Whats Better The Miyota 9015 Or The ETA 2824?
James Elliott
19 October 2021 | 7 min read
Whilst it’s usually the design that catches the eye when looking for a new watch, real-time-keeping fanatics know the value of a great watch movement.
When it comes to automatic watches, many famous brands don’t actually use their own in-house movements and instead, opt to use an external manufacturer. Two of the most popular movements on the market are the Miyota 9015 and the ETA 2824.
If your watch search centres around a great movement, you’re in luck as in this article we’ll put the two movements up against each other to understand which is best. We’ll find out a little about each manufacturer, put their specs side-by-side, and showcase a few of the best watches which feature each movement.
Let’s get started!
In this article:
Which is right for you? Here’s the short answer
If you want a good watch movement at a budget price, go for the Miyota 9015, but expect a tiny bit of noise and some small accuracy creep.
If you’re looking for a high-quality Swiss movement, the ETA 2824 is the one for you so long as you don’t mind paying a little bit more!
Miyota 9015 vs ETA 2824: Introducing the manufacturers
Miyota
An offshoot of Citizen watches, the Miyota movement manufacturing factory was founded in 1959 and begin operational movement sales in 1980. Since then, it’s been responsible for creating a massive chunk of the world’s automatic movements thanks to its 2000, 8000, and 9000 calibre series.
As you’d expect, their Japanese manufacturing model is incredibly slick, with their most popular movement, the calibre 2035, manufactured at a staggering one unit per second. Miyota does a fantastic job of combining good quality with affordable prices, which is what has made them so popular for the last 60 years.
That’s also why you’ll see Miyota 9015’s used in a lot of budget/mid-range automatic pieces (often around the $300-600) as well as a lot of microbrands who need to combine that solid performance with cost-effective builds.
ETA
While ETA’s history combines development from a number of great manufacturers, production can be traced all the way back to the 1790’s. The Swiss manufacturing house has held a unique position in the market ever since, providing high-quality watch movements for many different brands.
With the added benefit of being a Swiss-certified brand, ETA movements position quality at the heart of what they do rather than a high volume of production. Many big brands such as Tudor, Hamilton, and Sinn trust ETA movements to drive their models, owing to that reputation for high quality.
And in more recent times, ETA has been bought out and incorporated into the Swatch group meaning you’ll find ETA movements in many of their watches by default.
The Verdict: From a historical perspective, both manufacturers are well respected and create great movements. There’s not much between them unless you want something that’s steeped in more history, and that’s the ETA.
Miyota 9015 vs ETA 2824: side-by-side specs
In any comparison like this, the best thing to do is put the movements side-by-side to see their specifications. Here’s a look at how they stack up technically.
| Miyota 9015 | ETA 2824-2 | |
| Movement Type | Automatic | Automatic |
| Functions | Hour, minute, sweeping seconds. Date window. | Hour, minute, sweeping seconds. Date window. |
| Size | 11 ½” | 11 ½” |
| Thickness | 3.90 mm | 4.60 mm |
| Diameter | 26.00 mm | 25.60 mm |
| Lift Angle | 51 Degrees | 50 Degrees |
| Jewels | 24 | 25 |
| Rotor | Uni-directional | Bi-directional |
| Frequency | 28,800 vibrations per hour | 28,800 vibrations per hour |
| Number of Hands | 3 | 3 |
| Power Reserve | 42 hours | 42 hours |
| Hacking Seconds | Yes | Yes |
| Hand Windable | Yes | Yes |
| Accuracy (Per Day) | -10 ~ +30 seconds per day | +/- 12~30 seconds per day |
| Shock System | Parashock | Novodiac / Incabloc |
| COSC Spec | No | Yes |
| Country of Origin | Japan | Switzerland |
| Real Customer Feedback – Pros | Good movement, cheap, easy to get hold of, easy to replace. | Good movement, holds excellent time, smooth operation on the dial. |
| Real Customer Feedback – Cons | The rotor can be noisy, timekeeping accuracy can vary. | Expensive when compared to other movements (including Miyota) |
The Verdict: If you’re after a good quality movement on a budget, the Miyota will be for you. If you’d like something with a bit more quality, Swiss COSC certified, and you don’t mind paying a premium, go for the ETA.
Now that we’ve looked into both movements, and compared their similarities and differences, let’s take a look at a couple of the stand-out watches which use either the Miyota 9015 or the ETA 2824.
Example watch models that use the Miyota 9015
Orbis Morgan Seastar70
To begin, if you like a dark and moody diver, check out the Seastar70 model from the micorbrand Orbis Morgan. While for many the PVD coating can be a little bit love/hate, this model is one that will get the heads turning whilst keeping you safe and sound underwater.
