The Adventic GMT - From Eterna

This just in from the folks at Eterna.  Hopefully live pictures to follow next week, but for now, the unvarnished info straight from the source -

Courtesy of Eterna

Adventic GMT with Eterna in-house 3914A calibre
Superior technology and aesthetics

The new Adventic GMT perfectly encapsulates the spirit of the times. It is a masterpiece of fine watchmaking from Eterna that underscores the importance of substance over appearance. An understated, modern aesthetic joins forces with forward-looking technology, practical functionality with first-rate quality and reliability. 

Courtesy of Eterna

The Adventic GMT has a pronounced individual character and displays its contemporary aesthetic appeal without resorting to unnecessary gimmickry. Nevertheless, as the displays on the dial suggest, the Eterna in- house 3914A calibre housed inside the case represents technology at its most advanced. To achieve this, the basic 39 movement was equipped with automatic winding, a date window at 3 o'clock, a small seconds at 9 o'clock and a practical additional time zone. The latter features a 24-hour scale and is accommodated at 6 o'clock in its own subdial, whose distinctive colour and design sets it apart from the rest of the watch. In the latest version of the Adventic GMT, the single hands in the second time zone and the small seconds are both neon orange-coloured, which adeptly creates a link to the warm brown of the ostrich skin strap. Otherwise, the beautiful anthracite dial is reduced to essentials and radiates stylish self-assurance. Elegant, elongated indices with luminous highlights are dotted around an outer ring whose discreet circular decoration is reiterated at the centre of the two subdials. The simple design of the hands, likewise finished in anthracite and coated with white SuperLuminova, perfectly rounds off the modern, no-frills display for maximum legibility.

The 42-millimetre stainless-steel case with its unfussy, gently contoured bezel, slim lugs and finely knurled crown radiates the same, stylish discretion. The time and skill lavished on the finish is reflected in the fascinating interplay of the polished and satinized parts, and in the five decorative grooves that embellish the sides of the case. Five small spheres on the crown represent the famous Eterna brand logo.

Courtesy of Eterna

Adventic GMT / Technical specifications - 7661.41.56.1352

Movement - Eterna calibre 3914A

 
Case - Stainless Steel, 42 mm
Dial - Anthracite
Strap - Brown ostrich leather
Functions - Hours, minutes, small seconds, date, gmt 

Thursday Field Trip - Eterna

Every year I go to BaselWorld I try to fit in a visit to a watch company.  This year, Eterna was kind enough to make time for me.

Eterna's New Calibre 39 - Practical, Useful, and Sorta' Sexy!

Okay, last night I was waxing lyrical about how some people out there write off watches because they use a movement from brand X instead of an ETA.  I stand by this - because the thing of it is, although they do have the watch industry, and by extension the watch buying community in a strangle-hold, ETA is not the only company out there making movements.  

But today's topic is a little different.  Because although I AM writing in praise of a new movement, it is in praise of what this movement means to the watch it will power - and moreover it speaks volumes about the people who work together in the company that makes it.

And what's so sexy about another movement?  It's not solid gold, dipped in "unobtainium", or lubricated by unicorn tears... no it is the simplicity of its design and the simple common sense that is so sexy!  Before I turn the rest of this story over to Eterna, I will leave you with one simple thought - three screws!  What if you could convert a hand-wound movement to a self-winding movement by removing three screws, and then attaching a self-winding module with the same THREE SCREWS?!?!  That, dear readers, is sexy!  So enough of my ramblings - here's the news from Eterna -

Courtesy of Eterna

The Calibre 39 line by Eterna: boosting the brand's pioneering spirit.

For years now, Eterna has been been concentrating on expanding its manufacturing and portfolio of movements. Today, Eterna is on the verge of completing a task involving high precision and ingenuity, its Calibre 39. This movement is not only an industrial calibre, but also represents a family of calibres thanks to whose modularity the brand can produce 88 different movements using the base calibre.

Courtesy of Eterna

Eterna: pioneers of watchmaking

Throughout its history Eterna has always been involved in designing movements. At its start, the company only manufactured ébauches. In 1948, Eterna revolutionised the automatic movement by offering an oscillating mass on ball bearings. The Eterna-Matic, which was the model, has become a benchmark today. The use of ball bearings is perfectly natural for Eterna. It is at the origin of the company logo, and in 2006, Eterna patented the Spherodrive technology featuring ceramic balls on three concentric rings to facilitate the rotation of the barrel. This technology, further refined, has been applied to the new family of the calibres 39, which will be the spearhead of the manufacture.

