Grand Seiko High-Beat movement just a gimmick? - How it works simply explained
Grand Seiko is globally renowned for its high-quality watches and innovative movements. One of these movements is the High-Beat movement, which often gets overlooked as it stands in the shadow of the Spring Drive movement.
But what exactly makes the High Beat movement from Grand Seiko special?
The answer is already hidden in the name: The high-beat movement has a significantly higher frequency of 36,000 vibrations per hour compared to conventional movements, which leads to more precision, among other things. However, this high frequency also brings with it some disadvantages.
More about this later in the article.
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Is a high-beat movement more accurate than a normal movement?
Yes, a high-beat movement is basically more accurate than a movement with a lower frequency. The reason for this is that the time is measured in smaller intervals, which makes the movement more frequency-stable. Thus, it can be set more accurately and provides a more reliable time indication.
But the improved fine adjustment is only one aspect of this mechanical gem. There are many more advantages - as well as some major disadvantages - that you should be aware of. In the following, we'll give you a brief overview of everything you need to know about high-beat movements.
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Swing rate/beat rate in mechanical movements
To better understand Grand Seiko's High Beat movement, we first need to look at how a mechanical movement works.
We'll briefly explain the basics here. For a detailed description, we recommend our article on mechanical movements.
How a mechanical movement works
Right up front: The explanation sounds more complicated at first than it is. For better visualization, we also provide a video.
The best way to think of a movement is as a long chain of gears and mechanical parts.
The barrel is the first part of this chain. It contains a tensioned spring that supplies the energy for the entire movement. Directly on the barrel is a set of gears that turn the hour, minute and second hands with the correct ratio.
But the most important part of the clock is still missing. With the mainspring barrel alone, the hands would simply rotate wildly around their own axis until the spring is completely relaxed. The energy from the spring must be controlled and released at the right intervals. The solution to slow down the spring is an escapement movement with a flywheel.
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The Escapement consists of the following parts:
The escape wheel, which is directly connected to the gear train of the rest of the watch.
The pallet fork, which blocks and opens the escape wheel. The pallet fork thus ensures the gradual relaxation of the main spring in the movement.
The balance wheel, which is equipped with a spring and swings back and forth. The time it needs for an "oscillation" is always the same. The corresponding time is measured and this information is passed on to the rest of the wheel train.
These and many other watchterms are explained in our Article: "Watch term dictionary".
However, to really understand Grand Seiko's High Beat movement, we need to go into a little more detail about the pallet lever movement. Because it is in the pallet lever movement that the difference between a high-beat movement and a "normal movement" lies.
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Escapement and half-oscillation - what exactly happens there?
The Escapement has 2 tasks. The first is to lock and unlock the wheel train, which turns the hands on the dial. The second is to receive an impulse that the pallet lever movement transmits to the flywheel or balance wheel, which causes the balance wheel to oscillate again.
The balance oscillates back and forth at regular intervals; this movement measures the time - comparable to the pendulum of a pendulum clock. Each oscillation is divided into 2 half oscillations (one half oscillation to the left, one to the right).
Through a pin attached to the balance wheel, the pallet fork transmits an impulse at each half oscillation, which causes it to tilt back and forth, thus releasing the escape wheel by one tooth and immediately locking it again. The balance then swings back and the whole thing repeats.
"With each half oscillation of the balance, the armature is opened, causing the gear train to turn a little."
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For an even more detailed description, check out our post about the mechanical movement.
What is a swing rate/beat rate?
The term "oscillation rate" or "beat rate" simply describes the number of half oscillations per hour that a balance makes.
Modern mechanical movements have an oscillation rate of 21,600 (3 Hz) or 28,800 (4 Hz) vibrations per hour.
21,600 half oscillations per hour result in 6 half oscillations or 3 whole oscillations per second. At a frequency of 28,800 per hour, this is 8 half oscillations or 4 whole oscillations per second, and at a frequency of 36,000 half oscillations per hour, this is of course 10 half oscillations or 5 whole oscillations.
This is why the movements are also calles 3, 4, or 5 Hz Movements
By the way, you can tell from the hands how high the rate of oscillation of a watch is. But more about that later.
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Problems with increased swing rate/beat rate
As we have already indicated, some problems also arise due to the increased frequency.
Firstly, a movement with a high beat rate has a much higher energy consumption than a movement with a low beat rate. The increased energy consumption has a particular effect on the power reserve, which is why you have to make do with a power reserve of 50 hours for most high-beat watches.
In the past, the frequency of watches was generally lower because a compromise had to be found between frequency level and power reserve. For a long time, this compromise was around 21,600 vibrations per hour. Thanks to advances in movement manufacturing, a frequency of 28,000 vibrations per hour is now standard, especially for luxury watches.
