Grand Seiko Spring Drive, should Rolex follow?

[TheVTCGuy]

I purchased my first Seiko last week, will use it as a “beater” and for some travel, but it was my first exposure to the brand. So, before you ask: “Why are you posting this in the Rolex section?” Let me explain.

I did not purchase a Grand Seiko, but did have the opportunity to see one in person. It was a very nice watch but the most impressive part to me was watching the second hand, and learning the accuracy. I am not going to do a very good job of explaining, but the watch is actually mechanical, in that the movement of your arm powers a spring. And it has quartz used for time reference, but it is not your typical quartz of. Tick-tick-tick at one second intervals. Instead, the second hand practically glides over the dial like the old-fashioned electic ones did, but it is still a mechanical movement. From what I understand the spring that you wind by movement of your arm powers a wheel that produces an electric charge that is used for the quartz time-keeping component, and the movement of the the time keeping hands, but the movement is so fast that it looks like a continious sweep.

OK, now that I have completely screwed up the explanation, Bas or Tools will have to clear it up, but the point is it is still a “mechanical” watch, in that the movement is all mechanical and the electricity produced is only for time reference with the quartz, and the accuracy is suposedly incredible. Seiko says something like one second a day but in reports, it’s more like one a week. (And to be honest, watching that second hand circumnavigate the dial with such a smooth movement was pretty cool). For us automatic enthusiasts I have a couple questions:

A. Do you consider it a TRUE automatic, since the wound spring does produce an electical charge, even if it is not used to power the hands?

B. Should Rolex strive for something similar? The accuracy is better and again, watching that smooth movement of the second hand was impresseive IMHO.

I had heard Rolex applied for a patent years ago for some kind of movement that has the same results, but nothing (that I know of) since. What do you guys think?