Brand Guides / Credor / Eichi
Reviewed by the Fine Watch Guide team · October 2026
The Eichi series is Credor's Spring Drive dress line, starting with the Node Eichi of 2008 and continuing with the hand-wound Eichi II of 2014.
Eichi is the Spring Drive series that carries Credor's reputation for precision and hand craft. The Node Eichi introduced the Torque Return System in 2008, and the Eichi II, launched in 2014, uses a hand-wound caliber, a porcelain dial with hand-painted markers and a movement assembled and adjusted by hand. Owners and buyers need to know which generation they have, what each caliber needs at the bench, and what to look for in the dial and papers. This guide covers those points in order.
The Eichi name, which Credor says means wisdom in Japanese, belongs to the Spring Drive dress watches made at Seiko's Micro Artist Studio in Shiojiri. The first model, the Node Eichi, arrived in 2008 with the Caliber 7R08 and what Credor calls the Torque Return System, a feature the brand presents as a world first. Surplus energy from the drive winds the mainspring again, which extends how long the watch runs before it needs more energy.
The Eichi II came six years later, in 2014, as a separate design series. Its Caliber 7R14 is hand-wound, carries 41 jewels and gives a power reserve of about 60 hours with the Torque Return System working alongside the mainspring. Credor specifies accuracy of plus or minus 15 seconds per month, which is the benchmark to hold a serviced watch against.
The dial is the other half of the watch. A pure white porcelain dial carries hand-painted hour markers and the Credor lettering, each painted by a craftsman in the studio. The dial shows only hours, minutes and seconds, so the watch relies on its finishing and its mechanism rather than extra displays to make its case.
Spring Drive is a hybrid, and that matters at the bench. A mainspring drives the gear train and a drive mechanism, while an integrated circuit and a crystal regulate the output. Timing is set through the electronics rather than the balance and hairspring a conventional watchmaker adjusts by hand. A watchmaker who knows only traditional escapements can misjudge what a service needs, which is why experience with this movement is the first thing to ask about.
A service therefore covers the mainspring and barrel, the drive train, the regulating side and the case seals. Ask the shop how it checks the power reserve, the rate and the Torque Return System after reassembly. A shop that answers with a single rate reading hasn't described the full test. Ask too whether the part you need is in stock, because hand-finished components can take longer to source than a standard Swiss part.
The Eichi II is also a hand-assembled movement, which makes the first reassembly especially important. A good watchmaker will check the adjustments carefully before closing the case and will note any part that was replaced. Keep that note with the watch, because it becomes the service history a future buyer will ask for.
A high-value dress watch with a specialist movement is only as trustworthy as its papers. Match the reference, the case-back caliber number and the serial number to the warranty card, the invoice and any service record. The case-back number tells you whether the movement is the 7R08 or the 7R14 that the listing claims, so check it before you look at anything else.
Inspect the porcelain dial under good light. Chips at the edges, hairline cracks, and hand-painted markers that look uneven or retouched all count. Ask whether the dial or hands have been replaced, because a replacement changes both the value and the originality of the watch. A replaced dial isn't always a deal breaker, but it should be disclosed and priced accordingly.
Ask for a power reserve test and a rate check with the watch running. An unusual reserve or a rate that won't settle can mean the movement has had work from someone who doesn't know Spring Drive. Before you pay, get a written report from a specialist who has opened the watch, and be wary of a seller who describes a full service by an unnamed shop.
Credor says the porcelain dial will not fade, but porcelain can still chip, and a knock to the crystal edge or the crown can cost you the dial. Keep the watch away from hard knocks, and avoid strong magnetic fields where you can. Have the seals checked at the interval the watchmaker recommends, and don't rely on the water rating printed on the case after years of wear.
Originality lives mostly in the dial and the movement. Ask whether any part is aftermarket, and if a shop replaces a part, ask for the old part back. If the watchmaker can't say which parts are original, the watch's value will depend on your confidence in the seller's word rather than on the work itself.
Keep every service record together. A dated list of the work performed, with the shop's name and the parts changed, gives a future buyer something concrete to check and gives your next watchmaker a starting point without repeating a diagnosis. For a watch like the Eichi, that record is worth as much as the box and papers.
Credor says the word means wisdom in Japanese. It names the brand's Spring Drive dress watches made at the Micro Artist Studio in Shiojiri.
The Node Eichi arrived in 2008 with the 7R08 caliber and the Torque Return System. The Eichi II followed in 2014 with the hand-wound 7R14, a power reserve of about 60 hours and a porcelain dial.
Not reliably. Spring Drive regulation works through an electronic circuit rather than a conventional balance, so ask for evidence of past Spring Drive work before you hand the watch over.
Chips and cracks often mean the dial has to be replaced, so ask for a written quote and a description of the work before anything is changed.
Eichi owners use Credor specialists for servicing, authentication and restoration.
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