Is There A Future for Eterna Watches? Analysis and Review. 

My father had an Eterna watch back in the 1960’s. It was sadly lost in a break in. Your review brings back fond memories of my childhood. I hope Eterna one day will be back to former days glory. Thanks for sharing this.

Just picked up a used 1592 Kontiki four hands, and i must say for the money it is fantastic, blown away by the build quality, a great name in watch making i hope it endures

I own my late grandfather's solid gold Eterna Matic 3000 Sevenday probably from the early 70s. A gorgeous piece and still super accurate.

I have a gold Eterna matic Centanaire with a date complication. I love it.

This man has a Telecaster in the background, instant kudos. My uncle has an old Eterna in a watch box, a little field watch. First looked up the history after seeing it.

I owned a Kontiki Four hands. Too big for me (42mm and 22 mm lug) but very great finition and the bracelet was very very good quality. I've never understood why Eterna make so big watches. In 40 it would be perfect.

Very interresting topic, I like that you talk about a big range of brands on your channel.:)

I have a modest collection of vintage watches one of which is an eternamatic 2002 from the early 70s.I bought this as new old stock in 1989 from a small private jeweller and he told me it had been in his shop since he opened in 1970 and he hadn't sold it (nobody wanted mechanical watches at this time)he sold me it for £85 UK which at the time was probably about 1/3 of its price.I would rate its quality as around the same as omega of the same period.

This video is executed masterfully. Thank you for your dedication. I have admired Eterna dress watches for some time. The prices for new Eternas kept me away. I will have to look on eBay.

I recently picked up an Eterna-Matic from the early 60s. Beautiful dress watch, totally wearable with a suit at a mere 33mm - practically a ladies watch by today's standards! It is sad to see an important manufacturer in hard times, and I do hope that they can weather the storm. Their legacy of course will live on - ball bearings are standard on rotors now, and ETAs and derivatives are the most widespread Swiss movements out there!

I have the Eterna 1939 Czechoslovakian pilot reproduction, and it is really well made. Would love to have it smaller , close to original size , but still really good made watch

I have collected watches for over 15 years. What I can say, is prior to Eterna being sold ~1990-2008 the quality was superb on a lot of their pieces. I would easily put them in the same tier as Omega or Breitling at the time, as far as build quality goes, only for a fraction of the price. I think the thing that held them back prior to their sale was that a lot of the esthetic designs weren't very iconic or memorable. They seemed to lack inspiration. However, as far as quality for price, I don't think you could get better bang for your buck than eterna from that era.

Great video Tim! I agree, Eterna has a great history and needs to organize its business! By the way, i'm new here, i love the style of your videos and your journalistic approach to video production, cheers!

Great video Tim as usual I have an 8 and a quarter inch wrist so42 is perfect for me it's a beautiful watch. What I would like to know is can you do a video on how Eterna and ETA became separate, and how now their watches have sellita movements in them ?? which I find very "ironic" I guess for lack of a better word . "thanks for your time and hopefully until next time" 🤟😊

Great topic and great video. I have a Soleure complete calendar monopusher automatic chronograph by them. It's a hell of a lot of watch, and I bought it new (grey market) for under $900. It's too bad the brand has so mismanaged in an era where lesser brands (like Rado and Zodiac and Hamilton, much less Squale) are having a moment, when Eterna really should be competing with Longines and Breitling.

Very intriguing brand for me. Great intro Tim !! Thank you

I agree. The brand Eterna is valuable!

I recently bought an Eterna Super Kontiki. I personally really like cushion divers. It’s a very nice watch, but I probably overpaid.

Love my super kontiki, finally a great size for my 21 cm wrist. :-)

Eterna is a very under appreciated brand that needs new life breathed into a once great brand.

I have recently bought an Adventic GMT on $900, utilizing their in house calibre 39 movement. 65 hrs power reserve, second sub dial and 2nd timezone. Same class with Tudor in house movement. It's a bargain ! Service centre ? At least in Jakarta some independent watch repair company having technician with 30 years experienced even more in mechanical watches. And Eterns movement quality is very good, so what you need to do is wear it few days in a week, service it once in 2-3 years to get the movement cleaned and oiled.

