Swiss ETA 2836-2, Asian 2836-2, difference and reliablity.

[Patek]

Hi Guys,

I had to give up on ETA 2671 (because of unavailability new Asian ETA 2671 and dubious used Swiss ETA 2671) and Rochest advised me to go for a Swiss or Asian ETA 2836-2 for a lady watch. How can I differentiate the two by just looking at the movements? And anybody has experience of having them in terms of reliability? What is the price difference between the two and in your opinion, is it worth the price difference to go for the Swiss version?

Thanks.

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[Jkay]

There are some subtle but definite tells between the Asian clone and Swiss ETA movements.

The balance wheel shock absorber and it's housing ..

The reversing wheels lightening holes

A particular area of the base plate casting ...

Presence of pearlage on a basic movement? (SeaGull)

As for reliability .. service both and they will each last a long time.

[krpster]

Jkay has summed it all up nicely. However, there is now a superclone 2836 that has fixed all of these minor details. So visually it is getting very difficult to tell them apart. Probably won't know until you try to replace a component with a genuine ETA part. When it won't fit, then you will know for sure, and this is the rub with a clone. Part compatibility is minimal.

[Jkay]

Jkay has summed it all up nicely. However, there is now a superclone 2836 that has fixed all of these minor details. So visually it is getting very difficult to tell them apart. Probably won't know until you try to replace a component with a genuine ETA part. When it won't fit, then you will know for sure, and this is the rub with a clone. Part compatibility is minimal.

It's true about the SuperClone but aren't the dealers charging a lot for those, since they are new? Why would they give them away, even to be dishonest

[Craig88]

It's true about the SuperClone but aren't the dealers charging a lot for those, since they are new? Why would they give them away, even to be dishonest

Would the REAL swiss not be more expensive than the superCLONE? Sounds ironic if the replica was more expensive than the movement it was replicating.

[Jkay]

Would the REAL swiss not be more expensive than the superCLONE? Sounds ironic if the replica was more expensive than the movement it was replicating.

While that sounds like a no-brainer, remember that for a year they tried to sell the Clone ETA with "swiss rolex decorations" for more than a gen ETA