tazzio Posted October 30, 2006 Report Share Posted October 30, 2006 Hi, I ordered recently two watch sold as with a Swiss ETA. But around the net I found that they are non a swiss eta, but Chinese made simile ETA, made from a company named 'Chi'. Someone have some information about quality difference between original and Chinese copy? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devedander Posted October 30, 2006 Report Share Posted October 30, 2006 I believe Chinese ETA are very good quality and Swiss ETA are excellent quality. Have you received your watch? Where did you order from? If you recieved it post pictures of the movement and people can help you tell what it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tazzio Posted October 30, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2006 (edited) I believe Chinese ETA are very good quality and Swiss ETA are excellent quality. Have you received your watch? Where did you order from? If you recieved it post pictures of the movement and people can help you tell what it is. No, I' didn't receive it yet; but you can see the photo attach. Edited October 30, 2006 by tazzio Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugwash Posted October 30, 2006 Report Share Posted October 30, 2006 I ordered recently two watch sold as with a Swiss ETA. Your movement looks like an ETA 2836-2. It's not made in Switzerland, I'm afraid. The good news is, however, that none of the movements are made in Swizerland. All the rep movements are made in China, and so are the genuines. It's a very long and involved tale that can be found by reading back through the informative posts in the knowledge area here on this very forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slickdick Posted October 30, 2006 Report Share Posted October 30, 2006 They are swiss parts assebled in china. They are swiss parts assembled in china. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crystalcranium Posted October 30, 2006 Report Share Posted October 30, 2006 They are swiss parts assebled in china. They are swiss parts assembled in china. Yes, part of my innocence busting education here. All ETA movements are made in China!!!!!!! All "Swiss Made" ETA movements are made in China and spit polished in Switzerland. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Category 5 Posted October 30, 2006 Report Share Posted October 30, 2006 Yes... you have nothing to worry about. The movement you are getting is the same as the tried-and-true, famous "Swiss" ETA family that are so well regarded here. Yes it is made in China, as most are, but it is considered by almost all dealers, and most enthusiasts to be a "Swiss" movement. Don't worry...it's one of the good ones. It will last a LONG time if you care for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gran Posted October 30, 2006 Report Share Posted October 30, 2006 I wish Klink aka Schulz aka phil could have answered on this thread he knew look at this link for details about Chinese made quality movements: http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showto...amp;hl=sea-gull For example here is a Chinese 2824-like movement Regards Gunnar The Horologist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugwash Posted October 30, 2006 Report Share Posted October 30, 2006 Your movement looks like an ETA 2836-2. Excuse my brain fart. It's a 2824, of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r11co Posted October 30, 2006 Report Share Posted October 30, 2006 Excuse my brain fart. It's a 2824, of course. Excusable. They look identical from the back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryyannon Posted October 30, 2006 Report Share Posted October 30, 2006 They are swiss parts assebled in china. They are swiss parts assembled in china. Damn! I finally understand the difference.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris5264 Posted October 30, 2006 Report Share Posted October 30, 2006 As far as movements, I'm a beginner but I personally have found many differences in quality between a real, as in assembled in Switzerland and the Asian versions of the 6497. After my Pam 249 took a dump (The Zigmeister wrote up a review of the problems with this movement) I switched the movement with a gen swiss 6497 from otto frei. The decoration on the Asian was so nice I had to switch over at least a few parts. It turns out the bridge screws are not the same size, the gens are a fraction larger. Just this morning I was trying to put in another Asian 6497 and couldn’t get the case clamp screw in, after about 10 frustrating mins I figured out it was tapped totally incorrectly and no screw could fit in it. On another Asian 6497 the part of the case that holds the click down was the wrong size so if you tightened down the click screw, the click wouldn’t move. The movement is pretty useless right now. IMO, the extra quality control you get with swiss made makes a small, but noticeable difference. My task now is to find a source for a highly decorated swiss 6497 or 6498 (I have the railmaster coming soon and will likely change the movement). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chronus Posted October 30, 2006 Report Share Posted October 30, 2006 My task now is to find a source for a highly decorated swiss 6497 or 6498 (I have the railmaster coming soon and will likely change the movement). Tourbillon1801 had the Swiss ETA 6498 movements highly decorated. Ask him if he still has any. As for Swiss-made, etc, I was told by a watchmaker here, that those ETA movements coming from Switzerland are nickle-plated and the Chine-made ones are gold/brass colour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugwash Posted October 30, 2006 Report Share Posted October 30, 2006 As for Swiss-made, etc, I was told by a watchmaker here, that those ETA movements coming from Switzerland are nickle-plated and the Chine-made ones are gold/brass colour. Yeah, but I don't believe that either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chronus Posted October 30, 2006 Report Share Posted October 30, 2006 This guy knows about reps and all of that too, (doesn't really do work on them, probably burned out from working all day on them!) so I am taking him at his word for now. Not that it makes a huge amount of difference as long as it works well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gran Posted October 30, 2006 Report Share Posted October 30, 2006 that those ETA movements coming from Switzerland are nickle-plated and the Chine-made ones are gold/brass colour. There is some truth in that regarding new ETA 2836 and 2824 movements but look at this chinese movement its not golden It is in some respects similar to a ETA 2892 in others not Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornerstone