I've noticed the idea that SW movements are crap creeping in more and more conversations lately. After some reflection I recall I've had more trouble with SW movements than any others. I'm certainly sick of paying to fix the damn things, especially when they only see a couple weeks a year of use.
Yup, very frustrating. My first "real" Swiss watch, the Certina DS Action Diver, with the ETA 2824, is still trouble free a decade on, and my first auto, an Invicta Ghost Diver running the Miyota, is even older and still runs perfectly.
And, as I say, I really do think these places saying it is "either/or" are just giving us the SW200, which I'd prefer they just state, instead of saying it like it's a fifty fifty chance we could be getting the ETA.
Frustrating too that some brands aren't declaring the movement, just putting some letters in from of their own numeric designation, as if it's something in-house. It would be appreciated if they'd at least admit it's an SW in there.
My Raymond Weil Freelancer is starting to act up, stopping when it is in the winder, so, probably another sticky rotor issue, and, again, I can't find out what is in there because they say it is an "RW" something or other. It does list 25 jewels, so I'm assuming it's the ETA, but, definitely the watches I've spent more on are the ones needing care as the years go on, while my cheap Invictas that are supposed junk just solider on, costing me fifteen bucks every three or so years for a battery, haha.
Go figure.
Maybe in watches, like high end cars, spending more is not getting anything more robust, just an assumption that, if you can afford the watch, you should be able to afford the maintenance?
But then again, I would hope that doesn't apply to brands producing (hopefully) bullet proof movements. I mean, if an under a hundred bucks NH35A powered watch can tick, for over a decade, with zero problems, I'd surely want the same, if spending 50 to a hundred times that, or more.