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Old 1 November 2023, 11:03 AM   #1
gozoner
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Spring Drive (SBGA413) - Long Term Accuracy

After getting my Grand Seiko SBGA413, in large part because of the spring drive technology, I decided to measure the long term accuracy over a full year. I'm 20 weeks in and thought I'd describe the results so far. (During this 20 week period I found myself in Scotland for 10 days; refused to change the time to the local time zone.)

I'm impressed with the accuracy; but, after searching posts on this site, I've found others reporting 0 or 1 second after 3 months?!

Code:
Date (weeks)	  Error (sec)    Rate (sec/week)	Rate (sec/day)
06/13/2023 ( 0)	     0		
07/18/2023 ( 5)	    +5                1.0                  0.14
08/22/2023 (10)     +7.5              0.75                 0.107
09/26/2023 (15)     +11.5             0.77                 0.11
10/31/2023 (20)     +15.1             0.755                0.108
It gets easier to measure the error as it grows; but I've started using a G-Shock chronometer with >1/10 second resolution recently - which probably explains the first error of +5 being larger and second error increase of 2.5 being smaller.

Total error is +15 seconds over about 4 1/2 months which is well below the stated accuracy of 15 seconds per month. Should I be disappointed?

I'm keen to keep the test going for a full year - which will mean handling daylight savings time by presetting the error when changing the time. We'll see how the watch handles the frigid winters.

Cheers.
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Old 1 November 2023, 04:35 PM   #2
minute_man
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Hi, congrats on the beautiful cherry blossom and welcome to the forum.
I think your accuracy is fine. My SBGE245 gains about 2,5" a month. Both are well within GS's claimed accuracy. I wouldn't be surprised to see outliers on either side of the spectrum though. I know first hand just how spoiled can someone become with the GS SD accuracy. Don't let that mess with your ownership experience. Enjoy your watch.
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Old 1 November 2023, 05:03 PM   #3
PBJ1925
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Seems well within specs, enjoy your 413, it's a beauty.
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Old 1 November 2023, 05:03 PM   #4
Andad
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gozoner View Post
After getting my Grand Seiko SBGA413, in large part because of the spring drive technology, I decided to measure the long term accuracy over a full year. I'm 20 weeks in and thought I'd describe the results so far. (During this 20 week period I found myself in Scotland for 10 days; refused to change the time to the local time zone.)

I'm impressed with the accuracy; but, after searching posts on this site, I've found others reporting 0 or 1 second after 3 months?!

Code:
Date (weeks)	  Error (sec)    Rate (sec/week)	Rate (sec/day)
06/13/2023 ( 0)	     0		
07/18/2023 ( 5)	    +5                1.0                  0.14
08/22/2023 (10)     +7.5              0.75                 0.107
09/26/2023 (15)     +11.5             0.77                 0.11
10/31/2023 (20)     +15.1             0.755                0.108
It gets easier to measure the error as it grows; but I've started using a G-Shock chronometer with >1/10 second resolution recently - which probably explains the first error of +5 being larger and second error increase of 2.5 being smaller.

Total error is +15 seconds over about 4 1/2 months which is well below the stated accuracy of 15 seconds per month. Should I be disappointed?

I'm keen to keep the test going for a full year - which will mean handling daylight savings time by presetting the error when changing the time. We'll see how the watch handles the frigid winters.

Cheers.
Hi,
+15s over 4.5 months = +3.3s/m.

The stated accuracy can’t be 15seconds/month.
You mean 15 seconds/year?
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Old 1 November 2023, 06:15 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Andad View Post
Hi,
+15s over 4.5 months = +3.3s/m.

The stated accuracy can’t be 15seconds/month.
You mean 15 seconds/year?
That's a SD movement, Eddie, not a quartz. So 15' / month is about right iirc.
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Old 1 November 2023, 06:21 PM   #6
Andad
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Quote:
Originally Posted by minute_man View Post
That's a SD movement, Eddie, not a quartz. So 15' / month is about right iirc.
That was my point Basil - why should Gozoner be disappointed with 3.3s/month?
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Old 1 November 2023, 06:23 PM   #7
minute_man
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That was my point - why should at be disappointed with 3.3s/month?
Ahh got it now It's easy to get spoiled by the SD accuracy. I know I am.
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Old 2 November 2023, 03:46 AM   #8
gozoner
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Andad View Post
That was my point Basil - why should Gozoner be disappointed with 3.3s/month?
Not disappointed; I knew the specification prior to purchase. Just here seeing people reporting way better - so confirming in-practice vs specification. Thanks!
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Old 1 November 2023, 06:18 PM   #9
Little machines
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Welcome to the forum! Beautiful time piece congratulations!!! Specs look correct.
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Old 2 November 2023, 05:30 AM   #10
WatchEater666
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I've had two spring drive equipped watches.

SBGE275 which tends to gain about 2 seconds every 2 - 3 weeks.
SBGE255 which gained about 2 seconds a week??? I think. Cant really remember.
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Old 7 November 2023, 10:15 PM   #11
Dip14
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My snowflake loses only 1 second a week, so 4 seconds per month. I have had it for 15 months now.
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Old 7 November 2023, 11:27 PM   #12
alllexandru
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I don't know how you can live with such deviance from atomic time
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Old 16 November 2023, 02:14 PM   #13
gtnator
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All SD movements are highly accurate, but the newer one is even more


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Old 17 November 2023, 09:44 AM   #14
Locust
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Best movement on the planet
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Old 17 November 2023, 09:51 AM   #15
watchnwine
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Mine is about 1 second per week... by the time I need to change the time for daylight savings or advance the month on a 30 day month, the accumulated error isn't even enough to worry about. It is one of my favorites in the box and I find I wear it more than almost any other.

Enjoy - you'll need to adjust it before the error matters too much.
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