PO 42 with Asia 4813 or Swiss Eta 2824-2 movement?

[jbz73]

Hi Guys

What is the biggest difference between the Asia 4813 and the Swiss Eta 2824-2 movement. There is a huge difference in price, wondering if the 4813 is reliable and smooth movement. Is the 2824-2 worth the extra $170? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

J

[BGGodwin]

Can't speak from experience but a rule on thumb is Swiss is better than Asian... I'm sure there are people who will support and refute that statement on the forum, hopefully they can give reasoning!

[Pakz]

Well, yeah... Normally, the more you pay, the better you get!

Except that's true in theory for watch movement. Most will arrive to you dirty, and Asian stuff is more prone to break. Most "swiss" movements from our dealer are at best Swiss ebauches finished in Asia, by Chinese guys using Chinese pieces. So is this better than "plain Asian clone" or "plain Asian 21 jewels"... Well, certainly, at least in terms of reparability, availability of replacement pieces, ease of handling by a watchmaker (they are clones of very well known movements).

But 21j are not bad, usually fairly robust, their finish and all improving all steadily. When they have problems (and that will happen at some point, one month, one year, ten years, who knows) they will be more difficult to repair by most watchsmith, and the cost of repairing them will possibly be higher than that of movement... So replacement seems a better option. Swiss or Asian clones are much better option for frankenizing, as well...

As for most things, in the end, it really is a matter of "risk-reward", "cost-opportunity". In my experience, 21j come cheap, are fairly robust, if they crap you replace them, or change the watch and that's it. "Swiss"... well, they should be better at many things, and they can get repaired. But the initial cost is higher, cost of the repair could be steep relative to the value of the watch, etc. etc.

So if you're into modding your watch a lot, if you'll invest a lot in it, if you want a "like the original on every point" but cheaper, Swiss will be best.

If you believe that it will just be one among many, and if you really love it, you'll end up buying a gen... 4813 is the way to go.

My 20 cts on a very controversial and subjective "problem" !!

[jbz73]

Thanks Pakz, I appreciate your input!