Courtesy of Eterna

Great complexity distilled to simplicity

The project began in 2007 and had two aims: the first was to develop an automatic chronograph with subsidiary dials at 3, 6 and 9 o’clock. The second objective was to find solutions to optimise design and costs. Step by step, and thanks to the cleverness of Eterna’s watchmakers, an entire family of calibres emerged. This special and outstanding design allows assembly of 88 different versions of the movement using a single base movement.

By subtly combining this movement and different components or assembly groups, the watchmakers can construct anything from a simple manual movement with two or three hands, to a chronograph. All they need to do is remove the three screws from the three-hand, manually-wound calibre's decorative bridge and add the automatic module, which can be affixed using the same three screws. The result is a three-hand automatic calibre. The same procedure is used to add a power reserve. The pre-mounted manual and automatic chronograph modules can also be affixed to the base movement using a set of screws. Moreover, just a few components are needed to add a second hand to the centre. On the dial side, adaptation for the functions can be done very simply and the possibilities are many: date, day date, central date and/or second time zone.

Courtesy of Eterna

The calibre’s great many possibilities and its apparent complexity belie its simple design and few component parts.  Manufacture of all versions has been highly industrialised and the assembly optimised.

The quality of the movement is top-notch. The entire line has chronometer quality and the Spherodrive system has been further refined. The balance wheel’s high inertia (16g/mm²) gives it a great deal of precision and stability. Furthermore, 68 hours of power reserve is guaranteed. All the chronograph functions are controlled by a column wheel, which in turn features a flyback function. The movement is “Swiss made”, but could in fact be described as “Grenchen made”. Indeed, 70% of the components are manufactured in or around Eterna’s hometown of Grenchen.               

www.eterna.com

Catching Up with Patrick Kury

There is nothing more reassuring to the true watch fan than the knowledge that good work is recognized, and dedication and talent are not only appreciated but sometimes rewarded.  Patrick Kury  has been the CEO for Eterna for nearly nine months now.  And in that short time, Eterna is already showing signs of some truly impressive things to come.  I am fascinated by Eterna, because it occupies that rare "middle place" - not at the highest end occupied by the trinity of Patek, Vacheron, and "they who you will not read about in this blog".  By the same token, Eterna are not at the "median" point either - a place where companies crank out massive volumes of watches that have a clearly identifiable shelf-life.    Eterna designs, develops and manufactures their own movements.  And they produce watches that are interesting.  They are not manufacturing for what Frank Lloyd Wright referred to as the "mobocracy". And I think that it is a refreshing change to see a company headed by an actual watchmaker.  To be fair, this would not necessarily work at every company, but for Eterna, it would seem that Patrick Kury is the right man, in the right place at the right time.

Courtesy of Eterna

James Henderson - You've now got nearly 9 months under your belt as the CEO since your official confirmation on March 1st.  How is everything going so far?

Patrick Kury - Everything is going very well. We have developed interesting new products and calibers.  A strong part of our work has been focused on the image of Eterna.  We have developed a new Corporate Identity which can be truly communicated through our new website and a new advertising campaign.

JH - With the continued development of in-house movements, will Eterna continue to use supplies such as Sellita in the future, or will there be a push to have all Eterna products use Eterna's movements?

PK - Our plan is to continue to equip some of our collections with movements purchased from other suppliers.  We will certainly reinforce the production of our proprietary movements because it gives us some liberty.

JH - While you are moving forward with the production of movements, has the SWATCH group's tightening of supplies in other areas negatively impacted you - such as springs?

PK - Until now we haven’t had any problem. This is also because we accept the situation and we look for solution in advance. We try to always be a step forward. We have planed our needs in components and we know what we will get.

JH - What has been the biggest challenge you've faced so far in your new roll?

PK - Eterna possess an excellent know-how and sales good products with high quality movement; all that has to be known. The biggest challenge is to regain the public interest.

JH - What has been the highlight for Eterna this past year?

PK - The launch of the Eterna 3843 calibre which now equips the Adventic.  This was an important step for us this year.  The new advertising campaign and the new website were also two big highlights.

