Clone eta 2836-2 movement where would you buy?

[Timelord]

Greetings friends!

 

I am in the process of replacing an eta movement in a sentimental replica and looked at some clones on ebay.  Now I have heard mixed reactions on which clones to buy.  I would welcome any feedback on any experiences any of you might have  on which clones seem like a good gamble to buy and which ones to avoid.  The price difference is very small and if I were to pay more for one over the other would not bother me.  They are all made in China and my understanding is that they are assembled dry and need servicing before installation. Sometimes more expensive isn't always better so any advice would be most welcome as I am all ears. Many thanks in advance!!

Edited June 27, 2018 by Timelord
Typo error

[TAG Heuer]

Take a look overhere:

Cousinuk

 

Eta movements for a solid price

[HorFan]

I've purchased a number of clones from eBay sellers "carbinet2009" and "bjbjcs" , both have provided me with clean, well working clones at a good price.

[Timelord]

2 hours ago, HorFan said:

I've purchased a number of clones from eBay sellers "carbinet2009" and "bjbjcs" , both have provided me with clean, well working clones at a good price.

Many thanks!!!  I will track them down and give both a go!

i rarely buy horology parts from ebay due to my previous unpleasant experiences.  However, I won't paint all sellers with the same brush, which is good to know from others like yourself  which narrows down the risks where to pull the trigger!  

2 hours ago, TAG Heuer said:

Take a look overhere:

Cousinuk

 

Eta movements for a solid price

Many Thanks!!

the last time I enquired with them, they only had the 2824 version.  Now they have become stricter with their website.

[bobandshawn]

If you're interested I can post an almost new ETA 2836 for about the clone price. I really need a 2824...

 

B

[mrsoundman]

If you're CONUS, I would recommend Clark (nostalgia-2000) on ebay.

[hanski]

Do you need the Day function? If not, I would recommend you buy a SW200 from Otto Frei. Much better quality over the Asian clones albeit for twice the price (but almost half of a genuine ETA). 

[automatico]

If you have to pay someone to do the movement r/r it might be better to go with a fresh swiss Eta and be done with it.  Sometimes etaclones can cause problems and require parts or service.  Swiss Eta can too, but not as much and you can easily get parts for swiss Eta.

'Fresh' = inspected, cleaned and oiled, or new.  Things to look for in used movements are worn reversers, weak mainspring, worn setting parts, damaged screw heads, worn winding parts, worn rotor bearings, rust/corrosion etc.  If you need many parts you may soon be up to the cost of a new movement.

As far as clones go the Seagull brand is most highly respected of the Asian clones.  Problem is it is not so easy tell a Seagull movement from the other brands.  Most Seagull etaclone 28xx seem to have decorated top plates and rotor.

 

 

"I would recommend you buy a SW200 from Otto Frei."

 

SW200 is also a good choice but I do not know about the parts situation. 

 

 

"If you're interested I can post an almost new ETA 2836 for about the clone price."

 

Good offer.

 

[hanski]

9 minutes ago, automatico said:

SW200 is also a good choice but I do not know about the parts situation. 

Parts are VERY readily available and cheaper than ETA parts (albeit ETA parts are interchangeable). 

[Timelord]

8 hours ago, automatico said:

 

'Fresh' = inspected, cleaned and oiled, or new.  

 

 Definitely  better new!! regardless of what the preacher preaches ,Hands down!!  

 

Inspected, cleaned and oiled?  once bitten = twice shy! Got a bad deal with 2 mvts from a reputable seller here three years ago that claimed exactly  this, but were only partially serviced from what was visible where the rest of movts was dry and dirty - not to mention non functioning reverser wheels, very weak mainspring   The same dilemma when buying a used car!

9 hours ago, mzinski said:

Do you need the Day function? If not, I would recommend you buy a SW200 from Otto Frei. Much better quality over the Asian clones albeit for twice the price (but almost half of a genuine ETA). 

The day function movement allows room for a DWO.  The non day function like the eta2824 will no work properly for a case designed for a 2836 or for one in need of a DWO

8 hours ago, automatico said:

 Problem is it is not so easy tell a Seagull movement from the other brands.  

 

Very true!

 

[hanski]

On 6/27/2018 at 6:29 PM, Timelord said:

The day function movement allows room for a DWO.  The non day function like the eta2824 will no work properly for a case designed for a 2836 or for one in need of a DWO

That's a valid point. Using height #5 minute, hour, and second wheel/cannons along with a DW from a 2836 and a .5mm dial spacer helps with all of that. 

In any event, Sellita is a solid alternative to ETA and better made the the asian alternatives. The SW220-1 is the Sellita version of ETA 2836-2. The parts are interchangeable and Sellita parts are about 1/2 the price. 

http://www.ofrei.com/Sellita-Watch-Movement.html

[Timelord]

20 hours ago, mzinski said:

That's a valid point. Using height #5 minute, hour, and second wheel/cannons along with a DW from a 2836 and a .5mm dial spacer helps with all of that. 

Thanks for that.  I was unaware that these hand height kits were also available for the Sellita mechanisms.  I recall doing something like this with an eta 2824 where I bought the kit on ebay.  Although I saved on having to buy an eta 2836, the cost of the kit ended up being quite expensive.  Ok if you have a spare movement to convert but it would be wiser to buy the correct movement in the first place to avoid this extra expense such as the SW220-1

 

20 hours ago, mzinski said:

The parts are interchangeable and Sellita parts are about 1/2 the price. 

http://www.ofrei.com/Sellita-Watch-Movement.html

I checked the prices which are almost identical for the complete movement as if you were to buy a genuine eta on ebay.  You can get new eta 2836 on ebay ranging from USD150 to USD185 which averages out to the same if not cheaper. I managed to pick up a tissot eta in Australia sealed in a a silver bag for just under USD200 in my last project.  Than again it depends on where you buy

[hanski]

6 hours ago, Timelord said:

genuine eta

I recently learned Sellita used to be a Swiss manufacturer of ETA movements until the patents ran out. At that point they opted to create their own brand with the same movements. This is to say, when you buy a Sellita you’re essentially buying an ETA with a different name. 

