement outstanding? 'Outstanding" is very high praise after all. I don't own a watch with the movement so am curious to learn why you hold it in such high regard. From what I have been able to ascertain over the years it is just widely recognised as a dependable, workhorse-type movement that will produce a fairly consistent timekeeping performance and is readily serviceable. No great technology, precious metals or decoration behind it, with reliability and affordability being its strong suit. Thanks in advance.

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Re: Is the Sellita SW200 a good movement?

Post by ajax87 »

^^^ Des, as I understand it, you are correct. It is a solid movement, great for CW’s application.

Of the movements noted as being “better” earlier in this thread, 3 are owned by the Swatch group, so NEVER available to the likes of CW. Plus, extending the PR on the 2824 like they do will typically negatively impact timekeeping. I know my watch with the powermatic 80 isn’t as accurate as most of my sellitas, but it’s still not bad and I do admit it’s a small sample size. You also have to consider the cost of doing that- Swatch group has all the money in the world to customize those movements, and they move such a high volume of those watches too. They don’t have to pass on a bulk of the cost of that like CW would.

One (the Ronda R150) is a baby, about 5 years since release, and not widely enough available yet to be able to source them regularly enough for larger watchmakers.

Miyota can’t be considered by CW. CW leans hard on “British design, Swiss heart” (SEE THE TWIN FLAGS EMBLEM).

I had a friend who a few years ago had a lemon of a Toyota Camry. Now he won’t stop talking about how unreliable Toyotas are. He is wrong, even though his personal experience was bad.

The sellita movement is just fine :D
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Re: Is the Sellita SW200 a good movement?

Post by strapline »

ajax87 wrote: Sun Sep 25, 2022 2:36 pm ^^^ Des, as I understand it, you are correct. It is a solid movement, great for CW’s application. The sellita movement is just fine :D
Cheers for your take, Alex, it's much as I thought. And you're talking from experience; but there is a big difference between just fine and outstanding. It'll be interesting to hear the other perspective.

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Re: Is the Sellita SW200 a good movement?

Post by tikkathree »

Flef wrote: Sun Sep 25, 2022 7:46 am As I said from my experience two sw200-1 watches both broken from day 1.
I think I must have been unlucky. Considering I've bought over a dozen others without fail. My preference are the myota based microbrand watches rather than the Swiss ones like cw I think you pay a lot for those two words
If Swiss made is important then I guess this won't cut it.
I think you've not just been unlucky, you've been very unlucky indeed. Especially if "broken from day 1! is the same as dead on arrival. I can't or don't want to think how many watches I''ve bought new from CW and never had an issue. Mind you it's been the same success/failure rate with other brands.
Lavaine wrote: Sun Sep 25, 2022 3:48 am
Kyledemo wrote: Sat Sep 24, 2022 8:30 pm
Flef wrote:Alternatives at this price point are numerous but to name a few Rhonda 150, Powermatic 80, h31 and 21 hamiltons. All offer a better spec Cheaper but more reliable with no real issues except Swiss snobbery is myota 9039.
All are in the sub £1000 watch category many a lot less.
Dont get me wrong I love the cw design but I can't live with there choice of movement
Not to be crass but there is only one movement out of the 5 you named that can be compared to the SW200, and the Sellita is without question the better of the two (Rhonda)

The SW200-1 is an outstanding movement


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The Powermatic 80 (and renamed Hamilton H-10), being 2824-2 movements with longer PR, are absolutely comparable to the SW-200. It's arguably better than the SW-200, if for no other reason than the longer PR, although the lower frequency detracts from it. Is a Hamilton Khaki Field, at 2/3 the price of a Sealander, a better value? That would be an interesting debate.
Am I right in thinking that's a straight trade-off in that longer power reserve is the result of lower frequency?
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Re: Is the Sellita SW200 a good movement?

Post by Flef »

To be fair only one was a cw, C60 bronze cosc le which was broken on arrival. The other was a steinhart ocean 39 which developed the same fault about a week after delivery. My point is same movement the cw cost me double.
It's a poor movement for a £1000 watch, it's an OK one for £500 watch. If you except the inherent design fault.
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Re: Is the Sellita SW200 a good movement?

Post by Kyledemo »

strapline wrote:
Kyledemo wrote: Sat Sep 24, 2022 8:30 pm
Flef wrote:Alternatives at this price point are numerous but to name a few Rhonda 150, Powermatic 80, h31 and 21 hamiltons. All offer a better spec Cheaper but more reliable with no real issues except Swiss snobbery is myota 9039.
All are in the sub £1000 watch category many a lot less.
Dont get me wrong I love the cw design but I can't live with there choice of movement
The SW200-1 is an outstanding movement

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Just been reading through this thread and this comment piqued my interest. I'd just like to know by your definition what makes the movement outstanding? 'Outstanding" is very high praise after all. I don't own a watch with the movement so am curious to learn why you hold it in such high regard. From what I have been able to ascertain over the years it is just widely recognised as a dependable, workhorse-type movement that will produce a fairly consistent timekeeping performance and is readily serviceable. No great technology, precious metals or decoration behind it, with reliability and affordability being its strong suit. Thanks in advance.

