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roamy360
100
Dec 4, 2019
At the $300-$350 this watch hits the sweet spot by having a Swiss SW-200 automatic movement. The cheapest SW-200 watch I've ever bought new was $270. And that was an early, early bird Kickstarter price. And yes, given choice between the Miyota 9015 movement (good movement) and the SW-200, I'll take the the SW-200 every day of the week. So it boils down to the design of this field watch. If you like the design you should consider buying it. If you love it you definitely should buy it. I just received my Vaer field watch off a Kickstarter campaign. $329 with a Miyota 9039 movement. I bought it for the design and the finished quality. And I really like it. But I'd consider buying this Felix if I was looking for another field watch. The wire-like lugs gives it a vintage military look and I like the bowl shaped dial. I'm not a huge fan of the busy dial and the handset looks to be a weakness (a little plain) but all in all it's a decent looking watch.
raest
111
Dec 4, 2019
roamy360why would you take a base grade SW200 over a Miyota? the 9015 is thinner, better built/more reliable, has a longer power reserve (not even 10%, but still...), more efficient winding, and it's cheaper to service/replace. the only negative of the 9015 is the "rotor wobble" of the unidirectional winding (if you're bothered by that). there's really no contest between the 2 movements. you need to get into top grade SW200 to be assured of a better movement, and that thing costs A LOT.
roamy360
100
Dec 5, 2019
raestI've been very happy and impressed with all my Miyota 9000 series movements. I have several. And you may be right about it being better than a SW-200. Although I wouldn't put money on it. But how do you know it's better built and more reliable? I've also been very happy with all my ETA 2824-2's as well and know that these movements have been around a long time and are proven. I have some experience with the SW-200 and from what I've seen and read it's basically a clone of the ETA 2824-2. I don't have evidence that it is anything other than a good movement. How do we know that the Seiko 4R36 isn't better built and more reliable than both of them? The 4R36 is thicker and beats slower so maybe it's the king of low cost movements. If 2 exact watches (one with a SW-200 and the other with the Miyota 9015) are for sale which one will sell for more money? And I think for most watch buyers this is the key. Swiss is still the King of movements until we have real evidence that they are not. As a said above I just bought the Vaer Field Watch. I had a chance to buy it with either the Miyota 9015 or the SW-200 for $125 more. I went with the Miyota 9015 because I know it a good movement and I didn't want to spend the extra money for essentially the same movement. But I would have if it was only $50 more.
raest
111
Dec 5, 2019
roamy360just to reiterate, and to dispel any misinterpretation, i'm talking specifically about the lowest, base grade of the SW200 ;) (the elabore` and top/cosc are different animals). why do i know it's better built? 'cause it's more efficient and doesn't have the well documented handwinding stem issues of the 2824 and its clones ;) and from some "inside stories" from some microbrand owners who shared defect rates they had (the 9015 iirc was one of the lowest, if not the lowest). plus, even if it were more prone to failure, it's almost cheaper to replace it whole than servicing and replacing some parts on a 2824 :D i have some watches with all these movements, and my Chris Ward with a base grade SW200 is by far the worst performer (anecdotal, i know :)). horribly inefficient winding (working in an office, i have to remember to shake it for a couple of minutes every night to make sure it stays alive), and the timekeeping is "meh". to jump to "merely" an elabore` 2824 is substantial also, i'm not saying that the 2824/sw200 isn't a good movement, it absolutely is and that it endured for many decades is the proof of it. i'm merely saying that the 9015 is a much better choice for a watch in this price bracket as it would allow lower cost of manufacture without any sacrifice to any performance metric, making it more a attractive value proposition considering for the current price of this thing, if you're patient enough (and you should be if you're buying on massdrop :D), you can get a Hamilton or something similar, with a Powermatic80 and yeah, the "swiss thing" is a marketing trick that needs to die asap. in this day and age, people should be a bit more informed and less gullible.
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