 

6 hours ago, Timelord said:

You can get new eta 2836 on ebay ranging from USD150 to USD185

Pay close attention to what you’re getting on eBay - there are 4 different levels of quality of ETA and several variations of jewel shock protection. I believe the gold colored ones are typically the Economic (lowest) grade while the nickel ones are standard grade. Anyways, this is to say the same movement number is not a one to one comparison. 

[Timelord]

16 hours ago, mzinski said:

Pay close attention to what you’re getting on eBay - there are 4 different levels of quality of ETA and several variations of jewel shock protection. I believe the gold colored ones are typically the Economic (lowest) grade while the nickel ones are standard grade. Anyways, this is to say the same movement number is not a one to one comparison. 

Totally agree!!!  The one I purchased was sealed in its silver bag which had Tissot stamped on the rotor and was rhodium colored.  That was approximately just under USD200 which was approximately what some unsealed  sellitas were selling for.  As for anything that is labeled "new without tags" will always scratch my paranoia as they could be Asian clones with eta stampings and a good trap for the untrained eye!  As for cloning, very soon with today's technology, you may be able to clone a Picasso and fool untrained billionaires! Lol!

[horologist]

Any updates with the results???

 

I am very curious as I wasn't in particularly lucky with mine. 

 

I purchased one from a reputable dealer (source not disclosed as he is a good dealer) and when it arrived it seemed like a nice fresh clean movement that seems to be a good economical substitute for the real McCoy.  I went for and paid more for it than the usual ones as this was regarded as a better quality one than ones sold mainstream. Advertising marketing jargon as they say!!!

 

When I replaced  the dial I had problems getting the feet to latch on.  I thought that the feet had bent but trying it on the genuine movement they fitted in without any problems.  Upon trying on the clone again I had problems and had to juggle the dial to slightly bend on of the feet to fit it on.

 

I fitted it into the case and noticed that the keyless works were rough as guts. The stem would not set properly with time setting and also with rapid date change.  The new stem needed to be recut to fit the crown. 

 

This is where it gets better. 

I put the stem in time setting position as I have done since the beginning of time and removed the stem.

Upon resizing the stem,  I place it in and the winder is stuck in the calendar position.  Yes, you guessed it, the yoke slipped out of place even in the mythical magical position that everyone swears by to avoid readjusting your keyless works.  My biggest fears were realised when I had to remove the dial again after a painful ordeal of fitting it on.  Upon adjusting the keyless works and resetting the datewheel on, it kept on falling off.  I removed the DWO to see what the problem was.  The jumper spring was damaged.  Don't know how that happened but may be it was already faulty.  Don't' know???  Maybe I did it when putting it on. 

 

I removed one off the dead original and fitted  everything back on.

 

Fingers crossed!!!!

Casing the movement and trying to set the time, the hands fell off.  Remove the movement again and I notice that the dial feet had broken off.  I now know I was at a huge loss, so I dismantled both movements for my curiously and noticed that the feet holes in the clone were slightly off.  Incidentally the clone was also dry in many places without oil so it would have stopped after 6 months anyway.

 

Now this is not the first time I have done this as the other dozen times it all went smooth with a genuine eta.

 

The time I spent on this I could have worked it as overtime at work and bought myself 3 genuine movements.  There is much debate that the clones are becoming indistinguishable from the genuine but that is a myth because you can see the roughness of the clones and you develop an eye for it.  Will I buy another clone again???

You guessed it!!!.  Will you put your hand in the fire twice?  I can guess that one too!!!

Just my experience with my clone movement

[Timelord]

On ‎7‎/‎24‎/‎2018 at 11:30 AM, horologist said:

Any updates with the results???

 

I am very curious as I wasn't in particularly lucky with mine. 

 

 

Hi

 

and sorry for the delay.  In the interest of those that may be in the same boat, I am now in a position to share my experiences with my very first clone. 

 

Firstly, thanks to all of you who have responded and forwarded feedback!!!!  I appreciate and value whatever information I am privileged to receive.  It goes a long way!!!!!

 

My experiences were not all bad for the price I paid.  Yet I would THINK TWICE before taking the same road again!!!  I noticed that the dial spacer was not as flat nor as accurate as the ones I have always got with my genuine eta which caused problems with the dial feet not fitting right through the hole for the hook to latch onto.  I tired to sand it down so that there was some grip.  I then noticed that the DWO was rubbing under the dial as the spacer was not as thick to compensate for the dial foot to grip onto the hook!!  BUMMER!!!!!!!  Somehow the datewheel flipped off!!!! As for being 1:1  with the genuine, this is the very first sign that you have a fake eta.  I deliberately use the word "FAKE" in all contents of the word.

 

I ended up having to buy a new spacer so that I could put epoxy into the hole of where the dial foot was inserted as the foot was not long enough to grip onto the hook.  Something frowned upon by professional watchmakers!!!!.  It works and tells the time running 5 seconds per day slow.  I can live with this.  However, the datewheel does not work regardless of how many times I removed it and replaced it and got to the point that I f!u@#$  up the DWO.  I glued a piece of the DWO under the dial to cover the mechanism from showing through the date window.  Spending an extra $100 for a genuine would have been a lot cheaper and definitely would have paid off but when it needs a service I will toss this junk movement out and replace it with a genuine as it would cost more to service than to replace it with a proper eta as this case has been discontinued. That's it folks!!!!