However, more important and eye-opening is the chronograph activation mechanism: a column wheel.
It’s a very clean and effective solution already found on the Seiko 8R28, a higher end column-wheel triple vertical clutch movement utilized in the Ananta and Velatura models. The NE88 has some features that really stand out, and a few causing even seasoned collectors and watch nerds take notice.įirst off is a classic Seiko feature: a triple-tipped hammer that simultaneously and instantly resets all the subdial counters back to zero. While this is not unique to SII, it shows that the maker understands what is expected and needed to try to fight the big dog in the yard. To help with that development, technical guides with all of the necessary measurements needed when designing around the NE88 movement are already available. A smart manager would not bet a brand’s future on something that has already been clearly stated to soon be unavailable except to the “chosen few.”Īlso, the NE88 is available for development without any pre-conditions like long-term contracts or high volume commitments, or a need for the buyer to go through a vetting process something which I have heard isn’t always the case with certain movement makers. That fact alone makes it a safer bet for long-term investment, even if you are hesitant about any perceived quality. And Seiko is likely to be a reliable partner able to deliver high volumes. The NE88 is designed to be a possible replacement for the 7750 in general size, function, and, most importantly, cost. According to early reports, the NE88 will be available for approximately the same price as an ETA 7750. That is a question with a complicated answer, and for this nerd writer it is taken from a perspective that Swiss isn’t necessarily better instead, better is better.Īnd then we have the somewhat subjective question of what constitutes better. Actually, it might be better than they had hoped. It might just be what the market has been waiting for.
With the prospect of having to look elsewhere since the Swatch Group announcement that supply would be reduced and eventually halted, other movement makers have been in the crosshairs for desperate brands.Įnter the brand-new NE88 automatic chronograph movement by SII, Seiko Instruments, Inc. The 7750 is a no-nonsense, cam-driven chronograph that is relatively easy to manufacture at scale and a solid choice for a small brand to utilize. The dial side of the Valjoux 7750 movement
Over the years, the Valjoux 7750 has been released in dozens of configurations making it a true chameleon and nearly cornering the market for affordable mid-range automatic chronographs.
That movement, the Valjoux 7750, went on to be one of the most long-lasting and widely used movements for all price levels of watches in the modern era thanks to being the most cost-effective, reliable and easily configurable. So much so that five years later in 1974, practically the last new automatic chronograph movement for the next few decades was released with little fanfare. The realization of an automatic chronograph was huge for the watchmaking world, but over the following months and years it was more or less overshadowed by quartz technology. Not only do three different brands have a valid claim to being the first to have achieved making the historic complication, but the short-lived happiness of said achievements the very same year, thanks to the introduction of the quartz watch, make the story tragically bittersweet. There are few horological stories steeped in as much controversy and lore as the tale of 1969 and the first automatic chronograph.
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