High Beat Movement

[jalexand]

What is generally considered to be a high (or hi) beat movement? Is it 36000 bph or does 28800 count?

I'm aware it doesn't really matter, just curious.

James.

[twhp101]

It seems that 28800 is considered high-beat, but I think that lumping that together with 36000 seems to be doing a disservice to the makers of 36000 movements. The ETA2824 runs at 28800 and it's very widely used. It's perfectly good, but for me 36000 is proper high-beat

[NikP]

36000 vph or 5 hertz

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[trident-7]

36000 vph or 5 hertz

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I was pondering this 5Hz fact, considering that a 36,000vph movement ticks 10x per second not 5. I’ve just researched it & have now improved my understanding.

[trott3r]

What is generally considered to be a high (or hi) beat movement? Is it 36000 bph or does 28800 count?

I'm aware it doesn't really matter, just curious.

James.

does it not depend on what age the watch is?
I seem to remember that older watches were labelled hibeat with 6 beats a sec rather than the 8 that seems to be prevalent todauy.

[sweets]

It very much depends on the age.
It used to be that sub 20,000 bph was the norm in the 50s and early 60s, then 21,600, and when people like Certina put 28,800 movements into their watches , they very much wanted to claim them as hi-beat, and they did so, putting 288 on the dial.
But at the same time, Zenith had already made the El Primero beating at 36,000, what we would now consider high beat.

It is a moot point as to how much more accurate a faster beat rate is. The theory is that a lighter faster balance is less affected by changes in orientation and accelerations. But it is interesting that now, in search of longer power reserves, some people are returning to slower speeds like 21,600 bph, having found that new hairspring technology allows for equal accuracy at lower speeds.

[Tom-P]

It very much depends on the age.
It used to be that sub 20,000 bph was the norm in the 50s and early 60s, then 21,600, and when people like Certina put 28,800 movements into their watches , they very much wanted to claim them as hi-beat, and they did so, putting 288 on the dial.
But at the same time, Zenith had already made the El Primero beating at 36,000, what we would now consider high beat.

It is a moot point as to how much more accurate a faster beat rate is. The theory is that a lighter faster balance is less affected by changes in orientation and accelerations. But it is interesting that now, in search of longer power reserves, some people are returning to slower speeds like 21,600 bph, having found that new hairspring technology allows for equal accuracy at lower speeds.

Good post.