Asian 2813: the noob movement

[P4GTR]

Here are some thoughts I feel inclined to post. Please feel free to add yours.

While the noob watch themselves have been highly touted for some time now, the movement itself leaves a lot to be desired per my recent encounters. I looked around for a review of the Asia 2813 by The Zigmeister but I could not find one. Please feel free to post it if I overlooked it.

I have made 3 "noob" recommendations over the past few weeks. My word on the line, I am concerned that I have made a mistake by suggesting that these are inexpensive great "out of the box" watches. Most of my referals may not notice rehaut thickness, but a watch that stops keeping time, that they will notice.

Here are some specifics:

-The rotor is very loud. It vocally "clicks" in one direction, (this direction is assumingly winding the watch). When spun the opposite direction, some sort of built up energy seems to be releasing itself as the rotor spins on, and on, and on... for all to hear! "Is my watch supposed to make loud grinding noises?" "Why is that watch making so much noise?".. Not good. Not expected.

-The power reserve is, well, nill. Once or twice a day, the watch will just stop.

-The date change position slips. The crown needs to be pushed in, then the date position reingaged to continue to change the date.

- The movement will stop when the crown is fully screwed down. This can be fixed by trimming the stem.

- The hack feature does not work on one of them.

So what to do? I'm not a watchsmith, but i'm slowly becoming one, as I seem to be "fixing" so many of my watches. I've resigned myself to the fact that I must immediately turn my focus towards puprchasing course materials and take the timezone watch school. Maybe then I will feel confident with movement upgrades for these watches.

On that, I hope the DG movement is the direction we should be heading in, and is a serviceable movement with parts availability. Comments on this are encouraged. I would also like to know what genuine ETA movement is a direct replacement to the Asian2813, if any. Answer- 2836-2

Something else to note, the beat is 21K, not 28K.. Most of you know this. This is not disclosed, most noob watch descriptions simply states Asian 2813 movement. This flaw is as visibly noticeable as any other though, if not more.

A lot of you know this information already, but there are people that come here to learn what we do not already know. If this post helps someone in the future, then my efforts were not a waste.

I do not see these as long term reliable engines. I hope this thread helps answer some questions our "noobs" might be wondering.

[gargoil]

I've been wearing my noob 3-4 times a week for well over a year now and can honestly say I've not had any bother with the movement. Power reserve is adequate if not outstanding, dat echanges and aligns fine ok. Rotor can be noisy but not noticeably louder than my other reps.

Will

[alligoat]

You're confusing me with your terminology. When you refer to the noob, do you mean noobmariner? Or are you talking about neophytes- new members- purchasing watches with asian 21j movements?

TTK's original Noobmariner has an asian 21j movt- but I don't refer to it as a DG2813. Josh's beginmariner has a DG2813, it was supposed to be 28800 bph, but I never confirmed it- gave the watch away. The DG4813 is supposed to be the 28800 bph version of the 2813. I've had good luck with the DG2813's- it has a WO symbol under the balance and comes from PTS Resources over in China. Not a bad quality movt, IMO. Certainly I like it better tham TTK's movt in his noobmariner.

But if you're having QC issues with these movements, it is a problem. In the past, I've been lucky and got two of my asian movts repaired for $40 each. But you can buy them for less than $20- the old Chinese dilemna- what to do!

[P4GTR]

New watch received since last post.

Update Edit:

12 hours since arrival, the watch is keeping time, maybe +/- 1min.

Point to note: Most if not all collectors supply this movement in the noob watches. Problems are not one dealers fault over another, it is the movement itself that I am skeptical of. Choosing the right collector makes things a lot easier if/when a problem does arise. My collector emailed me shipping confirmation of a replacement, the same day I mentioned I was having problems.

It seems that long term, the solution is to go with an upgraded movement. DG4813 or ETA 2836-2

Again, not news to many of you. Hopefully helpful to some.

[Flashman]

Sorry to hear about the poor QC on your recent watches. I have to agree that the slow beat movement does seem to be a very obvious tell that it is a rep. The jerky movement although better than quartz will still be noticed by anyone checking your watch. It is the first thing people look out for, especially on Rolexes.

The noisy rotor is also annoying, although my gen Speedmaster (reduced, auto) is noisy, but it does not spin for eternity.

Out of the 11 reps I have bought in the last few months, I have to say only 1 was perfect (or as described), without imperfections or movement issues. But that was a quartz!!

All my auto or manual wind reps have had issues with noisy rotor, debris in the movement, missing brand and serial number engravings, wrong watches sent (very common) or DOA auto movements. Some I can live with, but others I cannot and so I am often down at the post office shipping packages to china et al.

You have to be patient when you are rep fishing, you often have to throw the duds back in the water and wait all day for that perfect rep to come along and get caught.

[Fidestro]

I have to agree with the power reserve comment. Mine is about six hours if I am lucky

[P4GTR]

-Is the general consensus that the DG movement is the direction we should be heading in for upgrade/replacement? If so, is it a serviceable movement for a lifetime like an ETA would be?

