Miyota Caliber 8205

The Miyota caliber 8205 is a 21 jewel automatic movement in the 8200 series of Miyota calibers. It is made in Japan and is found in many new microbrand watches because it is easily obtainable, low cost, and considered an entry level workhorse movement. This time-tested framework was introduced to the watch market around 1977.

Note: The 8205 is also available in gold tone: 8205 Gilt.

Caliber 8205 VS 8215:

There is a popular caliber 8215 which is virtually the same movement as the caliber 8205. The main difference between these movements is that the 8205 has a day/date complication and the 8215 is date only.

8205 VS 8203 / 8204:

Some of the following points need to be confirmed by physically inspecting the movements and testing what works with what, but basically:

• The 8205 shares many of the same specs and features with the 8203 and 8204 – also sharing a majority of the same parts.
• The 8205 is an updated version of the 8203. Hacking seconds may be one of the big changes.
• The 8204 appears to be a Citizen-only movement (similar to how Seiko sells the NH35 to brands but uses the 4R35 in their own watches).

Therefore, it appears that all of the above Miyota/Citizen Day-Date movements should be interchangeable with each other including diameter, height and hand sizes – but it is untested. One thing that would be questionable is the stem part number, and unfortunately Miyota does not provide tech sheets for the cal. 8204 (another sign that it may be an internal movement).

With that said, if you swap movements, please talk about it in the comments below…

Accuracy & Power Reserve:

Miyota claims the caliber 8205 has an accuracy rating of -20 ~ +40 seconds per day. This is only measured within 10 to 60 minutes from a full power reserve. To achieve full power reserve, hand-wind the crown 40 times. Power reserve or fully wound running time is about 42 hours.

Time and Calendar Setting:

Setting the time and date on your 8205 powered timepiece is straightforward and not unlike most other watches:

• You can hand wind the movement while the crown is in position 0.
• Pull the crown out one click to position 1 to set the calendar. Turn the crown clockwise to advance the day of the week. Rotate the crown counterclockwise to advance the date.
• Pull the crown out again (position 2) to set the time.
• Do not set the date while the time is between 9:00pm and 4:00am.

Note: Although the 8205 has a quickset date, this does not mean the date instantly flips over at midnight. In fact, the changeover is not instantaneous, so do not be alarmed if you see a partial date when the hands are before or after 12:00AM.

Calendar Variations:

The Day wheel on the 8205 is bi-lingual and available in the following languages from Miyota:

• English/Spanish
• English/German
• English/Portuguese
• English/Chinese

It is interesting that there doesn’t seem to be an English/Kanji option.

Colors:

Unlike the 8215 which can be found with a white text on black background datewheel, the day/date wheels on the 8205 are only offered with a black text on white background.

The most common configuration for the 8205 is English/Spanish calendar located at 3:00. The next common is English/Chinese at 3:00. It is also possible to order this movement with the day/date at 6:00 in a vertical position, however, this and other languages are special orders and require a 1,000 minimum order quantity with a 2 month production time.

Hesitating Seconds:

The Miyota 8205 is one of the modern automatic movements that experiences a stuttering or hesitating second hand due to the indirect-drive system for running the central seconds. Learn all about Miyota “stuttering” seconds here.

Hacking Seconds:

There is some confusion about the Miyota 82XX series and whether these movements are hackable or not. The reason why this caliber is listed as “hacking: yes and no” is because Miyota only began equipping this family of movements with a stop seconds device around 2018 – 2019. If you are new to watch collection or pick up a brand new 8205 powered watch, it’s likely it will be hackable. However, this movement has been in production for quite some time (since the 1970s) and until recently, it was sold as a non-hacking movement. Therefore, there are still a lot of 8205 watches out there without hacking. In conclusion, if your 8205 watch hacks or doesn’t hack, it doesn’t mean it’s broken, it just means the movement in your watch was produced before or after hacking was introduced to the series.

Replacement Prices:

Replacement prices were found online in the $40-53.99 USD range for individual movements. When ordering wholesale, the caliber 8205 comes in packages of 100 (apparently this minimum used to be 300).

Are there fake Miyota 8205 movements?

Some China based movement factories are producing clones of the Miyota 8205 movement. Some are outright fakes marked with Miyota / Twenty-One 21 Jewels / Japan. Differences are often evident with the rotor (text, cutout, etc). These clones and fakes are being sold with the caliber number “8205”. Prices were found ranging from around $19.99 to $75.00 USD (more than an actual Miyota movement). Also beware of scam sellers using images of legitimate Miyota 8205 (they often steal pictures from this site and remove the watermark) but actually sending fakes.

• Example 1
• Example 2

Be sure to purchase from a reputable source and feel free to contact the seller beforehand for a guarantee that the movements they are selling are from Citizen/Miyota and are made in Japan.

Pros and Cons:

Pros:

• Long history of being built on a dependable movement framework
• Affordable to replace

Cons:

• Many are non-hacking (see above)
• Some do not like the possible hesitating seconds

Additional Resources:

• Official 8205 technical drawings (pdf)
• 8205 instruction manual (pdf)