Q&A with Sellita in Switzerland | Chrono24 Visits

Together with ETA, Sellita is the most important and well-known watch movement manufacturer. Popular watch brands like TAG Heuer, Sinn, and Oris trust in these movements designed and produced in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. Chrono24 was lucky enough to interview Dr. Sébastien Chaulmontet, Sellita’s head of innovation and marketing, and ask him the questions YOU shared on our social media and KZbin channels. Find out what Sébastien Chaulmontet has to say about whether Sellita movements are as good as those from ETA, and whether the movement makers copy one another. The chronograph enthusiast, who owns more than 1,000 watches himself, also describes Sellita’s newest innovations and challenges in the watch world.
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#chrono24 #sellita #switzerland
00:00 Intro
00:40 What's new at Sellita?
01:56 Question 1
03:20 Question 2
06:38 Question 3
09:29 Question 4
12:32 Question 5
16:46 Question 6
18:00 Question 7
19:19 Question 8
21:10 Question 9
23:03 Question 10
24:07 Question 11
25:16 Question 12
26:08 Question 13
26:25 Question 14
28:03 Question 15
32:39 Outro

[@Fischi4711]

This was one of the best interviews I recently watched. I find it always refreshing, to hear industry insights from somebody knowledgeable without bullshit bingo marketing stories.

[@thereissomecoolstuff]

This is a remarkable interview. Every question answered expertly and transparently...very impressed.

[@joshuaychung]

And calmly, I might add. There was a question about whether Selita 200 will be "fixed" to be more like 2824-2 (which is already an old movement). He began with, well, we fixed that 12 years ago, but he went on to answer it anyways.

[@theaussiewhinger]

Great interview and interviewee. I think a lot of people don't really understand Sellita. They really are not just an ETA clone manufacturer. I hope that the new and exciting movements Dr Sebastien spoke about will become more widely available in brands like Tag Heuer, Oris etc.

[@Chrono24Official]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@JimmieJohn]

This dude is full of shiii

[@airbhidhmacpharlain]

I am an avid outdoorsman, and very tough on wrist watches. While I've been pleased with quartz field watches from several brands, every one of them stopped when, unpredictably their batteries died 'exactly' when I was reliant on them; so, I thought I would try one with an automatic movement and purchased a $1,200 Seiko diver - attractive and robust, 6R35 movement good for seventy hours . . . but miserably inaccurate losing thirty seconds daily. I returned it to Seiko for regulating three different times, with no improvment. Next, I purchased a Marathon MSAR with their proprietary version of the Sellita 200-1 movement, and not only has that movement proven robust and reliable, it only loses one to two seconds daily on average. I couldn't be happier with my purchase. Thank you Sellita (and of course, Marathon) for a wonderful product, and outstanding value for money spent!

[@JJ-fb1pw]

Great interview, someone who knows their stuff and is not just from a marketing team. Good job Chrono24.

[@vdbdg]

Excellent video that sets the record straight on many misconceptions perpetuated by forum cowboys

[@lamaludwig1470]

well said 🙂

[@flemmingsorensen5470]

Spot on 👍👍👍👍👍

[@larryc]

I like the update to the sw330. Really enjoy the 56 hour power reserve without sacrificing the 4HZ beat rate! I also agree with him about the quick set date being more useful than a jumping hour hand in day-to-day life for most people.

[@donaldneo4317]

The bread and butter SW200 need a PR upgrade too! 38hrs is terrible in today's standard.

[@chriscon8463]

I’m not transiting time zones frequently, but it’s useful for me to know what time it is in another time zone. An “office GMT” is fine for what I need! I suspect this is the case for half the GMT watch crowd.

[@baze3SC]

@@chriscon8463 Yep, plenty of people need to sync with colleagues in a different time zone nowadays. Although a rotating bezel with twelve hour marks on it is sufficient for that purpose. To be absolutely honest though I could do without either cause I just remember the time difference.

[@duc996desmo]

@@donaldneo4317 did't you saw him say its 42/43 hours now?

[@flemmingsorensen5470]

Fantastic !!! Great interview - and what a fantastic company. This gentleman is very open in regards to the technical topics, and equally so on the business topics. Very impressive indeed. I was a Sellita fan before, and now even more so!🇨🇭🇨🇭🇨🇭

[@Chrono24Official]

Our pleasure! Don't forget to subscribe to our channel to stay tuned! :)

[@superfast30]

By far the most informative watch related video Ive seen in years. Thank you so much for this!

[@milanchristi7939]

Great interview with great answers. I'm a big Sellita fan. Bang for buck!!

