ETA Fonteinemelon Age Determination
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Brief background
- Founded: 1856 in Grenchen / Biel as “Ébauches de Prêtres Tavannes” → from 1926 “ETA SA”.
- From the 1930s onwards, part of the Ébauches SA (ESA) group, later the foundation of the Swatch Group.
- Since the 1980s: world's largest manufacturer of movement blanks (mechanical and quartz).
2. Important: The "caliber number" is crucial.
ETA uses unique caliber designations:
Example: ETA 2472 , ETA 2783 , 2892‑A2 , 2836‑2 , 7750 etc.
The first group of numbers (2-3 digits) shows the developmental generation .
The following numbers and suffixes (e.g. “-1”, “-2”, “A2”) mark revisions.
Chronological overview – ETA caliber development phases
| epoch | Typical movements / caliber families | Features | Dating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 – 1935 | Early hand-wound movements (ETA 450, 700 series) | 15 rubies, no shock protection | Pocket watches / early wristwatches |
| 1935 – 1955 | ETA 900, 1000, 1100 series | Manual winding, shock protection (Incabloc from approx. 1945) | Classic post-war period |
| 1955 – 1965 | ETA 1080 / ETA 2450 / 2472 (automatic) | First automatic movements, date, 25 jewels | Economic boom of the 1950s/60s |
| 1965 – 1975 | ETA 2700 – 2789 family | popular manual and automatic movements with date / day-date | mostly in the 15–25 ruby range |
| 1975 – 1985 | Quartz (ESA/ETA 955 ff.) & automatic ETA 2892 | first quartz movements; flat automatic movements | The beginning of the “Quartz Revolution” |
| 1985 – 2000 | ETA 2824‑1 / 2892‑A2 / 7750 (Valjoux) | new industrial generation with high reliability | Swatch Group Integration |
| 2000 – today | ETA 2824‑2, 2836‑2, 7751, standard chronometer | new finishing levels, chronometer certificates (COSC) | Modern ETA / Sellita era |
ETA caliber numbers and approximate year of manufacture table
| caliber | Years of construction (start–last production ≈) | Type of work | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| ETA 1080 | 1952–1962 | manual winding | Post-war model, often in Ebel, Dugena, etc. |
| ETA 2450 / 2472 | 1955–1965 | Automatic | classic 25-jewel movement (“Standard ETA automatic”) |
| ETA 2783 / 2789 | 1965–1975 | Automatic | Day-date versions; used, for example, by Tissot, Edox, etc. |
| ETA 2750 | 1972–1980 | manual winding | flat base caliber (17 jewels) |
| ETA 2892 / 2892-A2 | 1975 – today | Automatic | Suitable for haute horlogerie, COSC versions |
| ETA 2824-1 / 2824-2 | 1982 – today | Automatic | the classic, 19–25 rubies, SW200 relative |
| ETA 2836-2 / 2834-2 | 1983 – today | Automatic Day-Date | larger version of the 2824 |
| ETA 7750 (Valjoux) | 1974 – today | Automatic chronograph | known from Breitling, IWC, Sinn etc. |
| ETA 955.xxx (Quartz) | 1982 – today | quartz | Standard quartz line (Evidence, Longines, Rado etc.) |
Logo / Features:
| feature | Time |
|---|---|
| Black text engraving without laser (logos stamped) | until 1970 |
| Laser engraving “ETA Swiss” + logo in a circle | from 1985 |
| Work gilded (Niacralloy bridges) | 1960–1980 |
| Rotor with engraved ETA symbol & “SWISS TWENTY FIVE JEWELS” | ca. 1960–present |
Examples of age estimation
| Factory | Typical watch | Estimated timeframe |
|---|---|---|
| ETA 1080 | National Watch / Dugena hand-wound | 1952–1960 |
| ETA 2472 | Edox Dolphin Automatic | 1958–1965 |
| ETA 2783 | Certina Blue Ribbon | 1968–1973 |
| ETA 2750 | Provita / Revue | 1972–1978 |
| ETA 2824-1 | Tissot PR 516 | 1980s |
| ETA 2824-2 | Modern automatic transmission, among others. | 1990 to present |
| ETA 7750 | Breitling Chronomat | from 1974 to the present day (various revisions) |
ETA evolved from a larger number of independent factories and originated in 1793 when Isaac and David Benguerel , Julien and François Humbert-Droz founded the first factory for raw movements , the Fabrique d'Horlogerie de Fontainemelon (FHF) in Fontainemelon in the canton of Neuchâtel .
FHF began the industrial production of watch movements as early as 1816. In 1856, Urs Schild and Dr. Joseph Girard founded an ébauches factory in Grenchen , the birthplace of the companies ETA and Eterna , which expanded its operations to include the manufacture of complete watches in 1876. Twenty years later, Adolf Schild founded the ébauches company A. Schild AG (AS) – also in Grenchen – initially producing cylinder and pin- lever escapements . The first lever escapements were launched there in 1905 .
FHF produced one million raw parts in 1913 .
In 1926, the first AS automatic watch , the Harwood system, was launched. AS's workforce had by then grown to 2100. ETA, AS, and FHF , along with other companies, participated in the founding of Ébauches SA .
In 1932, the Eterna works, Gebr. Schild & Co., were divided into:
- Eterna SA - Manufacturing of precision watches and
- ETA SA Fabriques d'Ebauches - Manufacturing of watch movements.
Despite difficulties, the production of watch movements continued during World War II. In the post-war years, countless calibers with manual or automatic winding were produced for ladies' and men's watches. More complex movements were manufactured by subsidiaries such as Landeron , Venus , and Valjoux .
In 1978, the sister companies ETA SA and Adolph Schild SA merged. ETA became the world's largest manufacturer of watch movements.
ETA SA Manufacture Horlogère Suisse is now a Swiss movement manufacturer belonging to the Swatch Group . They supply individual movement components, movement kits, or complete movements . Some manufacturers further process and refine the kits, sometimes adding additional functions.
Source: Watchwiki, AI
