What time is it? Watches and horology

Does it keep time overall?

It's a beauty!

Without seeing it with my own eyes its tough to say, but what you describe sounds pretty normal for any quartz watch. I know the Sinn UX which I owned for a short while was exactly the same.

Well, yeah of course. All seems perfect apart from that one ''tiny'' detail...

It still has warranty and I can return it, no problem. I am pretty certain I can't live with this ~25% perfect indices hitting.

Sounds like you know what you need to do. Quartz just isn't for you it seems.

What did you pay for it after negotiations?

I'm sure you saw this explainer on your google hunt. but thought i'd post it for others if they're interested.

https://journal.vaerwatches.com/watch-second-hand-not-aligned/

That is really interesting. What matters for me is how well it keeps accuracy over months or years.

This is interesting to read, TL:DR; misaligned second is ironically a sight of quality, whether perfectly aligned is a sight of mass production, and neither is bad.

The weird one is second hand bounce, like on the Sinn UX.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gszGrXfi6iQ

Thanks for that.

I hear you, but most reviews of the 9F online mention that it does hit the indices perfectly. Find it confusing to say the least.

I hear you, but most reviews of the 9F online mention that it does hit the indices perfectly. Find it confusing to say the least.

I've seen that too. I'm sceptical. Minimising backlash, which is what the 9F does, does not magically make your second hand align.

Seiya Kobayashi says it best here

https://www.seiyajapan.com/blogs/news/about-the-quartz-watch-second-hand-alignment

SEIKO has come out with Backlash auto-adjust mechanism, which they use
in the Grand Seiko Quartz for reducing second hand mis-alignment.

The Grand Seiko Quartz uses the power of the spring to reduce the
slight second hand mis-alignment that is created by the backlash as
much as possible. (It’s like stopping the motion of a moving object
with the power of a spring, which is difficult to wrap my head
around.)

Even though the misalignment is far less noticeable in Grand Seiko is
n comparison to any other watch, even the meticulously crafted Grand
Seiko suffers from a slight second hand mis-alignment. (Sorry SEIKO)

I remember Bark and Jack Adrian commenting on this exact thing with his Grand Seiko GMT w/ 9F, it should be hitting all indices perfectly every time. Unless because his is one of the gold star marked Grand Seikos? He comments that those with the gold five pointed star like in the video are a "special version" accurate to 5 seconds a year.

09.37 here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IllwEM9zRPM

New lockdown beater whilst I furlough the autos and save up for a Pelagos.

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it should be hitting all indices perfectly every time.

Again, I have yet to find a watchmaker who believes that this is possible.

Have Grand Seiko been telling porkies in their sales literature or something?

Edit: No, Grand Seiko do not claim zero misalignment/backlash on the 9F. They just claim to reduce it. https://www.grand-seiko.com/au-en/special/9f9s9stories/vol3/2/

@Stonehedge I love the fact that I only find out about all that after I got the watch :-) I thought I did my research haha always the way. To be fair it is barely noticeable but I’m crazy and have the jewellers loupe 😬

It is a £2k quartz after all... not sure if I can live with it. Will have to sleep on it. Thoughts please.

Swap it out for a spring drive. Indicies be damned!

Part of the problem is how tiny the margins of error are. This is why you can find so many people online who think their 9F is aligned perfectly...they haven't looked closely enough.

The other problem is that if you align your eyes, the second hand and one of the second markers, those things will not be aligned any more in only a couple of seconds. Its very hard to judge alignment. Even a perfectly aligned watch will appear to be unaligned for most of the minute cycle.

I totally get why you feel the way you do. I would have felt the same way in the past. The reality is your watch is probably functioning perfectly and to a level of accuracy that a mechanical movement could never achieve and its only bothering you because you're looking for it!

Thank you for that, very well put.
Seems like I’m being ridiculous and should just shut up and enjoy the watch! It is a lovely looking thing.

It does look great.

Its a stunner.

Wait a few days before making a decision. If you still have reservations then, send it back. Nothing wrong with having preferences!

Really interesting stuff, I had no idea (goes off to stare at my quartz watches). I think you’ve bought an absolute belter and will serve as a brilliant daily driver. Looking forward to a couple of wrist shots.

Beautiful watch. Wish they made an auto/hibeat in that size/thickness and with that bracelet.

Will do!

@Regal I too love the size and the bracelet. The one with polished “outside stripes” in the middle link looks somehow cheap to me, and don’t really seem to complement the lovely cases of the watches it comes on.