Eterna-Matic....

Here are some before and after photos of my latest vintage....an Eterna-Matic. I picked this out of a junk box at an Antique Shop and finally got around to sending it out to the watchmaker for a spruce up. I put it on a cheap NOS '70's stretchy band for that authentic Grandfather look!

Before:



Movement:





After:

Stunning Sixtysix..just stunning !!!!
This watch was vintage..but now it's vintage
and BRAND NEW looking ! What an amazing job
on this watch. The dial and case are immaculate
and LOOK at the movement..Holy Cow ! NICE
bracelet too..Congratulations..it's VERY cool !

Docrwm wrote:

Great, but seldom seen, brand. Very nice clean up on it. The movement looked new, are those before cleaning pics of it?

If you don't mind me asking, what did the watchmaker do and how much did it cost you? The only watchmaker near me charges an arm and a leg and has had mixed reviews.

Robert,

Those are the before pictures of the movement, I usually don't buy vintage stuff that has crappy looking insides . (well if i can help it anyway), the dude at the antique shop was fairly knowledgable on watches so I think I paid $40 for the watch. I shake down a lot of antique shops, so finding the watches is the most expensive/time consuming part. Watchmaker did a full service (includes case polish, new gaskets, clean everything, lube, regulate, ect) and a new crystal. Total including shipping was $87. This includes a one year warranty. I bought 5 or 6 of those NOS 70's strechys for $4 each at another antique shop. I have 2 more watches being serviced right now, one needed the hands relumed, so cost is around $100 for that one, and a little less for the other. What keeps the price down is sending working watches, that are in good condition to start. These are not so easy to find...

WOW 66! I might just head out to the antique shops and see what I can find. Great score and great make-over!

Hey thanks for all the comments!!

You won't have long to wait....I usually do 'old watches for the new year', so I will only be wearing vintage stuff in January (and maybe some of February too ) . Stay tuned to the daily watch thread....

Some info on Eterna:

Ernst Seyr: I can’t disclose exact figures, but its safe to say that Eterna never was a mass product, hovering between 50,000 and 100,000 watches a year. Even in the heyday of Swiss watches in the 50s and 60s, Eterna produced fewer watches than its competitors, brands such as Longines, Omega or Rolex. Eterna was never a brand with a truly worldwide distribution. However, it's production spin-off (ETA) was making big money with basic movements sold on a worldwide basis. It’s fair to say Eterna was the hobby of the famous Schild family and they kept it low key so as not to get in conflict with it's ETA customers. On the other hand, in the 30s there was a regulation in place that prohibited companies with a branded watch to have a business as movement suppliers to other companies.
Eterna had a reputation for being the best quality watch sold at a very reasonable price and it was always operative even when some other famous companies where dead and buried!

sixtysix wrote:

Some info on Eterna:

Ernst Seyr: I can’t disclose exact figures, but its safe to say that Eterna never was a mass product, hovering between 50,000 and 100,000 watches a year. Even in the heyday of Swiss watches in the 50s and 60s, Eterna produced fewer watches than its competitors, brands such as Longines, Omega or Rolex. Eterna was never a brand with a truly worldwide distribution. However, it's production spin-off (ETA) was making big money with basic movements sold on a worldwide basis. It’s fair to say Eterna was the hobby of the famous Schild family and they kept it low key so as not to get in conflict with it's ETA customers. On the other hand, in the 30s there was a regulation in place that prohibited companies with a branded watch to have a business as movement suppliers to other companies.
Eterna had a reputation for being the best quality watch sold at a very reasonable price and it was always operative even when some other famous companies where dead and buried!

Excellent information and history sixtysix ! They seem like a very intriguing
company. Interesting how they did not want to bother their own ETA customers !
Still, Eterna seemed focused on making good watches for a good price and that
is VERY respectable ! Really great stuff..Thank You !

WOW! It looks great!