A watch brand I never really looked at to be honest. Maybe I should.

Earlier generation of Eterna under Porsche Design has definitely better samples comparing to today's Eterna. I own early 2000s Kontiki Chronometer 300 limited from Porsche Design Era, it is definitely built to last with everything. I love Eterna, they have a great history, they have great design language, they are inventors of ETA. And nowadays they started to develop movements back again with extended power reserve.

hopefully eterna will have solutions for the problems they're facing and survive this difficult time for them and come out stronger as a brand. we still need the kind of brand that have long span history with expert knowledge of the industry that will provide us with alternatives of quality time pieces to have (or not to have), at least to widen our horizon about this industry. enjoying your content very much, thank you.

I love my classy 60's eterna matic and wear it very often. this brand could be turned around.

Love the KonTiki Four-Hands.

Have a 1962 33mm Eterna.matic. It's a 17 jewel automatic masterpiece, and is still accurate to 3-5 seconds a week! Just horrible to think the world may lose one of the greatest Swiss watch houses. Come on one of the big boys and thank ETA, (which many other major watchmakers may have used in the past I'm sure), and MERGE with a fine company - and take note of what the gentleman here has pointed out i.e. that Eterna make some of their watches unnecessarily large; but if they changed that to 34mm , and up to 42mm (max), then the whole concept of keeping them still at the forefront of a tough and yet challenging industry could still be satisfactorily achieved. As the reviewer rightly says - they are just too famously good to lose!

...thankyou for this Tim, and please do part 2, would be interesting to know how/when the "mess" started...and who/what is responsible for the downturn in one of historys' great watch manufactorys...i have my fathers' Eternamatic Centenaire and have just acquired an 1856 Skeleton Limited Edition to bookend it...beautiful, classy, an important brand that needs some love...

The Chinese company is now known as Citychamp Watch & Jewelry Group. They also own Corum, and the watches of the Dreyfuss Group. They had begun using an Eterna movement in a Dreyfuss & Co watch and, I believe, the plan was to use more Eterna movements in other brands that they own. I don't have any insight into the current financial problems but Eterna's movement production seems important to the future of this watch group, so maybe that side of the brand will not be sold after all.

I just had a gift, ETERNA-MATIC KonTiki 1958 CHRONOMETER Limited Edition model ref. 1573.47 I love it, love to have a watch with a great history. It’s a shame what happened to the company. I hope that Swatch group adopt this brand and rescue it from vanishing

Excellent review and analysis Tim! Thank you 👍

Eterna is a really interesting brand, but it takes just one look at their website to see that the ship is rudderless at the moment. Watches for sale with just one photo (no images of side of case, case back, etc...), no reference to the water resistance, etc...it just really hurts the credibility of the brand.

I lived in The Hague for a year, and it was HOT in the summer. 30 degrees many days, hot at night, and my beautiful old house in the old city center there was poor circulation, and the fans from the store were expensive and of such poor quality they broke after a week of use. Crazy! European life is appealing in many ways, food, walking in the city, and ease of transit, but in many other ways it is lower quality of life than here in the US.

Hi Tim! Thank you very much for your video. I am a big fan of Eterna and this video is very interesting for me, also because help to understand some behaviours of Eterna in last period. The only positive thing is that in this period you can find some new Eterna for a very good price... just bought a fantastic Kontiki Super 1973 limited edition :D I hope really that the brand will save itself.

Agreed, the brand caché does carry real value in my opinion. A smart move would be to sell the brand to a European/Swiss watch group such as LVMH or Richemont to be used as a mid-level brand. However, I would not like to see it go to the likes of Citizen Watch group (like Frederique Constant) or Invicta (like Glycine) as I feel it would severely harm its brand caché and they would merely use it to prop up its own reputation instead of the other way around. Likewise, the Swatch Group would swallow the brand and it would lose its identity like Longines, Hamilton and Tissot have.

