Drop-in resolution
Miyota 8215 vs Miyota 8205: do they swap?
Whether the Miyota 8215 and Miyota 8205 share a case, and what changes if you move between them.
Same footprint, different calendar. The Miyota 8215 and Miyota 8205 share the 26.00 mm x 5.67 mm case fit, but the Miyota 8215 is centre seconds, date at 3 and the Miyota 8205 is centre seconds, day and date at 3, so a swap needs a dial cut for the new layout.
The Miyota 8215 is the low-cost Japanese workhorse, common in entry-level and fashion automatics. The Miyota 8205 is the day-date member of the 8200 family, with a weekday disc alongside the date.
They differ in calendar layout (centre seconds, date at 3 vs centre seconds, day and date at 3). Close to the Swiss 11 1/2 core in diameter (26.00 mm) but taller at 5.67 mm and with a different dial-foot pattern, so it is not a drop-in for an ETA 2824 dial. Its seconds hand also has a soft, non-hacking stutter that is characteristic of the caliber.
Matching diameter and height is necessary but not sufficient. A donor is only a true drop-in when the dial-foot positions, hand-hole sizes, stem length and calendar layout also match. Two movements can share a case and still need a new dial, re-broached hands or a cut-to-length stem.