Zenith Espada vs. Grand Seiko Hi-Beat 3600 Watch Review

Zenith Espada vs. Grand Seiko Hi-Beat 3600 Watch Review

Zenith Espada vs. Grand Seiko Hi-Beat 3600 Watch Review

Two automatic watches rich in-frequency movements, the Seiko Grand Seiko Hi-Beat 36000 and Zenith Espada, square off inside a fight from the fast-beat balances within this feature in the WatchTime archives.

A quick-beat movement provides an edge on its lower-frequency rivals: more beats each hour means greater precision. 

Zenith Espada vs. Grand Seiko Hi-Beat 3600 Watch Review

The key is straightforward: the precision that time could be measured and displayed is inversely proportional to how big the units into so it is split. Fast-beat movements will also be more shock-resistant than slower-beat ones, which is an additional boon to precision. Two companies make series-created movements with frequencies of 36,000 vph. The first is Zenith another is Seiko. We tested one watch from each brand to discover the way they measure facing one another when it comes to precision and a number of other criteria.

The Zenith watch, known as the Espada, is outfitted having a modified form of their celebrated El Primero movement. 

Zenith Espada vs. Grand Seiko Hi-Beat 3600 Watch Review

In the “natural” form, the El Primero is, obviously, a chronograph movement. To help make the Espada’s movement, a 3-hands automatic caliber known as the El Primero 4650B, Zenith removed the chronograph mechanism in the El Primero. The Seiko watch, known as the Grand Seiko Hi-Beat 36000, provides the automatic Caliber 9S85, introduced in '09. Both movements needed much try to develop. Modifying the El Primero chronograph caliber to power a 3-handed watch involved greater than just reducing the amount of parts from 280 to 210. The stopwatch mechanism was removed, however it was partially reinstalled afterward. The bridges needed to be redesigned and also the constantly running seconds hands relocated from your off-center subdial to the middle of the dial. The resulting construction resembles the classic pattern of the fundamental caliber where the central seconds hands lies directly inside the flow of pressure instead of drawing its power from the rudiment remaining in the chronograph mechanism.

Seiko faced its very own challenges. It spent 5 years creating a special alloy

Spron 610, because of its caliber’s hairspring (Seiko makes its very own hairsprings and mainsprings). Spron 610 has greater potential to deal with shocks and magnetism than standard alloys. Just because a high frequency puts additional force on the movement, Seiko redesigned the lever, escape wheel and pallets to improve their durability. It developed another alloy, Spron 530, to be used within the caliber’s mainspring. Spron 530 enables the spring to resist the more powerful torque needed through the high-frequency balance: the torque in five-hertz Caliber 9S85 is two times up to in Seiko’s four-hertz calibers. The spring offers an impressive power reserve of 55 hrs.

Zenith didn't give a stop-seconds function if this modified the El Primero movement

Zenith Espada vs. Grand Seiko Hi-Beat 3600 Watch Review

 You may ask what the thing is of getting an very precise movement inside a plain automatic watch, without any chronograph, should you can’t set the timepiece with to-the-second precision. We attempted utilizing an old trick to prevent the seconds hands: pulling the crown to the hands-setting position after which lightly turning it counterclockwise. It didn’t work. The seconds hands had a lot play it leaped backward a complete five seconds. Seiko’s watch comes with an end-seconds function. El Primero 4650B’s amplitudes are very low, something you’d be more prone to get in a movement which was transporting the additional burden of powering a chronograph mechanism. This initially brought us to suspect that there’s just a gear train attached to the central seconds hands (formerly the passed-seconds hands) in the former off-center seconds hands. But we found this isn't the situation, therefore the amplitudes must derive from the general configuration from the movement. However, it normally won't hurt the movement’s rate. The amplitudes of Seiko’s Caliber 9S85, however, have been in the typical and expected range.

