The story of Eterna watches spans back to Grenchen, Switzerland in 1856 when Dr. Joseph Girar partnered with a teacher, Urs Schild to form a watchmaking company specialising particularly in developing watch movements. They began developing a combination of fully-finished movements and Ebauches (semi-finished movements now known as ETA). It was not until 1885 that Schild, who was now managing the company alone after the passing of Girar, began focusing on creating watches. The company grew and grew, branching out into an establishment that developed 180 timepieces a day and employed over 300 workers. The Eterna name began with the name of a watch but by the 1900s would come to represent the brand itself.
During the early 1900s, the need for functional military watches grew. Eterna played a pivotal role in the military watch during this time, developing a case with moving safety band lugs and also patented a series of alarm wristwatches. Even more interestingly, Eterna patented the smallest Breguet movement and developed an engine that could deliver an astonishing 8 day power reserve. During the 1930s Eterna split into two separate entities – one that would focus on the development of mechanical movements – the other which would manufacture wristwatches. By honing its expertise into improving the performance of movements during this time, it was able to create a five ball bearing mounted rotor which reduced friction and wear and tear on the integral parts of a movement.
Today, Eterna watches are equipped with cutting edge technology that demonstrates the breadth of the company’s achievements to date. Some of the most popular collections are those such as the Eternity, the Kontiki and the Heritage. The Eterna Eternity watch collection is home to designs inspired by earlier 1950s and 60s models, giving them a distinctly retro feel. The KonTiki line houses timepieces with three hands and four hands (the fourth of which depicts an inner date ring) as well as models crafted from bronze, which develop their own unique patina over time. Models from this sub-category are powered by the Calibre 39, which offers a useful 38 hour power reserve. The Eternity Heritage line was an opportunity to highlight all the important milestones in Eterna’s 160 year heritage. The series features classic chronographs, beautifully balanced dials in a myriad of shades including opaline and anthracite, and complications that offer moonphase indicators and day and date features as additional functions.
Eterna changed hands in 2011 to the Chinese Citychamp Watch & Jewellery Group Ltd. Since this year it has pushed forward with innovating stylish chronographs, luxurious women’s watches and elegant dress watches that cater for both male and female tastes. Having survived economic turbulence, industry takeovers and two World Wars, the brand shows its sustenance, perseverance and determination in every modern-day model. Our entire Eterna watch collection here at C W Sellors showcases some of the most popular and sought-after timepieces from alluring quartz-operated ladies Eternity watches to special iterations of the Kontiki range such as the Four Hands, Adventure and Bronze limited edition. Now, under the direction of Ernst F. Seyr, Eterna watches remain in the limelight with models that exemplify the brand’s first class craftsmanship in developing both reliable and high-performance wristwatches for all eventualities.