At 40mm, it’s a decent size for many different wrist sizes with a clean and simple dial easy to read in any condition. The uni-directional bezel is great for keeping track of time when diving all the way down to 200m.
If you like this dark, PVD diver it will set you back around $380. That’s a great price for a watch that matches great functionality and a solid Miyota 9015 automatic movement in a small and simple package!
Deep Blue Sea Quest SQ1500RED
If you like something with a bit of color, you’ll love this watch from the team at Deep Blue. The brand themselves focus on creating high-tech dive watches, building on their experience year-on-year since their 2007 inception in New York.
This model comes in at 42mm and combines all the features you’d expect from a dive watch including a rotating bezel, large hands, a date window, and super-powerful lume. The real USP here is the whopping 1500m (yes, you read that right) of water resistance making it a beast of a dive watch. And of course, it’s all run by the dependable Miyota 9105 movement.
If you’re looking for a powerful dive watch, you’ll love this model from Deep Blue. While it retails around the $500 point, deals are there to be had with sale prices often sitting closer to $250 which is an absolute bargain!
Tisell Automatic Bauhaus
Tisell is a brand you may not have heard of. Based out of Korea and run by famous watchmaker Mr. Oh Changdo, Tisell specializes in hand-crafted watches which emulate famous designs from all over the world.
If you like sleek and simple dress watches, we’d recommend taking a look at the Bauhaus model. The clean and fresh design of the 38mm piece is refreshing to have on the wrist while popping off with a little bit of color thanks to the deep blue hands.
For $280, you also get some premium features such as a sapphire crystal and a leather strap. Of course, you’re also getting a Miyota 9015 automatic movement to keep you going for up to 42 hours with a good level of accuracy!
See here for 5 more Miyota 9015 watches.
Example watch models that use the ETA 2824
Hamilton Men’s Khaki Field Auto
Given ETA are essentially part of the Swatch group, it’s no surprise to see their movements used in a number of well-known watches. One of the most popular is the Hamilton Men’s Khaki Field Auto, which is one of the best automatic watches you can get anywhere for around the $500 mark.
The 38mm piece combines a simple but very sleek field watch design with a sturdy steel case and sapphire crystal. The three-hand display couples together with a date window to be super functional and easy to read.
Hamilton is known for their great build quality and the ETA 2824 movement does a great job of delivering a smooth automatic movement that simply glides across the dial!
Tissot T-Classic Le Locle
If instead, you’re after a classic dress watch from a reputable brand, there aren’t many better ETA 2824 watches than the Tissot Le Locle. We’re big fans of Tissot here at Watch & Bullion as they always combine great Swiss quality with affordable prices.
This model is pretty slender at 39mm, with the combination of steel casing, white patterned dial, and black leather band delivering quintessential dress watch appeal. We also really like the roman numeral markings and long slender black hands which come together nicely with the subtle date window to round off a very classy package.
Tissot has put the ETA 2824 movement inside a lovely package and the best news is that you don’t need to break the bank to get one of your wrist. At $350, we think you’d be hard pushed to find a better dress watch with an ETA movement anywhere in the world!
ETA 2824 #2 – Tudor Black Bay 36mm
Lastly, we’ve pulled out a watch you probably didn’t realize uses an ETA 2824, one of the sibling watches of Rolex, the Tudor Black Bay. Given the ETA’s high quality, it’s often taken by bigger brands, slightly modified, and used in some very high-end watches. In this instance, look out for Tudor T600 movement in the advertising rather than a direct reference to the ETA2824.
The Tudor Black Bay is one of the nicest and simplest high-end sports watches on the market. Its simple and sleek design looks similar in many ways to Rolex’s Oyster Perpetual and is a great way for watch fans to get their hands on a luxury item at a slightly cheaper price.
At 36mm, it’s a great piece for those with smaller wrists and combines luxury features such as a sapphire crystal, 150m of water resistance, and a premium steel bracelet to create an awesome timekeeping companion for around $3000.
Summary
Both the Miyota 9015 and the ETA 2824 are great movements found in a range of different watches from some well-known brands.
When comparing them, it essentially comes down to a trade-off between high-volume Japanese engineering and high-quality Swiss crafting.
Both movements will offer reliable performance, but if high-quality and being Swiss-made are on your priority list, go for the ETA 2824. If on the other hand, you simply need a reliable movement at a cost-effective price, the Miyota 9015 will see you well and help you keep great time all year round!