[@piotrszmidel]

Good job,great interview👍Would be nice to see Soprod,Ronda and La Joux-Perret too someday.

[@Chrono24Official]

Let's see what we can do about that 🙂

[@mitchmitchell9588]

La Joux-Perret please. Citizen is slowly moving then into a very competitive position.

[@MartlRS]

And they have quite a interesting history.😅

[@watchreviews4k]

Interesting content. Keep up the good work on your channel. Regards, WR4K.

[@juniorjohnson5961]

I'm glad he spoke about Silicon hairspring a lot of people believe it's better he explains why it's not 👍

[@Tribalius]

Amen!

[@auang]

As a child, I played with the metal waste from the factory in the backyard of the Certina in Grenchen. all these watch small parts have fired my imagination. i have been wearing a certina ds for 40 years.

[@Chrono24Official]

Love this!

[@Roddy1965]

Openess and transparency, best marketing tool ever. Fantastic interview and much better understand the industry and Sellita.

[@alexscharoff5028]

Thank you for this fantastic interview! It nice to hear that they are open to supply everybody with movements and spare parts!

[@Canteaus]

Amazing interview! This guy was super transparent, knowledgeable, and really working hard to preserve & improve the swiss movement industry! bravo and looking forward to what sellita offers in the future!

[@Chrono24Official]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Csibu89]

Both Balázs and Sébastien have this tendency to be straight to the point, no BS, while still presenting incredible enthusiasm towards watchmaking, just without the sugarcoating. Great interview!

[@Andrew-rc3vh]

The whole concept of a mechanical watch in the 21st century is BS. A fool and their money...

[@Csibu89]

@@Andrew-rc3vh i agree and i am still a fan of mechanical watches. It makes no sense from a rational standpoint, but i guess it is more an emotional thing.

[@Andrew-rc3vh]

@@Csibu89 De Beers made a fortune out of an emotional thing.

[@demetrioskosmas9695]

Great movements, real workhorses.

[@davidcrandall4958]

Great interview!Smart person talking to smart person! I would like more of this kind of content!

[@tiberiuvincze8288]

Hello, best interview and put Sellita in a new power position !

[@STEVEARABIA1]

I didn’t know the history of Sellita and ETA. Great interview.

[@looplop]

Thanks for this! Love these insights!

[@stu632]

Excellent interview and Thomas knows his stuff.

[@ghengiskoan]

Well done! Very informative despite viewer questions.

[@Me-pz5by]

Now I want to buy more watches with Sellita movement 🙂👍

[@gackerman99]

man this guy knows his stuff. awesome.

[@gizmomac1520]

Good work!! 👏🙌 (Also, I love how the watch makers are wearing a smart watch while assembling the watch hahah)

[@thereissomecoolstuff]

Geez, right?...there would be a memo, especially when there are cameras on..

[@mr.personal-ity]

They aren't watchmakers though, they're just workers on an assembly line.

[@RaulTibe]

A quality interview with some honest answers. Really liked it : )

[@karlh6700]

Fantastic,eye opening interview,thank you!

[@alexr.3919]

Fantastic interview, thank you very much

[@adrianwright6311]

Great interview, very interesting to listen to. I also love Sebastian’s shirt, with a cutout for his watch. 😊

[@baze3SC]

Very informative and interesting! Thank you.

[@FrickedUp]

'dilutes the Swiss-ness" is my favourite quote from this video.

[@watchmetwist]

Great video, thank you!

[@jeroennishikigoi1164]

Great episode!!!

[@andrewsamuel368]

Swiss Teddy Baldassarre?

[@massl]

First world problem: Ways of how to set the date 🙈 Still a good interview. Very interesting! :)

[@Tribalius]

Hahahhaa 😂

[@Bhatakti_Hawas]

Make a chronograph movement with column wheel and vertical clutch

[@lemmontree1]

Very informative, thank you!

[@mitchmitchell9588]

I would rather watch a technical and informative interview (like this) then am interview with an Internet “celebrity” about their watch choices and modeling gigs.

[@jolness1]

I much prefer the mobile hour hand, especially on a gmt. If I need to change the date, I can spin the hour hand around 2 times. Even if it’s been a couple weeks, it’s still quick.

[@TheMrFishnDucks]

Awesome video. Keep up the good work.

[@josephmarucci3528]

Outstanding

[@eucitizen78]

Interesting ,thank you 👍

[@davidcrandall4958]

Amazing!

[@f_m_b_watch9182]

Very interesting 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@backcountrybrian9336]

Best quote from the entire video. "Don't go too far, otherwise you'll make a quartz watch..."

