ei8htohms
8555
a mixed bag
Hi Forest,
That's a pretty diverse sampling of movements form these two makers. The standouts to me as a movement geek are the 5197 and 5120.
The 5197 houses the new Breguet Cal. 591A which is the classic Longines/Lemania/Breguet double-barrel ultrathin automatic movement (Cal. 591) with the silicium escapement and hairspring introduced this year. I love the basic movement, but when you add these high-tech gizmos, you've got a real show stopper although there is some minor amount of early-adopter's risk as well (what if these silicium bits begin disintegrating in 10 years?).
The 5120 has the Patek Philippe Cal. 240, one of the thinnest, most beautifully executed simple automatics on the market. It's everything a fine automatic from a house like Patek should be by all reports and a real beauty to look at with its micro-rotor as well.
The 5119 is the piece I reviewed back in 2003 with the Cal. 215 movement (check the "In Depth Reviews" section for this article). It's a great little movement and almost surely the most reliable movement of the four that you've mentioned, simply because it's the simplest (not automatic for one thing).
The 5930 has a Breguet Cal. 517/1, which is based on a Piguet 1150. This is not one of my favortie movements by a long shot although it certainly has its fans and supporters. In my experience, its fans and supporters are generally not watchmakers, at least not ones that have spent much time working on that movement. It would certainly be my last choice among these watches although I do find the watch to be quite attractive aesthetically.
The best website for learning about movements may in fact be ThePuristS although there is plenty of good info elsewhere as well. There is no quick and easy study though, you just have to ask lots of questions and do lots of reading and keep an open mind (ready to alter the perception you've built up in your mind about a movement/watch/brand as new or better information comes your way).
_john