ETA Oh Dear

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ETA Oh Dear

Post by PC-Magician »

After talking with a well respected Watchmaker, I have discovered that ETA are not what they were as regards quality and reliability.
Build quality seems to be a major issue, lack of proper lubrication being a major factor.
So it would seem we maybe are onto a good thing with CW Watches in general, I am aware that Sellita is the big name with CW but they are clones of ETA in essence, a five year warranty is a very good thing indeed.
It would appear that ETA are outsourcing some of the work, and is possibly sub standard to say the least.
I for one will be having all of my ETA modern movements serviced early rather than late.
Comments very welcome.
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Re: ETA Oh Dear

Post by scooter »

That's quite a comment to make, but needs to be backed up to have any real significance.

Who is the well respected watchmaker?

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Re: ETA Oh Dear

Post by Tooks »

Being an old cynic, what would a watchmaker have to gain by advising somebody to have their ETA movements serviced more frequently?!

Hopefully you can see my point, and won't take offence!

I think with the sheer volume of ETA movements out there, I guess it's more than likely that a lot of ETA equipped watches pass across watchmakers desks. Whether that means they are inherently less reliable than any other movement, or it's just a conclusion drawn because a lot of movements needing to be worked on are ETA, is debatable.

Re the SH21 etc in CW's, they are all far too young and out there in too small numbers to gauge reliability/longevity etc, although I accept the warranty offered by CW is reassuring, for both the in house and ETA/Selitta movements.
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Re: ETA Oh Dear

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scooter wrote:That's quite a comment to make, but needs to be backed up to have any real significance.

Who is the well respected watchmaker?

scooter
Tooks wrote:Being an old cynic, what would a watchmaker have to gain by advising somebody to have their ETA movements serviced more frequently?!

Hopefully you can see my point, and won't take offence!

I think with the sheer volume of ETA movements out there, I guess it's more than likely that a lot of ETA equipped watches pass across watchmakers desks. Whether that means they are inherently less reliable than any other movement, or it's just a conclusion drawn because a lot of movements needing to be worked on are ETA, is debatable.

Re the SH21 etc in CW's, they are all far too young and out there in too small numbers to gauge reliability/longevity etc, although I accept the warranty offered by CW is reassuring, for both the in house and ETA/Selitta movements.
Well if you have to repair a sub 3 year old ETA because of lack of lubrication that is cause for concern, is it not?
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Re: ETA Oh Dear

Post by Tooks »

Yes, but it's not all of them is it? To determine the extent of any problem, you'd need to know failures per 1000 units or some such measure and then compare to other manufacturers the same way.

All manufacturers have premature failures.

Does your watchmaker know for sure the history and age of the watches he/she is working on?
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Re: ETA Oh Dear

Post by scooter »

But that's one watch.

Who lubricated the watch three times? Sounds like this wasn't done correctly if it dried up three times.

If the situation is that bad I guarantee you would have read about it somewhere on the Internet.

Who was the Watchmaker? If it's true then he would have no hesitation in having his comments known. He wasn't afraid to tell you after all.

Sorry, but I just don't buy a single undisclosed comment like this.

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Re: ETA Oh Dear

Post by PC-Magician »

scooter wrote:But that's one watch.

Who lubricated the watch three times? Sounds like this wasn't done correctly if it dried up three times.

If the situation is that bad I guarantee you would have read about somewhere on the Internet.

Who was the Watchmaker? If it's true then he would have no hesitation in having his comments known. He wasn't afraid to tell you after all.

Sorry, but I just don't buy a single undisclosed comment like this.

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misunderstand, sub three year old needed repair and lube.
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Re: ETA Oh Dear

Post by scooter »

My mistake, but not the first watch sub three year old from any manufacturer with any movement to need attention I am sure.

Sorry, who was the watchmaker?

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Re: ETA Oh Dear

Post by ronjohn »

I've not heard anything about ETA slipping in quality.
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Re: ETA Oh Dear

Post by blowfish89 »

Might easily be an outlier. My Halios Tropik SS with Miyota 9015 needed a service one month after I bought it. Doesn't mean the movement is bad.
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Re: ETA Oh Dear

Post by PC-Magician »

blowfish89 wrote:Might easily be an outlier. My Halios Tropik SS with Miyota 9015 needed a service one month after I bought it. Doesn't mean the movement is bad.
I like ETA so please don't get me wrong, but the quality is maybe not what it was.
A lot of things these days are not built to last, sad to say but true.
All down to cost.
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Re: ETA Oh Dear

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I think I'll leave it to others to discuss this.

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Re: ETA Oh Dear

Post by Tooks »

Me too...
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Re: ETA Oh Dear

Post by PC-Magician »

Have a look at the CL888 movement A Swiss/Chinese collaboration if ever their was one.
Some of the pressure points aren't even jewelled.
That's what I have been informed anyway. :wave:
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Re: ETA Oh Dear

Post by Tooks »

Ok, I'll come back with some more questions.

The CL888 isn't even an ETA movement, so what is your point here?

Is it that because Claro (the Chinese company that manufacture parts for the CL888) work in partnership with a Swiss company that assembles them, then ETA must be doing something similar too?

The CL888 is a movement built to do a particular job at a particular price point, and is no reflection on the Swiss watch industry, and in particular ETA, at all.
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