Posted October 30, 2006 Report Share Posted October 30, 2006 As for Swiss-made, etc, I was told by a watchmaker here, that those ETA movements coming from Switzerland are nickle-plated and the Chine-made ones are gold/brass colour. Even ETA's own website shows that the movements are available in a 'pick 'n' mix' of finishes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finepics Posted October 31, 2006 Report Share Posted October 31, 2006 There is some truth in that regarding new ETA 2836 and 2824 movements but look at this chinese movement its not golden It is in some respects similar to a ETA 2892 in others not That is a Chinese copy of the 2893 but not an exact copy as the balance wheel has a different bridge so the rotor is what gives the aesthetic similarity. ETA has a factory in China so many of the Swiss brand name wtaches use ETA movts which will have been made in their Chinese plants but finished in the Swiss factory with special decoration. This does not mean they are asian movts in our terms. Asian movts in our language means those such as the copy of the 6497 and the 7750 - all are distinguishable by the lower price. The 6497 movts with the PAM bridges described as Swiss ETA are genuine ETA movts that have been adapted by making new bridge plates but are still an ETA with regard to the gear train and other moving parts. Some of them now (the ones that have the correct shaped regulateur) use a mix of ETA and asian parts (such as the asian balance wheel and going train) which gives them the same beat rate as the genuine ETA 6498 that Panerai actually use and better appearance, but these movts are the ones that have had problems with an incorrectly positioned balance spring and also have a different style pallet bridge (a pallet [censored] to be precise). So the trade off here is better overall aesthetics with higher unreliability risk but these are still described as a Swiss ETA. The movt Tazzio shows is clearly genuine ETA (regardless if made in China) as the ETA marks are visible under the balance wheel and yes it is a 2824. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fotoman Posted October 31, 2006 Report Share Posted October 31, 2006 The chinese are copying the eta movements Here is the reality - the "swiss eta" movements are high quality - maybe even some are oiled the "asian" ones are the made less quality control, less pretty, maybe more dirt. if you read the The Zigmeister reviews you will find that the etas are generally put together better. So - look, if you want a gen eta, buy the 5k watch or pay the 300 bucks for a gen on ebay or whatever and put it in the 200 watch you have but, when you do get the ETA, your paying for a better quality put togethe rmovement. again - is it japanese made? is it american made? what if they are all made by luxemborgians, but in germany Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archibald Posted October 31, 2006 Report Share Posted October 31, 2006 Once you cut past all the rumor, speculation, and ass talking that goes on about movements on this forum, there are only 2 basic questions: 1)Is a given movement made in an ETA factory or at a chinese factory that makes similar movements and/or near-exact copies of ETA movements? 2)If the movement was made in an ETA factory (no matter where) was it subjected to euqally stringent quality control standards that 100% Swiss mademovements are subject to? If you have a movement made in China in a non ETA factory all bets are off--quality depends on the movement model (they range from really good to complete crap--do your DD on the search page) and even the individual piece itself (Almost all of our watchsmiths agree that there can be lots of variation between individual pieces) As far as question #2: A lot of unnecessary teeth gnashing, IMO. Think about it: Given the number of movements ETA sells and the percentage of them made outside of switzerland, they would go out of business in months if they had less stringent QQ in it's non-swiss factories than they do in their swiss factories Bottom line: If a watch is powered by a legitimate ETA movement, I don't worry. If a watch is powered by a well regarded Chinese movement, I don't worry but have it serviced immediately upon delivery. If a watch is powered by a poorly regarded chinese movement, I don't buy it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JosePR Posted October 31, 2006 Report Share Posted October 31, 2006 nice thread, i like it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chronus Posted October 31, 2006 Report Share Posted October 31, 2006 nice thread, i like it Ditto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugwash Posted October 31, 2006 Report Share Posted October 31, 2006 As far as question #2: A lot of unnecessary teeth gnashing, IMO. Think about it: Given the number of movements ETA sells and the percentage of them made outside of switzerland, they would go out of business in months if they had less stringent QQ in it's non-swiss factories than they do in their swiss factories Indeed, but our ETAs powering replicas are not QCed as much as the ones in, say, Tissot watches as we don't have the final pass in Switzerland to give it that "Swiss Made" touch. You can tell this as so many of the ETA 2836 movements we get are lacking in a five-swiss-oils kinda service and the like. Or so I'm led to believe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r11co Posted October 31, 2006 Report Share Posted October 31, 2006 Indeed, but our ETAs powering replicas are not QCed as much as the ones in, say, Tissot watches as we don't have the final pass in Switzerland to give it that "Swiss Made" touch. You can tell this as so many of the ETA 2836 movements we get are lacking in a five-swiss-oils kinda service and the like. Or so I'm led to believe. Absolutely! 'Back door' stock is a common phenomenon where items are made under licence in the Far East. There is of course the point that ETA themselves grade their movements and mark them accordingly (The Zigmeister did a fantastic post about this over on old RWG) so they are willing to accept there are tolerances in their product. Furthermore, ETA will use different parts in production depending on availability (eg. the shock protection on the balance wheel can be either Incabloc or KIF-Flector, distinguishable by the different shape of the retaining spring). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tazzio Posted October 31, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2006 WOW... what a thread ... and it's my first thread :-) If CHI ETA is made in China (ok, maybe with a Swiss parts), why ALL the dealer sell them as a 'Swiss ETA' and not 'Chinese ETA'?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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