Excellent video Tim, both in content and presentation. Not a brand I have considered before but certainly a good range of designs and styles that demonstrate their heritage within the world of horology. I would be buying vintage, but feel comfortable in the fact that I can service the watch myself if required. To save on air conditioning in your home, maybe remove the waistcoat first and see if that makes you feel better! BR, TC

Wow! Major shame that the people running Eterna could let the company slide so far and so fast. Eterna has or at least had some great models. Kon Tiki for sure but also their chronograph line. I can't help but to think that someone could turn things around at Eterna quickly with some steady leadership. Tim, it's up to you! Buy Eterna!!!

Size seems more suited to a sportier style. Nice otherwise though, interesting choice for bigger wrists.

Informative and inspiring, well done

Thank you for the post. Tim is cool! Eterna has always been a favorite watch, sadly so under rated especially with its impressive history. I look for the Chronometers from the late 1950's with movements marked 5 adjustments. I will subscribe!

it looks a really nice watch , & i like the colour too , i have skinny wrists but love big watches , so i would love that size lol .

We should all buy Eterna watches now.

Eterna manufacture are wonderful

I bought a Porsche Dashboard by Eterna a few years ago for a fraction of retail, the whole case was encrusted with diamonds! I also bought a number of Ventura designed by Hannes Wettstein, These came from the English arm of the Chinese company with bought and ruined both manufacturers ! I believe they had an interest in several other cheap high volume watch brands including Ingersol .

The only Eterna watch I’m fond of is a Kontiki super. But there’s just that much sport watches a man really needs...so I had to pass, but a really cool brand that’s being manipulated beyond abuse.

5:30 "Great, great ..." XD XD XD I share your opinion about the size of the watch, my wrists are only 16.5 cm in diameter and 42mm is too much for me in a dress watch. On the bankruptcy of Eterna: perhaps its new owners have already negotiated the sale of the brand with some fashion watch company and are in a hurry to saw the deal. Maybe in the future we will see minimalist Eterna watches with Chinese quartz mechanisms, great ... great !!

Interesting and good video as always. Did the Eterna watch have an ETA movement? Don’t think so. Strange isn’t it

So sad. Their watch portfolio is an odd bag of very different design choices and apart from the logo nothing binds the collections together.

Great Eterna watch... Similar to 1948 Heritage... 👌🏼🇵🇦

For my 20th birthday 1970, my father bought me an Eternamatic watch from a jeweler who had closed his shop years ago. It was $60 without box or documentation. It is capped with rolled gold with a white face. It does not have 3000 on the face. My best friend had an Omega watch which seemed to be much more widely recognized as a brand name, especially after the moon landings. I wore it all the time for 35 years so it is well worn and not in perfect condition. I had it cleaned several times but in the end they said it wasn't worth cleaning again and it stopped periodically. They said "get a new watch". But I still have it. I wonder whether it is worth anything or whether it should be restored?

Heavy Hitter lol it's a nice watch though really quality an price not to over the top .

Having founded ETA I believe they sold it to the Swatch group who is the current owner. Problem with the recent Eternas is they use the Sellita movement because Swatch has restricted the supply of ETA movements for companies outside the Swatch group. Sellita attempts to copy the ETA movement but it is not the same thing. I have a Kontiki and a Centenaire from the 1960's. Those are excellent watches.

Você é português? Que canal bacana! Parabéns 👏

Is Eterna now splitted? Watches on a side and movment on the other? Eterna movment are very great. Check Ultramarine watch for exemple.

I own two vintage Eternas and my son one.

Also, ich finde, die Uhr passt dir gut 👍

that's pretty much it... you can have all the history you want and all the nice designs, but if you make watches that are too big (and too expensive at msrp) for most people to wear, you're not going to sell many and you're going bankrupt they should "just" refocus on 2, max 3 model lines, hype up their in-house movement even more, figure how to put it cheaply into smaller watches, and resize their entire collection to offer most/all sports watches in 40-41mm (they don't need to discontinue the big 'uns, just offer more sensible sizes alongside), and the dressy ones in 36-38, suck up a bit and lower the prices to minimum profit margins, and sell directly from their website (no dealers) can i be the CEO? :)

Sad that a brand with such history should hit hard times - looks like the owners have not invested in marketing to keep the brand in the public eye - For example, not aware that they have ever sponsored sports events of any kind or used celebrity endorsement. In the past Eterna's technology was a match for the likes of Omega - but Omega have risen through continued technical investment, allied to the kudos of the moon landings, use in Bond films, sponsorship of sports events etc. etc. Not cheap to do, but necessary to keep the brand alive.

