“Workhorse movement” is a label given to certain watch movements by enthusiasts and collectors in many watch communities. The term is no officially used by movement manufactures, but has become a selling point in blog reviews and
A tried and true workhorse should be a simple/minimalist design that does the job efficiently with as few moving parts as possible, while still being effective at maintaining a track record of being reliable, acceptably accurate, not too expensive, and easy to service (or at least generally affordable to service).
A workhorse movement can be of any origin, although the most commonly known workhorse movements are Swiss made ETA/Sellita and Japan made Seiko/Miyota.
You may also hear watches being referred to as workhorses, for example the Seiko Monster.
The most common examples of workhorse movements are:
- ETA caliber 2824-2
- Sellita caliber SW200
- ETA/Valjoux caliber 7750
- Seiko caliber 7S26
- Seiko caliber NH35A
- Miyota caliber 8215
- Miyota caliber 9015
- ETA/Unitas 6497/6498
A workhorse watch is basically a tool watch powered by any of the above movements, but also with other characteristics such as a sapphire crystal and screw-down crown.
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