This is a little known fact, but if you walk into any given store that sells luxury wristwatches, it is a virtual guarantee that MOST of the watches there are NOT powered by their own movements.

What?!?

That’s right!  Your shiny new Breitling and your indestructible Omega have movements in them (or “engines” for the layperson) that are NOT made by them.

But don’t fret, they’re not the only ones…

Brands that you have learned to love such as IWC, Rado, Porsche Design, Panerai, Tag Heuer, and even my beloved Hamilton, you’ll be shocked to learn, do not function under their own steam.  Virtually all of them, and I do mean ALL of them, use some form of ETA movement in their watches.

You may not have heard of the name, but ETA is the legendary Swiss movements manufacturer whose constant supply of blank watch movements have made it possible for the Swiss watch industry to exist.

I’m not kidding either, ETA is pretty much the entire Swiss watch industry, and if it were to disappear from the Earth the very next day, the whole of the Swiss watch industry would cease to exist.

It would actually be infinitely easier for me to name all the watch “manufacturers” that DO make their own movements as opposed to those who rely solely on ETA for theirs.

(Here we go:  Rolex, Zenith, Patek Philippe, and maybe a few others…)

Here is one of ETA’s movements which you can see through the back of my beautiful Hamilton:

Hamilton H64455533 Men’s Khaki King Automatic Black Dial Strap, Free Shipping

So how does it work?

Well basically ETA ships off blank, unused movements to pretty much all the Swiss watch companies for use in their watches.  The movements are then modified and fitted into various watches.  In some cases they are very heavily modified, such as the case with Omega’s co-axial movement.  After that is done, the watch companies etch their name and logos all over the movement and ship ‘em off to the consumers, who are none the wiser.

Notice any similarities between these these three watches?

Breitling Chrono Cockpit – A1335812/C654-SP Gents Watch


Omega Speedmaster Date Chronograph Automatic Men’s Watch Stainless Steel Black Dial 3210.52

TAG Heuer Men’s Link Automatic Chronograph Watch #CJF2150.BB0595

These watches may be made by three entirely different watch companies that embody three different design characteristics, but the under-workings are exactly the same.

You’ll notice that the date window is at the 3 o’clock positions, and you’ll notice that the seconds hand is at the 9 o’ clock position sub-dial.  You operate the chronograph by pushing the pusher at the 2 o’clock position, and you reset it with the pusher at the 4 o’clock position.  Yes the workings of these watches are very similar indeed…

Coincidence?

I don’t think it takes a genius to figure out my point here, and that is that the three different watches from three very different, and well known watch companies, are based off the same chronograph movement, and yup, you guessed it…

… it’s an ETA movement!

One thing I’m doing that is very wrong, and I admit, is that I’m talking about all of this as though it were a bad thing.  But it’s not!

There’s a very good reason why the whole of Switzerland turns to ETA for their movements.  Besides the fact that it’s much easier, cheaper for you and the manufacturer, and lazier that way, ETA makes outstanding movements that is better than what most of the “watchmakers” in Switzerland can ever come up with.

They aren’t very pretty to look at, and they aren’t “handmade” or “in-house” as the watch connoisseurs like to obsess about, but they work very very well, and when it comes to building high-quality, albeit simple movements, ETA is the best in the business.

I personally don’t get it when people obsess about things being “hand made.”  It is my personal preference to have something, especially something as small as a watch, made with the microscopic precision and unwavering nature of a machine rather than the fat fingers of a fondue eating, mountain dwelling goat tender.

Rantings aside,  the bottom line is that what you probably didn’t know about many of the fine watch brands you’ve been drooling about, you now know.  But don’t let that be a deterrent.  If anything, let that be an assurance that what you are buying has got one solid movement.

These particular musings of your humble presenter add very little value to the pursuit of worldly knowledge I admit, but there is this current dilemma I am facing that I suspect might apply to all of you out of many things you may encounter in life.  You see, I have always been a fan of diving watches.  I drool over them, I lust after them, and I want them, but the problem is that I do so primarily by looking at pictures that look like THIS:

Ulysse Nardin Maxi Marine Diver Chronometer Mens’ Watch Automatic 18K Rose Gold Black Dial on Black Rubber Strap 266-33-3A/92

… And while watches like these looks fantastic, how does this picture, with the watch in its infinite white background, suggest how this watch might look on ME.

It is often the way with watches.  You can lust after them all you want, you can look at countless pictures, you can even see the way the watch looks on the wrists of others, but when it comes to the day when you walk in the jewelry store ready to meet your dream, you look at it and are forced to concede that it will never work.

Perhaps it is your forest of black arm hair, perhaps it’s your twiggy excuse for a wrist, or perhaps it is the clash of a fine watches with your awful sense of style.  Whatever the reason, it just does not work and you are forced to move on.

In MY particular pursuit of the perfect watch, however, I will share the story of how I accidentally stumbled upon THIS:

TAG Heuer Men’s Monaco Automatic Chronograph Watch #CW2111.FC6177

This is a Tag Heuer Monaco, and as a watch I have always known that they existed, but for some unknown reason, I had largely ignored them.  I don’t know what it was, but I just never liked square watches.  They just never seemed to show time symmetrically somehow…

The way I stumbled on it was entirely on accident as well…

Basically I was going through a mall waiting for my wife to do whatever it is she does at the mall, and just saw that at a jewelry store was having a going out of business sale.

Entering out of pure curiosity, that’s when I saw it!

It didn’t really catch my eye at first, and the way it was kind of tossed in with the other clearance watches didn’t give it much of a sense of aura, but when I slapped it on my wrist…

IT…

WAS…

MAGIC!!!

I really don’t know what to say, but when I put that watch on me it was like getting a B-12 shot right into my veins.  It was just a sensational blend, as though milk met coffee for the very first time.  I just couldn’t believe I could instantly fall in love with a watch the way I did with the Monaco.  The last I had a feeling like this was with a Hamilton, and I got it!

I can’t rationalize it either, no matter how hard I try.

It has no form of water resistance whatsoever, it has one of those stupid automatic chronographs which make it hard to time things longer than 1 minute, and it’s got the date as part of a sub-dial, which just causes confusion.

I don’t care!!!

All I know is that when I wore this watch, it was like two galaxies got together and started to mate.

It felt just right, and I suspect that when comes the day I can shop for such a goody again, it will be this.