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ETA are a watch movement manufacturer owned by the Swatch group. An ETA movement is a fairly high specification mechanism compared to many other movement brands and is considered to be one of the industry leaders. Granted, some luxury brands make movements which are far superior to ETA, but the brand still has a reputation of being at the front of the pack in terms of mass production. It should be noted that this is true for both mechanical and quartz movements as ETA make both to a high specification.

Many brands that choose to USA ETA movements often modify the movements in house to make them more unique, or to simply further improve on a functional level. This is why you can find an ETA movement in a $400 or $4000 watch, the quality can often be very different.

What Brands Use ETA Movements?

There are many brands that use ETA movements. Brands that are within the Swatch group may use these exclusively, where as other brands such as Tag Heuer, may choose to use a single movement in one specific model of watch.

Brands that exclusively use ETA movements are the following (not an exhaustive list):

Brands that have used ETA in their watches, but do not use them exclusively (not an exhaustive list):

What Are The Best & Most Iconic ETA Movements?

ETA 2824-2

The ETA 2824-2 is one of the most widely respected automatic movements that is made in Switzerland. Known for its workhorse lifespan, this is a movement which is not top of the list in terms of accuracy, but is a super reliable construction trusted and used across more brands than you can think of. There are many different grades of the 2824-2, so not all variations are made to the same specification, these vary from +/- 12 seconds per day all the way up to COSC certification standard.

A brand new ETA 2824-2 movement will cost you approximately $240 (with no watch).

The ETA 2824-2 can be found in the following watches:

  • Tissot Powermatic 80
  • Breitling Colt Superocean
  • Steinhart Ocean One
  • Ebel Discovery

ETA / Valjoux 7750

The Valjoux 7750 is widely recognized as one of the best automatic chronograph movements ever made. Whilst it cannot really be compared to luxury watch movements, you cannot really find much that beats this for the accuracy and price.

To buy the Valjoux 7750 movement alone (with no watch), this will set you back around $375. It has a 48 hour power reserve and beats at 28,800 per hour.

The Valjoux 7750 chronograph movement can be found in the following watches:

  • Oris Big Crown Timer Chronograph
  • Victorinox Airboss Mach 9
  • Hamilton Khaki King Chronograph
  • Tissot PRS 516
  • Hamilton BelowZero

ETA 2892

The ETA 2892-A2 is a much higher end movement mostly used by luxury brands. Although the 2892 is already a high specification movement, it is often upgraded in-house by various brands such as Breitling, Corum and Omega. This is also an ETA movement with various grades ranging from +/- 15 seconds per day to +/- 4 seconds per day, although has been reported to reach +/- 2 seconds per day at its best.

A brand new ETA 2892-A2 will cost around $425, but is a lot harder to get hold of than the two more common movements listed above.

The ETA 2892 movement can be found in the following watches

  • Omega De Ville 1120
  • Breitling Chrono Cockpit
  • Mido Baroncelli Heritage
  • Longines Hydroconquest
  • IWC Portofino 3533

How Much Does It Cost To Service An ETA Movement?

A standard service for a simple ETA movement such as an ETA 2824 should cost you around $150. It should be noted that as soon as you start adding complications, this price rises very quickly. As another example, a Valjoux 7750 is a chronograph movement which would cost approximately $450 to service. If your watch has other functions such as a moonphase, then this cost rises once again.

This may sound like a lot of money, but when compared with other watch movements, ETA is both simple and cheap to service. Cheap Chinese movements cannot really be serviced and other Swiss in-house only movements cost a lot more.

How Often Should An ETA Movement Be Serviced?

This largely depends on how often you are wearing your watch. If your watch is sitting at home on a bedside table, there really isn’t much need to service it – since it isn’t being used. However, if you are wearing the watch every day, this will begin to create small wear and tear on various parts of the movement.

Typically ETA movements need servicing every 4 years or so. If you find your watch is particularly out of sync, it would be recommended to service sooner rather than later. However, if your watch is keeping good time beyond this 4 year period, you can wait a little longer.

Where Are ETA Movements Made?

ETA movements are made in both Switzerland, China and Thailand.

This relationship is not too complicated, but needs to be explained in a little more detail.

Any watch which says “Swiss made” or “Swiss movement” means that at least 50% of the assembly has happened in Switzerland. Therefore it makes sense that watches sold to the North American & European market are made and assembled in Switzerland, as this is what the western consumer wants.

However, watches that are destined for Hong Kong and other popular sales destinations of Asia will often use ETA movements which are made in China and/or Thailand. European brands would not want to tarnish their reputation by using Chinese made movements.

Do Rolex Use ETA Movements?

Rolex have used a variety of movements throughout their years of manufacture. At present, Rolex does not use ETA movements and shows no intent to use them in the future. All current production of Rolex movements is made 100% in house. It should also be noted that not all Rolex movements are the same, different watches have different calibers, beat rates and accuracies. This creates more prestige towards the brand image and also helps separate Rolex from the competition that do use modified ETA movements.

In the past Rolex have used various other movements from other brands, as well as creating their own movements. One point to mention is that the Rolex subsidiary brand Tudor (also a luxury watch), do use ETA movements. However, this is a completely different company from Rolex.

Are Rolex Movements Better Than ETA?

Yes, Rolex movements are considerably better than off the shelf ETA movements. A prime example would be a comparison of modern day movements such as the Rolex 3230 and the ETA 2824-2. Whilst the ETA 2824-2 has an accuracy of +/- 12 seconds per day, the Rolex 3230 goes well beyond COSC standards and is expected to function within +/-2 seconds per day.

This would be somewhat expected as you would find a 3230 in a $9000+ submariner, where as you would find an ETA 2824-2 in a Hamilton field watch, retailing for $400. Whether the 10 second accuracy is worth this price discrepancy is another question altogether, however it does prove the superiority of Rolex made movements.

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By Watches Q&A