-what genuine ETA movement is a direct replacement to the Asian2813

1st movement completely dead now.

Bump.

[ajoesmith]

What you need is a DG4813!

[alligoat]

what genuine ETA movement is a direct replacement to the Asian 2813?

The answer is NONE. Although the widths are the same and heights are very close (to the 2836-2), and maybe even the same, hands sizes are completely different. Dial feet locations are different. And what about the datewheel- do you take the datewheel off of the 2813 and will it fit between the dial and the movement of say the 2836? Lots of work.

My suggestion is, if you don't like the 2813, buy a watch with the ETA movt in it.

[massimo]

Hi P4GTR

I found your post through the search because I've had my Noobmariner for 2 weeks and have had a very similar experience, and I've been trying to work out what's wrong with it, because it tends to keep stopping.

On receipt I gave it a few slow winds and strapped it on - usual automatic procedure. It ran fine, but stopped overnight. I wound it more fully the next day and it started straight away so wore it again, although it randomly lost 10 minutes here and there, so I concluded it kept stopping and starting during wear. I wound it again and put it on my watch winder for a few days. It still kept stopping, increasingly often. I had sussed out that it winds only in one direction, so had the winder set accordingly so thought I'd be OK, but eventually it was obvious that the spring had simply run down. Yesterday I took the back off to look at the movement.

The rotor is exactly as you described: it is almost frictionless in the non-winding direction, but seems very stiff in the winding direction, it almost needs a jerk to wind it rather than just gravity, so my theory is that it simply isn't winding in normal use. That is still my theory, since I wound it manually last night, and it ran overnight so I wore it today and apart from losing a couple of minutes, it's been OK.

I also have the problem with date change position slipping, and the hack is a bit dodgy too: it will stop the watch, but when you turn the hands you have to maintain outward pressure to stop it slipping back to the date setting position, then it clicks out the last little bit and hacks fully.

Does anybody have any thoughts on the validity of my theory, and how I might free up the auto winding? If not, and it continues to perform this way I can always wear it by winding it manually once (or twice?) a day.

I have other reps which were sold as having ETA movements and have never a problem, so I'm feeling like you get what you pay for with reps, as with so much in life. Shame about this one though: for the price it's great, but the movement is the weak point, and in the end, there's nothing more annoying than an unreliable watch.

[fakemaster]

Very interesting comments.

[highoeyazmuhudee]

i can vouch for the 4813

my pseudo mini review:

-LOUD rotor but spins freely. probably same as the slow beat... im still not sure why silent rotors exist in $10seagull movements but not $30 DG movements

+fast beat, looks twice as smooth as the 21.6s but not AS silky as a genuine rolex sweep STILL VERY good(perhaps mine has a beat error cause its not always erratic)

good or bad you decide : you can listen to it ticking along in a quiet room

+two weeks after i got it I KID YOU NOT keeps within 4 seconds a day. gains time on my wrist, looses time in the box.

+ hack set

-date wheel starts to change over from about 1030pm-12am

+silkiest smooth manual wind i've ever felt on a watch. comparable to an omega speedmaster (how ever the speedmaster i could wind with one finger)

+shock protection does its job, endures my active lifestyle.

hmm thats all i can think of for now... ill add more as it comes

[Toadtorrent]

I have similar experiences.

4 of 5 I've received have had slipping date discs...some have completely popped off.

Flaky keyless works that have low tolerance on workmanship so they slip out of whack really easily...easy to pop back into place...but a pain in the butt to have to do so.

The rotors have always been loud...power reserve however has been alright

Winding using the stem feels "cheap"...kind of a high pitch grinding feel...not like an ETA or Rollie movement...mind you, it's hard to compare the 2...not really fair.

[massimo]

..

Here are some specifics:

-The rotor is very loud. It vocally "clicks" in one direction, (this direction is assumingly winding the watch). When spun the opposite direction, some sort of built up energy seems to be releasing itself as the rotor spins on, and on, and on... for all to hear! "Is my watch supposed to make loud grinding noises?" "Why is that watch making so much noise?".. Not good. Not expected.

-The power reserve is, well, nill. Once or twice a day, the watch will just stop.

-The date change position slips. The crown needs to be pushed in, then the date position reingaged to continue to change the date.

- The movement will stop when the crown is fully screwed down. This can be fixed by trimming the stem.

- The hack feature does not work on one of them.

..

This post seems to have saved the day for my Sub with this movement. As noted above, it kept stopping, probably for a variety of reasons, but I filed a bit off the stem as per the point above and, while I had the back off, removed the rotor and lubricated the bearings behind it (a suggestion from another thread). After a couple more days when it stopped once a day, the movement has been running continously now during five days of normal wear, without any manual winding. The rotor is much less noisy, and I can now hear it winding when rotated next to the ear. It loses about a minute a day, but at least I currently have a working watch.

The date change still slips by the way, as described above, but the hack feature still works, in fact a bit too well since it works at the date change position as well as the hand setting position.

Thank goodness for the forums though. Not only interesting reading and valuable buying advice, but I was just about resigned that my watch was scrap, and it would have been if not for these threads.

