This Watch Makes Its Own Electricity

This Grand Seiko makes its own electricity—without a battery. But what does it need that electricity for? Follow the spring, quartz crystal and magnetic brake behind Spring Drive's smooth glide. ACCURACY Published specifications; test methods differ: • Grand Seiko SLGB013 / 9RB2: ±20 s/year when worn at 5–35°C (≈±0.055 s/day as a yearly average, not a daily specification). • Rolex Submariner Date 126610LN / 3235: −2/+2 s/day after casing. • Omega Aqua Terra 150M / 8900 and Tudor Black Bay / MT5602-U: 0/+5 s/day average daily precision for these Master Chronometer models. At a constant rate for 365 days, Rolex converts to −730/+730 s/year; Omega/Tudor to 0/+1,825. These are calculated equivalents, not annual specifications or predictions for individual watches. Grand Seiko conditions: https://www.grand-seiko.com/instructi... METAS: https://www.metas.admin.ch/en/watch-c... All exact model specifications and quartz primary sources are in SOURCES_EN.md in the package. CHAPTERS 00:00 Why does it glide? 00:22 Where the electricity comes from 00:59 What quartz is and why it is here 02:12 Controlling the glide 03:02 Why the hand glides 04:27 How far can it drift? 04:51 Seconds per day, seconds per year 06:03 Back to the wrist PRODUCTION Almost Obvious graphics, models, sound design and Almost Sans. Juniper / Eleven v3 voice; ImageGen illustrations. Models/AI images are not manufacturer footage. Music: Stored Motion, Curious Pulse, Signal Logic, Soft Precision — Eleven Music v2.5, edited for this film. QUARTZ SOURCES Natural quartz footage — Monstera Production, 2021, Pexels License; a specimen, not a watch part: https://www.pexels.com/video/close-up... https://www.pexels.com/license/ Opened resonator — Chribbe76, original 2007 photograph, public domain; generic example, not 9RB2: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... ARCHIVE & REAL FOOTAGE Real bicycle footage — Ruben Velasco, Mixkit Stock Video Free License: https://mixkit.co/free-stock-video/bo... https://mixkit.co/license/#videoFree How a Watch Works — Handy (Jam) Organization, 1949; Hamilton Watch Company / Prelinger Archives. Public domain: https://archive.org/details/HowaWatc1949 Action watch crown (Lip Himalaya) — Raminagrobis, 2021, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... Electric Generator / Magnet Induced Current — Alejandro Garcia, 2014, CC BY 3.0: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... Spherical Magnet Through an Aluminum Tube, Part 1 — Boing Boing Video, 2014, CC BY 3.0: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... Tube footage shows passive magnetic drag, not Spring Drive's control circuit. Waltham pocket watch — JayCubby, 2025, CC BY-SA 4.0; crop, stabilization and labelled quarter-speed replay: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... Seiko Spring Drive 5R86 parts photo, Athens, 2008 — Ferengi, CC BY-SA 3.0: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... Videos muted, fitted and labelled for 1080p24. Waltham replay is marked ¼ speed; other video runs at original speed. Photos cropped/fitted with labels. Separate CC adaptations and notices are in the package; other assets retain their terms. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... ORIGINAL QUOTATIONS Joe Rogan with Matt Farah — JRE Clips (2018): studio 02:13.625–02:16.000; later glide reaction 03:20.292–03:25.292. Original voices retained; studio picture synchronized, watch picture newly selected:    • Joe Rogan on Watch Collectors   Running SBGA211 picture: Time+Tide review (2017), new selection 17.500–22.500s from the same review originally shown in JRE:    • GRAND SEIKO - Spring Drive SBGA211 ‘Snowfl...   Joe Kirk, Grand Seiko representative — Teddy Baldassarre interview (2025). Muted interview introduction, then original quotation 01:09.875–01:13.375:    • The Most Accurate Spring Drive Watch Ever ...   The 2025 interview concerns SLGB003/9RB2. SLGB013 uses the same calibre and annual specification. Kirk is a manufacturer representative, not an independent tester. Little Treasury Jewelers (2026), real SLGB013 views, muted: 45.500–52.042s; 52.000–55.917s; 55.958–59.500s; 210.000–213.000s; 216.000–218.958s; 299.800–306.050s; 301.000–302.917s. Original watermark retained. Later picture during Kirk's 2025 voice illustrates the same 9RB2, not the original interview.    • Is the New Grand Seiko SLGB013 Lake Suwa U...   Brief excerpts support specific commentary. Credits imply neither endorsement nor a granted reuse licence; exact context is preserved in the source package.