[@wulfgadebusch9586]

very interesting interview

[@masterwatch]

very interesting, great video.

[@inlandwatchreviews5745]

I am getting a watch with a Sellita SW-200-1. I was wondering about the problem with hand winding and the ratchet wheel teeth breaking.

[@randombloke10]

I’ve had my SW220-1 for 8 years, I hand wind a fair bit more often as the watch is regularly second fiddle to my Apple Watches, the feel of the wind isn’t the greatest but it’s been perfectly reliable 🙂

[@ronelljones3327]

Just purchased a watch with selita sw200-1

[@johnjames77]

it is great to hear a Sellita does not want to compete with its customers like so many in the auto parts industry do. With the advent of the internet many companies bit the hand that built them and sold direct to retail customers.

[@EvanDempsey]

I liike this guy. He's got moxy. I had an oudated view of Sellita and he changed it.

[@pennfootball71]

What movement caliber number will have a column wheel and flyback chrono ???

[@D4nielH]

Next stop; ETA’s factory?

[@gchi247]

The irony of the employees wearing apple watches 😂

[@matthewgates4130]

5:27 now I love my Islander Republic GMT even more...if u didn't get on boy u missed out!

[@MasterOfWTF]

Anyone know the the model number for the column wheel flyback Chronograph movement he mentioned? Can’t seem to find any info for it.

[@dannysimenauer5745]

From an engineering/design point of view, what factors prevents Sellita from making movements that run for a full week? Or even run for a month? I know how a watch works, but I am curious to learn what factors prevent the movement from running significantly longer then 62 hours.

[@Chrono24Official]

A lot of it comes down to barrel capacity. Watches that can run for that long often have oversized barrels or multiple barrels (inside of rather large watch cases that would be too big for most people).

[@JasonFerguson17t]

This is 100% on the mark with the GMT function. I won’t buy a GMT if it doesn’t have a quickset date.

[@gusseisern1151]

Who is wachting this in 2023 ?

[@dustingaddis2423]

Also, the question about making their own watches - both Seiko and Citizen are doing what they said "no one else is doing". Both sell movements to other brands and produce their own watches.

[@jodysilvia2]

I would be a customer for the jumping hour hand.

[@cy9nvs]

They definitely didn't solve the issue with teeth breaking on the SW-220 with the .1 version, it's still happening, there are countless examples of that. Although, I think it isn't a big deal and probably mainly comes down to people winding it too quickly and with way too much force.

[@notgoodyear7072]

Sellita, the swiss sweatshop.

[@ivan_nagar]

nice interview with Andrew Garfield

[@TalkingTimepieces]

One thing he got very wrong was that you have to choose between "home time" (flying local hour hand) and quick-set date. The Tag Heuer Carrera 2 GMT has both, and it isn't the only one. Why didn't he know that, especially considering his position?

[@TalkingTimepieces]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/embCZ558ndZmaZo

[@torquey88]

From what I could make out from videos of it on the internet (yours included), that seems to behave just like a 2893, but with the hour hand and the GMT hand interchanged - in the sense that when in crown position 2, turning the crown in one direction changes the date and the opposite changes the hour hand (instead of the GMT), and only in one direction.

[@TalkingTimepieces]

@@torquey88 exactly. The local hour changes, and the date changes. It isn't the either-or thing he presents it as.

[@chaulmontetsebastien2761]

Hello, The movement you are mentioning is not a full-fledged home time. A real home time display should be able to be set forward AND backward while simultaneously dragging the date in both directions (see Rolex and Omega). Because the home time indication needs both direction of the crown in position 1, the traditional date quick-setting gets lost. The movement you are mentioning doesn’t work as described and is something between a GMT and home time. The home time indication can only be adjusted forward on this particular movement. If you turn the crown backward it corrects the date only. So if you want to set back the time, you have to make two full turns forward (because of 12/24h) and then adjusted the date manually. So every time you want to set the time backwards you loose the right date and have to make several manipulations … it is not particularly practical and, to the best of my knowledge, the only movement to operate this way.

[@TalkingTimepieces]

@@chaulmontetsebastien2761 it has a flying local hour hand. You can try to parse it, but that is the fact. It only goes in one direction to allow a quickset date in the other. You can still set it to local time without hacking the movement.

[@MeestroDavid]

"It's eternal . . . as long as you have spare parts"

[@KnobCRICK]

I didnt think Seth Green would operate a company like Sellita

[@dustingaddis2423]

The teeth breaking issue has NOT been resolved over 10 years ago. I warrantied a watch earlier this year that had this problem.