Eterna is a little like Longines, a very old and venerable brand now making very nice watches and asking more for them than they are really worth. The difference is that Longines has access to Swatch's money and movements, and Eterna doesn't. So Eterna, sadly, will fail. Both could sell as many watches as they could build if they adopted Hamilton's model and dropped their prices by 500 or 1000 dollars.

Please make a video about Ebel.

Uh Tim...you forgot about the wristwatch check, HELLO! 😂

A lot of watch companies with follow cause new generations are not that much interrested in wrist watches anymore. A wrist watch will be just a kind of jewellery accesoire that is nice to have but not necessesary anymore.

The Swatch group, will pick Eterna up...maybe!!

Excellent. Thank you.

its 2020 and I own Soleure and would like to sell or trade it but no takers .

38mm would be perfect..

Vines for wine? Good idea ... probably. See if you can get him to plant an olive tree or two. They are beautiful trees - and if the climate change stuff pans out as scientists think it will, they produce good olives in time.

Has a very Seiko like dial. Reminds me of a SARB.

Beautiful timepiece. Is this inhouse movement?

Eterna one of dirty dozen. I respect. History is there skill is there.... Marketing... Can't find it.. Maybe it hide somewhere.. Love my kontiki bronze..

eterna chrono moonphase is a great watch

ETA ROCKS.

Meu eterna matic kontiki me acompanha há 44 anos. todo original, selo ouro. 20 atm. não vendo, nem empresto. ficará na família.

It looks just like a Hamilton Jazzmaster, even the shape of the case. Who copied whom? Or is this a common form for a watch?

As of July 2020 do you still recommend to buy an Eterna?

40mm would be perfect. I kept mine though.

Can't really find these to purchase in the U.S.

The Legacies and the Tangaroas are nice models. But the Kontikis are just too cluttered. Just my opinion.

What image is that on the computer screen behind you? It looks like x-rays or CT scans. Are you also a radiologist?

Looks like a SARB033 that's eaten all the pies

6.69 inches??? Wow! I think at 7.25 inches, I am lucky to be in the middle range... no?

Invicta to the rescue of Eterna just watch! lol

Can't Eterna get more profit from their ETA movements?

Please tell me what brand are glasses?

If Eterna had had its difficulties a bit earlier, it would have been gobbled up by Swatch, like Rado, Mido, Omega, Hamilton and a dozen other old and honorable brands. Alas, I think it might be too late for that now.

If Eterna closes down, wouldn't all its watches have a spike in price and can only go up from there? Because the supply is dried up and there's only a limited amount of watches circulating in the market.

Yeah - too big. I should stop watching your channel because I still want that Landeron from your holiday video.

This video aged like fine milk

Dam I got mine on ebay around 500usd brand new

They founded ETA

If I had 25K dollars I would buy Eterna, like Jean Claude Biver did with Blancpain in the 80s, and sell Eterna in twenty years for 60 million dollars.

Lug to lug not mentioned ruins the whole review.

Actually, a shit-ton of chaos before City Champ bough them. www.tempusfugit.watch/2019/04/time-to-sack-up-eterna-can-be-saved.html

90% the watch company take a dial with 42 mm, 33 - 36mm fits more to 1970 - 1980. Even Rolex produce 39mm, 41 mm. Perhaps the eterne is too thick and massive.

Just by mentioning it on the channel means you're selling it on the channel. I am not in any way impugning your integrity, but to say, that "I am not going to sell it on the channel, but in a forum", simply means all one has to do is go to the forum and it there. How would you know that they didnt see it on the channel?

And straps? how its ne movment? click? weight? usual you say that things.

Entirely too large of a watch. It would be perfect at 36.

It looks a little ad-hoc, over size, and I can't stand these dials with subdivided minute markings, and the whole thing looks like a micro-brand with so many fails.

What is the movement. ? ! ? ! ?

Eterna is a beautiful brand, but the Chinese killed them