[helldiver]

I still have 2 rep bought in 1995 and they are working perfectly! But they are quartz! The other 5 automatic are long gone like my gen Omega fropm 1997 (it sits in a drawer with a broken movement because I dont feel paying 370EUR=470USD to repair it - repair or service costing almost 50% of a watch that is mad)

I am now buying only reps in quartz and find it a pity that not all the models are available in quartz.

Edited October 27, 2012 by Helldiver

[ThePadd]

The ETA clones from Seagull and Hangzou perform very well, and after initial run-in can be regulated to within a couple of seconds a day. These are in a sterile sub and sterile explorer rep. I also have a TC Sub 16610 V6 and the TC (Asian) 2824 in there is just awesome, extremely accurate and great (40 hour) power reserve.  Okay the cost of the ETA clone movements mean your rep wont be cheap, but it will keep adequate time and wont just stop.

I am thinking of getting a DG2813 now, just to see how bad it is!

[cavi]

I have countless 2813 watches and the majority perform flawlessly.     

[Mike on a bike]

2 hours ago, cavi said:

I have countless 2813 watches and the majority perform flawlessly.     

+1

[Nightwatch]

5 Years later from 2013 onward something must have changed (or P4GTr was using a bad TD selling dirty old movements back in 2008).

DG2813 is a little, reliable, tough beater-movement and power workhouse; Because of posts like this I have a spare ETA2840, ETA2846, DG2813 - and haven´t used any of them! All my DG2813 are running strong after 3 Years, original from factory;

I´m no watchsmith, just a user:)

Power reserve: because of the lowbeat movement the power reserve is longer than on the asian ETA, it runs and runs and runs - well over 42 hours;

Rotor: if it´s loud: tiniest black oiler and tiny drop of Moebius 9010 or Novostar type B

Rotor, take 2: the first time You use a 2813 You will not be able to avoid it rotating endlessly; as soon as the wrist "adapts" itself to it You will have perfect control over when it spins or not; it´s a fact You will never get to this stage if You put it off as rubbish after a few hours to never wear again;

Hacking, winding etc. all run fine on all of them and I have at least 5. Timekeeping adjustment is fiddly but doable if necessary (more than 30 seconds per day) I haven´t adjusted any of mine, the best runs at +- 1-2 seconds per day.

Servicing: instead of servicing the DG2813 may be replaced by a factory-fresh sealed (and even better) replacement movement that costs $35 in 2016. Some will run for 10+ years without requiring anything.

Seconds hand: sweeps at 5 ticks per second instad of 7 of the highbeat ETA2836. Not noticeable at arms length but if You concentrate and stare at it the ETA will have a smoother, better soothing performance. The ETA will give a higher quality feel on the wrist. The ETA comes at a higher price, irrelevant if You know exactly the watch You want - but too expensive when You first get the blue, than decide You want the green and ultimately discover that the one You really want should be black. The ETA is serviceable - in other words this means it sooner or later will require a service (at a significant cost in 2016).

Have fun with the DG2813 and the asian ETAs - they both have their reason for existence and both are amongst the reliable movements imho.

[Jrhumber]

I have just purchased a copy Rolex sea dweller with a 2813 movement. I also have a Hamilton Trent automatic Swiss watch with eta movement and the cheap 2813 movement keeps better time by a long shot, the Hamilton watch I own was once owned by Lewis Hamilton, gifted to him from the Hamilton watch company, a watch I love and more importantly a watch that has a such a low second value that I will never be tempted to sell it unlike owning a real Rolex, I wonder how many people actually keep a Rolex without being tempted to sell when they get skint? Very impressed with the copy Rolex with ceramic bezel and sapphire face. It is true the 2813 is a lot louder then other movements.

[Stimpy]

Greetings ALL,

 

I am new here so I ask you all to be kind while I publicly display my vast amount of ignorance on the subject at hand. 

 

While I do have some (IMHO) some very nice watches in my possession including a men's Swiss made  Ernest Borell Kaleidoscope watch with the original band and some great vintage pocket watches, I now find myself looking for a new day to day watch now that my Seiko Quartz Alarm bit the dust after near 30 years of use.

 

I have always liked Automatic Movement watches so I did some research and this one looked good to me.... 

 

 

 

 

It does have the 2813 movement as is being discussed on this thread and I would like to know if anyone has an opinion of this watch/brand.

 

I purchased from Amazon for an extremely reasonable price which included a 2-year warranty from Amazon.

 

I look forward to your honest opinions!

 

And I apologize for all the extra pic's as I am new here and don't have the hang of using this forum!

Edited October 21, 2017 by Stimpy

[kernow]

I've never heard of that manufacturer before. However it looks a nice watch so enjoy it as it is. 

[Sogeha]

Ive heard of them alright. They are generally considered good for their price point. I think I have a Reef Tiger Diver’s Watch somewhere 

[Stimpy]

Thanks for taking the time to reply to my question.

 

 

[Fl23883]

I have a watch with DG2813 on the road. I will test them accurately and write a message. I'm very interested.