4R36 / NH35 — the 7S26 with hacking and hand winding

In brief

Every complaint ever levelled at the 7S26 came down to two omissions, and the 4R36 closes both. You can wind it by hand rather than shaking it into life, and pulling the crown stops the seconds hand so the time can be set to the second. It drives most of the current Seiko 5 Sports range and the entry-level Presage models.

Short history

The NH35 — and the NH36, which adds a day to the date — is the same movement wearing a different name. Seiko Instruments (TMI) builds and sells it as a stand-alone component to anyone who wants one. Hundreds of microbrands and watches assembled well outside Seiko run on it, so the calibre reaches a good deal further than the company's own catalogue.

Watches that used it

• Seiko 5 Sports (current line)
• Seiko Presage (entry-level range)
• Countless microbrands (NH35/NH36)