pkonos
2751
Grand Seiko Tentagraph - Caveat emptor
I thought you guys would want to be aware of an annoying issue
with the 9SC5 caliber, just in case any of you are considering a Grand Seiko
Tentagraph as a year-end holiday gift for yourself.
< When you start/stop the chronograph, the small-seconds hand in the subdial at 3 will jump and stutter >
When I inquired with GS, they formally advised me that they neither can fix the issue nor consider it a problem (in their words, the stutter jump is a “characteristic” of the movement).
Before buying, be sure to check and see for yourselves in order to see if you can live with the issue or quirk, as ymmv.
Personally, I found the issue in the fairly new, highly (GS) touted movement and relatively pricey line of watches unacceptable.
Images from the Net
Available on the marketplace
627 Grand Seiko listings are live on the eBay market and 47 collector listings on the WatchProSite marketplace.
New Release
Discover the Grand Seiko Tentagraph SLGC009, the brand's first mechanical chronograph. Cazalea details its Caliber 9SC5, Hi-Beat movement, and 3-day power reserve.
19 replies5659 views
Review
Explore the Grand Seiko Tentagraph SLGC009, a high-beat titanium chronograph. Discover its unique design, 9SC5 caliber, and collector insights.
36 replies2790 views
Reference Guide
Explore the Grand Seiko Tentagraph, the brand s first mechanical chronograph. Discover the Caliber 9SC5, its unique features, and all six reference variants including SLGC001 and SLGC009.
28 replies1077 views
Grand Seiko Tentagraph - Caveat emptor
I thought you guys would want to be aware of an annoying issue with the 9SC5 caliber, just in case any of you are considering a Grand Seiko Tentagraph as a year-end holiday gift for yourself. When I inquired with GS, they formally advised me that they nei...
An extremely disappointing response that questions whether it was known at launch. Have you found other accounts of this?
Im a huge fan of Grand Seiko and was similarly excited for their 9SA5 movement. Technically very impressive but the fact of the matter is it simply doesn’t keep time well and in the beginning many left the factor with issues running at 20+ per day. Their ...
Couldn't agree with you more.
I truly get the feeling that GS has been rushing their new movement intros (including the 9SA5 in the Birch models) without first resolving their teething issues. I tried the chronograph function on all of the brand-new Tentagraphs in stock at one AD and,...
You are right…
I know of some Birches that needed a spa treatment to ensure accuracy. In GSs Defence this was done without fuss, free of charge and fast.
My Birch runs way too fast (ca. +20 secs. or so)...
but I've given it a pass, since I usually rotate watches often anyway.
It looks like what we say in the IT world:
"When everyone experiences the same software bug it becomes a feature."
Thanks for fmc000,
I'm going to recycle that when explaining my personal bugs to the mrs.
I considered their SD chrono (SBGC0249) but worried about future servicing.
I read that it would need to go back to Japan for any servicing. I don't think the Tentagraph is an integrated chrono.
I'm familiar with GS' servicing appartus where you're located, but a trip back to Japan for maintenance does seem very plausible.
In fairness to GS, I perhaps add that I've not had any issues with any of their earlier calibers (whether automatic, hand-wound, or Spring Drive).
Where I live, Japan is a lot closer than Europe and besides, the original poster is in Japan
I have had several rare GS models go back and it's not been a problem... Perhaps it was the attitude not the mechanism?
My first inclination was to suspect the modular construction...
but several of the ADs (excluding the one where I got my Tenta, who was non-committal) whom I initially consulted said the modular aspect should not be a factor in perturbing the running-seconds hand.
Thanks for sharing this 👍🏻🙏🏻
It would most likely not have ended up under the tree (unless Santa was to include a heftier left wrist in addition) but good to know. Don’t remember this from the 8R48 movement…
Santa hasn't left me a heftier left wrist either, but he did leave with me a clown cap once to go with the clown watch look.
I can vouch for the proper functioning of the 8R46 movement in my Speedtimer line as well.
Another variant of issue along similar lines ….
I also noticed another issue linked to the chronograph function on an older blue dial Tentagraph at a local AD. Not sure if GS has addressed it in later releases. Basically; while doing continuous start/stop (without resetting) action on chrono, I noticed...