Miyota Caliber 8215

The Miyota caliber 8215 is a 21 jewels automatic movement, first introduced in 1977. 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.

The 8215 is part of Miyota’s “Standard Automatic” line of movements and is the base for the 82XX family of 82 series calibers.

This movement is also available in gold tone: 8215 Gilt.

Caliber 8215 VS 8205:

There is a Miyota caliber 8205 which is virtually the same movement as the caliber 8215 but with an additional day complication next to the date.

• 8215 – Date
• 8205 – Day/Date

Accuracy & Power Reserve:

Miyota claims the caliber 8215 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:

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 time. Pull the crown out again to position 2 to set the date. Do not set the date while the time is between 9:00pm and 1:00am.

Calendar Variations:

There are three calendar variations available from the factory:

• 8215-21A – Date window at 3:00. Square window. Datewheel: White background with black text.
• 8215-1AV – Date window at 3:00. Square window. Dateweel: Black background with white text. Special order with about 2 months lead time from Miyota.
• 8215-1TH – Date window at 6:00. Square or round window. Datewheel: White background with black text.

Hesitating Seconds:

The Miyota 8215 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 82 series and whether these movements are hackable or not. 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. This explains why this caliber is listed as “hacking: yes and no” above.

Miyota only began equipping this family of movements with a stop seconds device between 2018-2019 – and even then, not all of the calibers were included in the upgrade. Now, the current catalog of Standard Automatics (aka 82XX) have a stop seconds device. It’s important to note that here 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 $40-50 range for individual movements. When ordering wholesale, the caliber 8215 comes in packages of 300. They are available with a higher quality “fine finishing.” Although the plastic movement holder (part 500-710) is more common in affordable watches, this is interchangeable with a metal ring (502-008).

Click here to buy a replacement Miyota 8215 movement for your watch.

Are there fake Miyota 8215 Movements?

As a movement that has been on the market since the 1970s, China based movement factories have been producing clones of the Miyota 8215 for a while now. However, some are outright fakes marked with Miyota / Twenty-One 21 Jewels / Japan.

The differences between the real and fake are often evident with the rotor text, cutout shape, etc. These clones and fakes are being sold with the caliber number “8215”. 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 8215 (they often steal pictures from Caliber Corner and remove the watermark) but actually sending fakes.

• Example

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.

Miyota 8215 Gallery:

The photos below are from a Vostok N1 Rocket:

The more finished caliber 821A in a Ballast Trafalgar:

Examples of watches with caliber 8215:

Brands Calling the 8215 Something Else:

Some watch brands designate their own caliber or model numbers to the movements they use. If you know of a brand doing this, please add it to the comments below. In the meantime, known brand/numbers are:

• Timex caliber 02N

Pros and Cons:

Pros:

• Long history of being built on a workhorse movement framework
• Replacement price is affordable compared to other movements

Cons:

• Many do not have hacking seconds
• Some do not like the hesitating seconds

Additional Resources:

• Official 8215 technical drawings (pdf)
• 8215 instruction manual (pdf)
• Shop for watches with the 8215

Not caliber 8125 or 8251