Another consequence of the increased frequency is faster wear of the mechanical parts. The rule of thumb here is that the higher the frequency of a movement, the more often you should expect maintenance and repairs. The reason for this is simply that the lubricant wears out faster.
Another disadvantage could be the high price. However, since the prices of different brands can hardly be compared and Grand Seiko is generally a rather inexpensive brand in this segment, the price is not a disadvantage from our point of view.
By the way, Grand Seiko has managed to create a movement without the aforementioned drawbacks: the 9SA5. You can learn more about it in our detailed article on the 9SA5.
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Advantages of high-beat movements
The increased accuracy at rest is just one advantage of High-Beat movements, but we have to put it into perspective. For a movement to run accurately, countless factors have to be right. The oscillation rate is only a small aspect; much more important is the consistency of the balance wheel oscillation. Therefore, in terms of precision, watches with a slightly lower frequency can usually compete with High-Beat movements. On paper, one might think that the increased frequency hardly translates into a gain in precision.
However, as mentioned earlier, high-beat movements have many other advantages that give them an accuracy edge in everyday use.
Mit der bedeutendste: Die High-Beat-Uhrwerke von Grand Seiko sind wesentlich stoßsicherer als gewöhnliche Uhrwerke. Dies ist enorm wichtig für ihre Alltagstauglichkeit, denn eine Armbanduhr erhält immer wieder Stöße, die das Uhrwerk beeinträchtigen. Wenn sich die Schwungrate nach jedem Stoß schneller normalisiert, wirkt sich das natürlich positiv auf die Genauigkeit der Uhr aus.
Thus, their robustness also contributes to the fact that high-beat movements are more frequency-stable and thus more accurate.
A final advantage, which is especially an argument for enthusiasts, represents the "sweeping" second hand.
In a high-beat movement with 5 Hz, the gear train is opened 10 times per second. This means that the second hand moves in 10 small steps every second, resulting in an almost fluid movement.
Even though the hand doesn't run quite as smoothly as on a Springdrive movement, you can hardly tell that it's ticking in small sections.
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List of advantages and disadvantages:
+ Increased precision
+ More frequency stable due to protection against shocks
+sweeping second hand
- Service intensive
- Reduced power reserve
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These high-beat movements from Grand Seiko are available
9S85
Grand Seiko's first high-beat movement was the 9S85. Even though Grand Seiko certainly benefited from the experience of the parent company Seiko at the beginning, the 9S85 is a true in-house movement.
With a power reserve of 55 hours and an accuracy of + 5 to - 3 seconds per day, the 9S85 is a solid debut.
You can find this movement mainly in the Heritage collection.
9S86
The 9S86 is based on the 9S85, but also has a GMT function. Specifically, this means that this movement has another hour hand that makes one revolution in 24 hours to indicate the time of another time zone.
The 9S86 also has a power reserve of 55 hours and an accuracy of + 5 to - 3 seconds per day.
Of course, this movement is built into Grand Seiko's GMT watches, especially the GMT watches in the Elegance collection.
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9SA5
The 9SA5 is probably the most exciting model among Grand Seiko's high-beat movements.
In the extensive blog about the 9SA5, we explained to you why it's so special.
According to Grand Seiko's own statement, it is the best movement the company has ever produced.
The Dual Impulse Escapement, first installed in the 9SA5, is one of the greatest innovations in mechanical movements for decades, along with Omega's Co-Axial Escapement.
Combined with some other improvements, the 9SA5 brings it to an excellent power reserve of 80 hours, which is unique, despite the high frequency of 36,000 vibrations per hour.
If you'd like to know more about this groundbreaking movement, be sure to read our in-depth post about the 9SA5.
This movement is installed in the new watches from the Heritage collection. Among them, special mention should be made of the SGBH002, a limited edition to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Grand Seiko.
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Conclusion
Is Grand Seiko's high-beat movement just a gimmick or does it have its raison d'être as a serious division in the company's portfolio?
For watch fans, high-beat movements are quite exciting, especially if you have a soft spot for the technology behind them. So if you're interested in movements and their fascinating details, the 9SA5 is well worth a second look.
As a layperson who is not particularly interested in movements, you probably won't notice the difference. In this case, we recommend a watch with a Spring Drive movement or even a quartz movement.
Source cover photo: Grand Seiko
About the author
Maio Rosatzin
My passion began with a Breitling Premier B01. Since then, I've been sharing my fascination for watchmaking here on my blog. Let's dive into this fascinating world together!