Courtesy of Eterna

JH - With the recent change of ownership there was a fair bit of talk about what impact a foreign based ownership group would have on the brand.  How has the transition been?

PK -  Strategically speaking the change of ownership hasn’t occur much changes. The owners have a full confidence in the team here at Eterna and they strongly believe in the power of the Eterna Swiss values. They are also convinced that we will be able to push the brand where it has to be. 

JH - What will the focus be for 2013?

 

PK - The focus would consist more of a global development of the company. We will come up with a new caliber line, interesting new models will be added to the current collections and the marketing activities will be reinforced. Moreover, we will come back in the US market.

JH - What is Eterna's strongest market right now?

PK - Today the strongest markets are still in central Europe (Germany, Switzerland, France) but the development of the Asian markets is fast and they will soon be stronger.

Courtesy of Eterna

JH - I realize that it might be hard to choose - but what is your current favorite Eterna model?

PK - For day to day wear,  the Madison Eight-Days with Eterna Spherodrive is my favorite.  It’s a very functional watch with everything you really need.  You only need to rewind it once a week and the power reserve counter tells you when it’s time to do so.  On top of that, it has a very useful big date display.

I also wear the new Adventic very often, I appreciate its 3 days power reserve because you can change watches during the week-end and on Monday your watch is still working.  I also like the Adventic when I travel because I always know what time it is at home thanks to the second time zone. 

JH - The Adventic is one of my current favorites - how has it been received?

PK - The impact has been very positive because of the mix between a very classical design with something very modern within it.  The public asked for this kind of product and I think we responded well to the demand with this watch.

JH - So with the benefit of nine months in charge, what would you say makes Eterna special?

PK - First of all Eterna has a long watchmaking tradition, it was very strong in the years 1950-1980 and very often people anecdotes or memories with me that they, or their parents, have with the brand.  That has an extreme value to me.

Today Eterna is a brand with strong know-how and impressive technical skills.  We understand the production of the watch from A to Z, we don’t merely assemble watches.  We develop the entire watch, movement included.  Being a former watchmaker I especially treasure this and it makes Eterna very special.

www.eterna.ch

The Holidays!

Well, Eterna is all about timekeeping, and the proof arrived the other day!

Just in time for the start of the Advent season, the nice folks at Eterna remembered those of us who write about the industry!  A very nice touch!

And with all this talk about "Made in Switzerland", etc.  I can assure you, the chocolate is the real deal!

Enjoy the season!

Some things just speak to you...

This is not a brand new release - it has been around for a little while now.  But it is one of those watches that I find myself continually coming back to.

Courtesy of Eterna 

Eterna is one of the original participants in Chronometers.org
www.chronometers.org

I was updating their brand listings recently and fell in love all over again!

This is the Madison Eight-Days with Eterna Spherodrive.  It made its debut last year, and having seen it in person, and speaking with the folks at Eterna about it, I really feel how special it is.  

I LOVE the fact that Eterna has gone against the tide with the case design, I love the power reserve and date display, I love the movement.  But it's when you have the whole thing, together in your hand... that's real when the romance becomes real.

For those of you into all the details, here are the specs:

Reference: 7720.41.43.1228

Case:  Polished stainless steel

Dial:  Black, centre cobbled pattern structure and sunray-brushed

Indices:  Rhodium-plated baton

Strap:  Black Louisiana alligator leather

Clasp:  Folding clasp

Movement:  Eterna Calibre 3510

Movement Type:  Hand-wound

Displays:  Hours, minutes, seconds

Power Reserve:  192h

Frequency:  28'800 A/h

Jewels:  22

Ball Bearing:  7

Case Diameter:  38.5 x 53.3 mm

Case Height:  13.25 mm

Water Resistance: 30 m

Crystal:  Scratch-resistant, antireflective sapphire crystal

Case Back:  Sapphire crystal opening

Crown:  Non screw-down

www.chronometers.org

www.eterna.ch

Eterna calibre 3510 - start to finish

It is often said that pictures speak louder than words. And Eterna was kind enough to provide me with several images that clearly bear that out.

At the "drawing board"

The finished product

More than just the sum of its parts

Anyone with any doubts as to whether this is a hand-finished, in-house movement can put those questions to rest -

My sincere thanks to Manon Public Relations Manager Eterna & Porsche Design Timepieces for providing these fantastic images!

www.eterna.com