Des
Thanks Des,

It’s a matter of personal preference, like almost anything in this life! I’ve been a watch nut for my entire adult life and I’ve worked on quite a few brands and movements. I’m not a watchmaker by any stretch but I can take apart and reassemble most watches.

I’m my personal experience, the SW200-1 is an outstanding movement. When I think of “outstanding” I think of a few things:

Accuracy
Reliability
Serviceability
Ease of use
Value for money

Based on the above criteria, the Sellita (and its father, ETA) is just flat out better than the competition.

There’s a reason that brands whose horological history spans centuries choose these movements to run their watches. There’s also a reason CW, who boasts a five year warranty, chose this movement. They don’t want your watch to come back to their factory during their warranty. The easiest way to prevent warranty repair is to choose the most reliable movement for the money. That’s exactly what they (and every other brand) did; they assessed the movements available to them at the price they were willing to pay, and the Sellita was the winner. Same with Sinn, same with IWC, same with Tudor, same with… you get the point.

Cheers! Happy Sunday


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Re: Is the Sellita SW200 a good movement?

Post by Flef »

Don't these higher end marks modify the movement?
So not quite the same, bog standard sw200 can be found in many lower priced microbrands. Even steinhart premium series uses the newish sw300 series.
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Re: Is the Sellita SW200 a good movement?

Post by strapline »

Kyledemo wrote: Sun Sep 25, 2022 5:03 pm
strapline wrote:
Kyledemo wrote: Sat Sep 24, 2022 8:30 pm

The SW200-1 is an outstanding movement

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Just been reading through this thread and this comment piqued my interest. I'd just like to know by your definition what makes the movement outstanding? 'Outstanding" is very high praise after all. I don't own a watch with the movement so am curious to learn why you hold it in such high regard. From what I have been able to ascertain over the years it is just widely recognised as a dependable, workhorse-type movement that will produce a fairly consistent timekeeping performance and is readily serviceable. No great technology, precious metals or decoration behind it, with reliability and affordability being its strong suit. Thanks in advance.

Des
Thanks Des,

It’s a matter of personal preference, like almost anything in this life! I’ve been a watch nut for my entire adult life and I’ve worked on quite a few brands and movements. I’m not a watchmaker by any stretch but I can take apart and reassemble most watches.

I’m my personal experience, the SW200-1 is an outstanding movement. When I think of “outstanding” I think of a few things:

Accuracy
Reliability
Serviceability
Ease of use
Value for money

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Well that's a very comprehensive reply kyledemo, thanks for taking the time. If you can take apart and reassemble mechanical watches, you're talking from a position of more experience than myself. Whether justified or not, I do remember there being a lot of watch conversation about Sellita playing second fiddle to ETA, although I think that thinking has been largely debunked. Thanks for your interesting reply.

Des
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Re: Is the Sellita SW200 a good movement?

Post by JAFO »

I must have been lucky because I've never had a problem with workhorse movements like Sellita and Valjoux. Clean living, that's the thing. :D
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Re: Is the Sellita SW200 a good movement?

Post by Macdaz »

Flef wrote: Sun Sep 25, 2022 4:24 pm It's a poor movement for a £1000 watch, it's an OK one for £500 watch. If you except the inherent design fault.
I think perhaps that's over simplifying things. I have Steinharts and CWs and if you take the movement out of the equation and compare the two the standard of materials, fit and finish is way better on the CW. That goes a long way to demonstrating why one is £500 and one is £1000.
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Re: Is the Sellita SW200 a good movement?

Post by nbg »

tikkathree wrote: Sat Sep 24, 2022 1:04 pm I found this short video by Simon Freese interesting:
Thanks for posting that Pete. :thumbup:

Experts eh, who needs them… :wink:

What does he know about watches. :)

He reckons it’s a good movement.

But my experience is that they all suffer from spinning rotor system, due to sticking reverser wheels, so that must mean they are not very good. Well perhaps one sticking out of many, would be a more accurate statement, of my experience of the movement. :)

It is also easy for a brand to ensure that the reverser wheels, on the movements they stick in their watches, don’t stick. However there is an inherent cost (either to the movement manufacturer, or watch brand) if every movement was to be specifically checked. Hence part of the reason for the wide variation in price of the watch brands that use the movement.

So yes if a chap like Simon indicates that they are good movements, they clearly are. That’s good enough for me! :thumbup:

No one is claiming they are better than typical movements used by the likes of Rolex, JLC, PP etc.

Neil
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Re: Is the Sellita SW200 a good movement?

Post by SimonGermany »

Yes, just don’t hand wind it. Ever.
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Re: Is the Sellita SW200 a good movement?

Post by Richard D »

Yes, easy to service.
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