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Eterna is another vintage watch brand that remains significantly undervalued and largely unknown. Regardless, the intrinsic level of quality, with a high level of finish and engineering, found on the best period Eterna movements from the golden age of Swiss watches is high – such as the 1960’s Eterna Matic Sahida here, with its original box, hang tag, and manual.

 

Although on a parallel with Rolex and Omega, the Eterna can thankfully - due to its relative anonymity - be acquired for comparatively relatively modest sums of money.  While largely overlooked by the general public in favor of products by the better known watch manufacturers, Eterna of this era possess a high level of finish and engineering.

 

In late 1856, Dr. Joseph Girard and Urs Schild, a 28-year-old school teacher, founded Eterna – however, its products were ahead of their time, as wristwatches didn’t become fashionable until the early 1900s, but by this time Eterna had started to produce women’s wristwatches, adapted from small pocket watches. 

 

Eterna continued to be at the leading edge of watch development, and in 1908, it patented the world’s first alarm wristwatch, which went into production in 1914.  Eterna innovation didn’t stop here: the 1930s were an incredibly productive decade – it came out with the smallest production wristwatch with a Baguette movement, an eight-day alarm watch, and their first automatic watch.

 

Which brings us to the Eterna here – in the early 1960s, the company debuted the Eterna Matic 3000 Dato debuted the thinnest men's watch of the era, with a movement height of 3.6 mm. Accompanying this debut was also a women’s model – the one here – with a height of 4 mm, which proved to be a great success with women.

 

In 2009, a half-century after the Eterna-Matic, the "Spherodrive" once again highlighted the significance of tiny ball-bearings in mechanical watchmaking, reduced the wear and tear on internal parts, with Eterna adopting the image of five tiny ball bearings as its corporate logo – the company remains alive and well to this day.

 

This Eterna Sahida comes with the aforementioned original box, hang tag/manual, springbar tool, and hard plastic travel case.

1960s Eterna Matic Sahida Woman’s Mechanical Watch, w/Original Box and Manual

$224.99Price
  • DIAL: Eterna-signed dial with matching hands.

     

    CASE: Stainless-steel case, 22.5mm (23.5mm w/crown) x 26.5mm.  

     

    CRYSTAL: Domed acrylic crystal.

     

    BAND: Expanding Spiedel-like bracelet, will fit up to an approx. seven-inch wrist

     

    MOVEMENT: Eterna mechanical movement.

     

    CROWN: Eterna five-point logo-signed crown.

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