Zenith’s model always continued to be around the “gain” side of zero: it never time lost, also it exhibited this fine performance in most situations: fully wound, after running for twenty-four hrs, as well as on the wrist. Seiko’s watch ran better, however it strayed in to the “minus” column in a number of positions. It scored an ideal “zero” within the “average daily rate” category whenever we crunched the figures, however it lost a little time after running for any day - a disadvantage that horological sticklers would find worth critique. However, i was very happy to observe that it ran well within the “plus” column around the wrist. Even though the watches aren’t formally certified by COSC, both met not just COSC standards, however the a little more stringent standards of Seiko’s own Grand Seiko Inspection Standard.

Zenith Espada vs. Grand Seiko Hi-Beat 3600 Watch Review

Five screws hold a window of azure at the back of the Espada, enabling us to determine the brand new little bridge for that automatic-winding mechanism. The mechanism partly obstructed our look at the escapement and also the polarizing train for that rotor, which winds the mainspring both in directions of rotation. Although our view seemed to be blocked through the circularly grained bridge, there is a large bridge beneath it: this construction originates from the previous El Primero so they cover the whole movement just like a three-quarters plate. Stripping El Primero lower to function as a movement for any three-handed watch steals it of their chronograph architecture, however the movement still speaks Zenith’s language, because of the brand’s star-formed emblem decline in openwork in to the rotor, the fine adjustment with an eccentric screw with an elongated regulator arm and, obviously, the short-paced balance. Seiko’s caliber 9S85 also constitutes a brand-specific statement behind a screwed-lower window of azure in the caseback. Seiko fans will recognize their trademark wavy embellishments, much like Geneva waves, which decorate the bridges, the cocks and also the slightly skeletonized rotor. Such as the rotor around the Zenith movement, Seiko’s rotor winds the mainspring both in directions of rotation. Seiko uses its well-known Magic Lever pawl indexing system, so it introduced in 1959. The Special Moment Lever system boosts the change in capacity to the mainspring and delivers faster winding speed by harnessing all of the energy produced through the rotor because it revolves both in directions.

I was disappointed to locate the Magic Lever is hidden from view through the bridge from the movement. Because of the caliber’s bridge construction, you cannot see really the 9S85 than you are able to of Zenith’s movement. Fine adjustment from the balance (also is made by Seiko) occurs with an eccentric screw (because it does in El Primero), but Seiko’s eccentric screw is combined with a significantly shorter regulator arm. The name “Grand Seiko” is engraved around the winding rotor in bold letters which are inlaid with gold. Whenever you consider the Grand Seiko’s situation, its elegance, functional details and-quality craftsmanship is visible all angles, regardless of whether you gaze downward in the steeply sloped and polished bezel, look in the front in the stylized lugs or peer in the side in the arches from the case’s midsection. Such as the movement, the situation and bracelet are produced by Seiko. The processing lavished around the situation is particularly significant: zaratsu, or “blade polishing,” is accomplished by holding the situation against a rotating tin plate in a very precise position. This results in a mirror finish on sides from the situation, in addition to fine bevels around the lugs.

The Grand Seiko’s three-part stainless-steel bracelet can also be partially polished and partially matte finished. It's solid but lightweight. It feels supple and harmonizes using the curved middle portion of the situation to wrap easily around its wearer’s wrist. The dimensions variations within the links from the bracelet, which tapers slightly in the lugs towards the clasp, increase the harmony. The only-folding clasp closes easily. It opens easily when its lateral buttons are pressed. Several links within the bracelet are screwed on each side from the clasp therefore the bracelet can be simply lengthened or shortened.

The well-made, stainless-steel bracelet on Zenith’s Espada is equally as lightweight, convenient and comfortable to put on because the Seiko bracelet. All its links are screwed together therefore it, too, can be simply lengthened or shortened. The clasp is double folding. It's well-balanced and opens via buttons on its sides. Zenith’s bracelet is integrated more fully in to the situation than Seiko’s, even though the arching form of the Zenith case’s middle piece appears a little truncated. This detail, however, doesn’t diminish the bracelet’s comfort around the wrist. The main difference thick backward and forward cases is just about 1.3 mm, but Zenith’s situation appears considerably slimmer and bigger because its dial is really large: 34 mm across. Aside from two matte sections around the lugs, Zenith’s situation is brightly polished throughout. Zenith’s situation design is less stylized than Seiko’s. Each situation includes a threaded crown and it is water-resistant to 100 meters.

