ETA movement

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ETA SA Manufacture Horlogère Suisse is a Swiss producer of mechanical and quartz watch movements and also manufactures clock movements, as well. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Swatch Group.

The company specializes in the production of ébauche movements which are used in a number of mechanical watches, and have owned Valjoux, Peseux and Lemania ébauche manufacturers for a number of years. They also manufacture quartz movements powered by self-winding mechanisms.

[edit] Current situation

Mechanical ETA movements are commonly used in many "middle" to "high-end" watch brands such as Officine Panerai, Omega, Oris, Tudor, TAG Heuer, IWC and Breitling. Their Quartz Movement lines are also used in "high-end" brands as well as more affordable brands, such as Swiss Army.

Ironically, some replica watches of these same brands also use ETA movements. Most replicas, however, use Chinese movements or Japanese movements. Some Omega Seamaster imitations or Rolex imitations will have a version of the ETA 2824-2 movement. The ETA 2824-2 is available with various levels of component quality.

The ETA 2892.A2 is widely considered the more upscale movement, and is always fitted with top quality components. It is regraded by many horologists as in the same 'quality' range (accuracy and relability) as the in house produced Rolex movements. The ETA 2892.A2 is usually found in the more expensive and prestigious watches, and is often COSC certified for Chronometer accuracy. Even without COSC certification, it generally performs with chronometer accuracy. Genuine Seamaster watches currently use an embellished version of the ETA 2892.A2, though also fitted with the Co-axial escapement. To counteract this trend, ETA has announced that it will stop selling movements to unauthorized manufacturers and assemblers. However, European Union competition rules prohibit this action from taking place until 2011^[1], giving sufficient time for new and existing companies to develop watch movements that can replace the ones already produced by ETA. ETA movements have also been duplicated by various enterprises including Asian manufacturers and are usually being produced without license^[2].