[@baze3SC]

Are you sure it had SW200-1 and not SW200 stocked from an earlier batch? The movement type is engraved just under the balance wheel (if you have a see-through case).

[@dustingaddis2423]

@@baze3SC Positive. It was in a Christopher Ward Sealander, and it felt gritty when winding it when it was brand new. It was my first 'swiss' movement so I wasn't sure if that feeling was normal or not. Once I sent it back and had it repaired it felt much smoother when winding. The problem may not be as common as it once was, but it's still very common. These movements are far less reliable than a cheap Seiko 4R series movements.

[@baze3SC]

@@dustingaddis2423 Interesting, good to know. I've never experienced it myself but it's something to be aware of.

[@moes7862]

Sellita will make the " sonnerie " ?

[@Adam-ut9nt]

Ah...that's why Tissot change from silicium to nivachron. Good move before more and more people complaint on the silicium

[@Nefville]

Good interview but I'm disappointed with the answer to the 2824-2 issue. It is still very much a problem, they must know about this. I have personally had 2 SW-200-2s with this issue both bought in the last 3 years. The 2824 movement design it seems to me is faulty, I was avoiding it but now I will avoid it like the plague. And its clones.

[@tomasinacovell4293]

Hopefully we'll get our silicon parts form Korea or China.

[@micomrkaic]

I disagree on true GMT. If they made an affordable true GMT I would buy it in a moment, probably more than one. However, the office GMT does nothing for me and whenever I see Sellita GMT, I immediately unplug. I'm sure I'm not alone in this.

[@zipitar9018]

Seiko 24 and 26 jewels movement is better than sellita 26 jewels , and miyota 9 series better than any super expensive rolex movements

[@larsthorwald3338]

Movement wish list: 100% accuracy everywhere in the world all the time with total autonomy and zero intervention required. ...oh wait. That's my Casio. hahaha

[@Tribalius]

Hahahhaa

[@JayzBeerz]

I’ll take a Japanese movement over any Swiss movement any day.

[@peasantrobot]

I have an sw200-1 mechanism, I turn it by balancing it every night... it stopped working because of this - I guess that problematic gear lost her teeth and debris is blocking other gears . The worst mechanism, unworthy of "Switzerland" brand (am ordinary Japanese mechanism NH35A, has no problems turning it by hand). Invicta switched to using Ronda mechanisms.

[@Enrico-]

What? Not sure what you said but If you hand-wound your automatic watch everyday the teeth on ratchet wheel will break. You shouldn't do it. It's self-winding watch, get a manual watch if you want to wind it yourself.

[@peasantrobot]

@@Enrico- sorry man, it is both manual and automatic, as of its technical specifications. Anyway, if you read well, you'll see that I said that sw200-1 was wound by balancing it, mainly because I knew about its problems. Still, the wheel broke. Sellita admitted that it was a bad design.

[@obiyahu8889]

@@peasantrobot Good enough that even Tudor and Breitling and Tag Huer use it.

[@Marty004Cimb]

I have Oris Aquis and Davosa Ternos, both with SW200-1 over 2 years and never had an issue with teeth breaking. And I manually wind them a few turns when they stop.

[@JimmieJohn]

Should have asked him why you can’t hand wind the P.O.S. Known as the Sellita SW200-1

[@TheJessfletcher17]

The employee wearing the Apple watch should be fired

[@sergeyyatskevitch3617]

Good interview, but the movements are not good. The one I got with my Oris Aquis is pretty shitty, actually. After about 3 years I got the dreaded “helicopter rotor”. In my collection, which is mostly TAG Heuer and Omega chronographs, it is the only Sellita-based watch, and it looks like it is the worst.

[@zipitar9018]

Swiss made is gimmick now, no brass copper movements its steel movements cheap like Japanese chinese movements

[@meow.avocadoandhishappylif3848]

The staff working on mechanical watch wear a iwatch, ridiculous?

[@thereissomecoolstuff]

Trump said it best "you're fired!"

[@peterdegelaen]

Do you think everyone working at Rolls Royce drives a Rolls Royce?

[@thereissomecoolstuff]

@@peterdegelaen they have a keychain at least. It's about appearance. If people notice and comment it's a negative. It is trivial but real. I'd fire them personally, I don't know the labor market there. In America we have 5 million more people here in the last 2 years so lots of non English speaking workers. It's actually 5.5 million.

[@peterdegelaen]

@@thereissomecoolstuff I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about.

[@thereissomecoolstuff]

@@peterdegelaen ditto....

[@MrPINKFL0YD]

Terrible movments with the notorious tooth shedding winding gear wheel. Do not buy the rubbish.