The Grand Seiko’s crown is integrated slightly in to the side of their situation. Fluting around the crown’s sides makes it simple to understand. Once the crown is pressed in, it may be switched to wind the mainspring when brought out to the first position, it rapidly resets the date so when brought out to the second position it resets both your hands. Once the watch is running, the date display progressively advances to exhibit the following day’s date: this transformation begins around 11 o’clock at night and ends once the date numeral jumps ahead at roughly ten minutes past night time. El Primero is much more than age forty, but it features a modern and quickly switching date display. Around the watch we tested, the modification from yesterday’s date to today’s required place around three minutes before night time. Inside a departure in the norm, the rapid-reset mechanism for El Primero’s date is activated once the crown is pulled to the outer position. Pressing the crown one notch farther inward - although not completely in - enables you to adjust both your hands. The crown has slightly conical fluting and could be screwed shut easily.

The dials of these two watches are not the same, not only to size - the Seiko dial is simply 30 mm wide ? however in style. Fluting between your hour indices is easily the most eye-catching detail around the Espada’s dial. This decorative wreath extends completely to the advantage from the dial, where it meets the flange. As if these were preserving the memory from the El Primero’s erstwhile stopwatch function, a diamond ring of narrow strokes mark fractions of seconds between adjacent hour indices. This scale includes four shorter strokes in between each adjacent set of longer strokes therefore it properly matches the 5-hertz frequency of caliber 4650B. The 11 faceted and rhodium-plated hour indices are meticulously applied atop this same background. Each index’s outer finish meets a minutes and seconds scale around the flange its inner finish bears a droplet of Super-LumiNova that glows vibrant eco-friendly at nighttime. Exactly the same eco-friendly glow shines across the lengths from the hour hands and minutes hands. Legibility is excellent at nighttime and nearly perfect during the day.

The Espada’s sleek hands possess a sporty look. The minutes hands is precisely lengthy enough to the touch the related scale around the flange its tip bends downward to reduce potential errors because of parallax. The hour hands doesn't have downward curve at its finish and it is tip remains near to the 11 appliqués. The narrow seconds hands of blued steel adds a colourful accent. Its shorter finish bears Zenith’s star emblem. The dial around the Seiko watch is much more understated compared to Zenith dial. Narrow hour indices go above experience that’s unobtrusively embellished having a sunburst pattern. Each index slopes downward toward the middle of the dial. Neither the indices nor both your hands are luminous therefore the watch can’t be read at nighttime. The dial doesn't provide just as much contrast because the Zenith dial does, therefore it isn’t as simple to write out even just in daylight. Many shiny surfaces around the applied indices, plus glossy facets across the edges from the hands, have a tendency to reflect sunlight and cause undesirable glare. Like Zenith’s watch, the Grand Seiko includes a colorful accent: its narrow blued seconds hands. The dauphine hour and minutes hands finish in the inner tips from the indices and also the minute strokes, correspondingly. The second are nicely marked. Overall, this dial is handsome and consistent, similar to the Zenith dial.

How to pick between both of these, neck-and-neck watches? Things to consider begin with the cost. Despite Seiko’s high standards in your mind, should a wrist watch lover pay $1,100 more for any high-quality Japanese watch compared to a similarly fine Swiss timepiece? Therefore, what's going to he have for his money? First, he’ll obtain a technically modern movement, the most recent materials, excellent craftsmanship and, finally, the fascination of having a Grand Seiko. There isn’t any doubt that the El Primero movement is another fascinating horological entity, although the chronograph mechanism continues to be removed. Possibly that’s sufficient cause for any collector to get an Espada, that is inspired through the types of the 1970s and pays homage to Zenith’s technical and cultural heritage. From the strictly objective point of view, however, we have to observe that the El Primero 4650B doesn't achieve our prime degree of Seiko’s caliber 9S85. With removing the chronograph mechanism, and with no stop-seconds function, the movement loses the advantages that the chronograph version acquired from the fast-paced oscillator.