Should Miyota 8215 put me off?

[bedlam]

I agree.

The stutter issue is a fault of a watch assembler using hands that are too heavy for a low-torque movement. That is not a fault in the movement. The 8215's I have had have been amazingly accurate and reliable and anyway, once you have owned an 8L35 all other movements look rough, including the ETA's

8215 actually does handwind. Though I've heard a lot about the "miyota stutter", I have never experienced it with the 10 or so 8215s I have/had (excluding the one that I froze in a block of ice in a Tupperware dish in my freezer...and it was still ticking).

Certainly not a glamor movement but in my experience much more reliable than the more popular ETA 2824 (had issues with 3 out of 7 ETAs and 0 issues out of apprx 10 8215s). In fact, I'm very careful not to wind any ETA 2824 too much because of the issues I've had...but would wind a 8215 all day without a worry. I won't pay too much for a 8215 powered watch, but I trust that movement to survive over any other automatic movement.

[por44]

IMO: It is a dependable low cost workhorse (hand winds, but doesn't hack) that was widely accepted until the arrival of the 9015.

I am surprised that the movement would be used in a new model watch priced at $700 (Invicta excluded)

[bakuma]

No, but the 9015 is better. The 8000 series does handwind, BTW, and the examples I've owned (all Citizens) were fine timekeepers. FWIW I've only seen the second hand lag a few times.

[Jeep99dad]

8215 actually does handwind. Though I've heard a lot about the "miyota stutter", I have never experienced it with the 10 or so 8215s I have/had (excluding the one that I froze in a block of ice in a Tupperware dish in my freezer...and it was still ticking).

Certainly not a glamour movement but in my experience much more reliable than the more popular ETA 2824 (had issues with 3 out of 7 ETAs and 0 issues out of apprx 10 8215s). In fact, I'm very careful not to wind any ETA 2824 too much because of the issues I've had...but would wind a 8215 all day without a worry. I won't pay too much for a 8215 powered watch, but I trust that movement to survive over any other automatic movement.

You're absolutely correct. It does handwind. Error corrected. I have owned several in a Boschett CD 1, Halios Holotype, Benarus Barracuda, moray 1, Sea Devils, a Bulova, Armida A1 and A2.... The stutter was worse and way excessive IMO on the A2. Just too much for me. Timekeeping was all over between +5 and +40 for me depending on which watch but they can be regulated to be accurate for those who care. Like I said it's solid/reliable but I would not spend 700$+ on a watch with that mvt personally. I actually have a hard time leaving with a mvt that doesn hack

I do agree that one needs to be careful to not overwind the 2824, but I try to not wind or overwind any of my autos

[lexvil]

Overall I would say no it shouldn't, the 8215 is an extremely reliable and tough movement, it does lower the resale value so keep that in mind.

I used to dismiss any watch with this movement until I bought a Halios Halotype that ran like a quartz watch, true you cannot hack it but you can stop the movement to set the second hand, although I prefer other movements {9015, 2824} if I really liked the watch I would go for it with the 8215.

[tcheshire]

My Armida with the non eta movement keeps excellent time, better than some of my etas.

[Ryeguy]

I have both the 8215 and the 9015 in my collection and they are both decent. The 9015 is obviously visually smoother, but is also a noisier movement with the rotor able to sling around in its non-winding direction at a very high rate of speed with just a flick of the wrist.

Not to go too far off topic, but I actually prefer the Seagull ST-1812 as a low-cost option to an ETA movement. It hacks, handwinds, runs at 28,800, uses Incablock shock protection and comes from the factory regulated in 4 positions. I've had one in my collection for nearly a year and find it very accurate and have had zero issues.

It is one of Seagull's higher-end automatic movements, so it retails above the 8215, but is probably in-line cost wise with the Miyota 9015.

Not many manufacturers use this SeaGull option today, but it packs a ton of performance in a relatively low-cost package.

[MrGone]

At a $700 price point, no, I would not buy a watch with that movement. I expect more.

[20DYNAMITE07]

I agree.

The stutter issue is a fault of a watch assembler using hands that are too heavy for a low-torque movement. That is not a fault in the movement. The 8215's I have had have been amazingly accurate and reliable and anyway, once you have owned an 8L35 all other movements look rough, including the ETA's

Well said.

I love my 8215 powered DB. It keeps some of the best time of all of my automatics. At a $700 price point, I would expect a different/ higher end movement, but the movment itself is tip top.

[Mikeman]

Lower maintenance required, can be regulated and when it is regulated runs as good as any ETA i have seen. Mine is running +2-3 seconds per 48 hours...along with great longevity....nothing to sneeze at for sure.