so china finaly cloned the swiss eta 28XX

[FxrAndy]

I PMed Paul for some information and he basicaly said it was the same and in his words "Quality almost same" what that can mean i thing we have to wait for an expert to get one. In his PM he said the way to spot one was that thew stamping is a lot more promenant and easier to read and that is true, also the logo is placed to the left more so that the balence cuts off the whole top not just the top left corner. and the absence of the "DM" stamp, does any one know what that denotes! have a look for your selves I have just looked at my ETAs that are visible and all look like the swiss versian including the "DM".

[alligoat]

There are a few subtle differences including the absence of the DM, the jewel at the balance, the rotor ball bearing assembly, the plastic ring in lieu of the metal ring and no hold down tabs and screws.

Whether or not parts will be interchangable will be the acid test for these new movements.

[Chronus]

the absence of the "DM" stamp, does any one know what that denotes!

DM = Danger Mouse

[Guest carlsbadrolex]

I guess I dont understand the desire to have a replica ETA movement... Seems to me that now that the Asians are making copies of copies, we will no longer be able to get the Swiss ETA's. OR they are going to raise the prices even more on the Swiss ones, so that the basic replica can only be afforded with the Asian ones.

Seems like a really BAD thing to me. And I personally would not buy a watch with an Asian copy of an ETA movement.

[Pugwash]

There are a few subtle differences including the absence of the DM, the jewel at the balance, the rotor ball bearing assembly, the plastic ring in lieu of the metal ring and no hold down tabs and screws.

...and the different font used for the "2836" writing.

[BlingIsMyGame]

WOW that's scary. i think this is where my rep journey will stop. At least the movement should be high quality and not a phony like the rest of the watch.

Fake ETA movements?... its so sad

[alligoat]

I really don't think there's any point in getting upset about the cloning of the ETA movt. In fact, I'm happy to see it in many respects.

First of all, remember that with any movement in a replica watch, Swiss ETA, chinese 21j, asian 7750, there is the question of what condition is the movement in when it arrives at your door. As Ziggy says, these are "surplus movts" and I tend to agree. So even a Swiss ETA may need to be serviced and it could be sooner than later- I had one crap out on me in 3 weeks. Also, I've had my watchmaker service a couple of chinese 21j's- now hopefully they'll keep running for a few more years w/o problems. So just because you have a "Swiss" movt doesn't mean you're out of the woods. When you buy a rep, you have to keep in mind that it may require servicing.

Secondly, we all know that Swatch Group has been talking about no longer selling ETA movements to every swinging yahoo. These chinese copys will hopefully be a good substitution. And if you have to service them, so be it. All things considered, you've still got a nice watch at a reasonable price. If you're unhappy, go buy a quartz, a knock-off or an inexpensive gen- damn, there's a tons of them around and they're generally good watches. They just don't have the prestigious name that a rep has!

I have the River noobmariner w/ the 2836 clone movement and I must say I'm very happy with it. For $99 it's a great deal and if I have to service it, big deal.

[Chronus]

it's a question of finding parts. ETA parts will (hopefully) still be availabe in future to service ETA movements... with these Asian movements, it's a cr@p shoot. Where do you find parts for the older Asian 7750 movements now it has been superceded by the so-called "b1" movement? Where do you find parts and hands for the "b1" movement if you can't send it to someone like The Zigmeister, and even then he has limited spare parts.

[FxrAndy]

WOW that's scary. i think this is where my rep journey will stop. At least the movement should be high quality and not a phony like the rest of the watch.

Fake ETA movements?... its so sad

What movements have you been getting so far? And if you read ziggys breakdown of the last copy of the 2836 he was very impressed. After 2010 you will not see a gen ETA outside of the swatch group and all this type of movement will be either very surplus and fell into a box at the side of the ETA poduction line or copys like this, as lond at it is put together well and lubricated properly it should be fine.