I am hoping members from this forum could help me identify which year and model this eterna matic this is.

When my grandfather passed he gave it to my father. My father has gave it to me. It’s a wind up mechanism (no battery). My mother communicated to me along time ago that she thinks it is 18 karat gold. The band is super-thin and I’ve not seen one like this on any of the watches that I saw online so I was thinking that maybe it is an aftermarket band?

There is a story that I am trying to confirm about my grandfather working for the eterna matic account to do their advertising and thus why he either received the watch as a gift/partial compensation or at a discount.

In 2014 I brought it to a watch specialist to have the dial cleaned up a little bit and asked him to replace the glass but he did not want to change the glass because he thought it would be hard to find and also run the uniqueness and originality of the watch. So it has some scratches on the glass but overall was well taken care of over the years and we believe my grandfather got it in the 60s but I’m sure you guys could all confirm a more exact timeframe.

Most people I have shown it to over the years don’t give it much love. It doesn’t have the flash of some of these newer brands or the distinction and snob appeal of a Rolex obviously. I supposed to each their own. It is a very nice piece.

 

1. we can only decipher the year of production by seeing the serial number on the movement.
2. it's not purely a "wind-up" mechanism. it's an automatic winding movement. all eternas marked "eternamatic" from this era had full rotor automatic winding. if it had been been marked "eterna automatic" then it would have been a bumper auto. if marked merely eterna, then probably a hand-wind only. later on, say, after the late 70s, the dial printing became more fluid as to these distinctions. (edit- statement #2 relies on the correct dial markings. some refinished dials are incorrectly re-painted thus not emblematic of this notion.)
3. the only way to tell the content of the case is to look for an external hallmark, or to open it and read the caseback.
4. if the bracelet is not marked eterna, then yes, it's probably after-market.
5. in my opinion, the dial has been refinished.
6. it is a nice watch. eternas are my favorite vintage brand.

 

Good information here.

Indeed, the logo represents the 5 ball bearings that symbolize the patented Eterna-matic auto-winding mechanism.

At some point, perhaps the dial was damaged or in bad shape, so the owner had the dial re-painted.

It's a bit hard to tell, but is the case-back the same golden color as the rest of the case, or does it look like steel? If the back is stainless steel, then most likely the rest of the case is gold-plated or gold-filled.

Finally, Eterna watches from this era generally have both case and movement serial numbers. Can any numbers be read on the case or case-back?

 

yeah, I couldn't tell about the caseback color either.

but i'm really bad with colors, so...

 

What do they call it when the bezel & top surface are gold? Etrena made a lot of those, & this looks like one, to me.

 

I think they called them gold capped cases.

 

It could be, but it would help to see a photo of the bottom of the lugs in better lighting.

 

By the way, this thread is in the wrong place. It's not a review. If the OP reads this, in the future it would be better to post threads like this in the OTHER WATCH BRANDS FORUM. He will get more traffic.

 

I cannot see the serial numbers but it might be opened tomorrow at the jeweler and I will ask him to take a picture of it while it’s open. The second hand has been sticking during its way around. So I am having that looked at to see if that can be corrected.

The back of the case does look like a steel and not gold. The dial was discolored and crackled looking so I had a jeweler a few years ago refinish it and maybe I should not have done

 

Yes, bracelet is not marked eterna. So it must be after market which means maybe they added the 18 karat gold band after word and the watch might be plated gold. Dial has been refinished as of 2004. It had discoloration and crackling. I should have left of the crackled look to it but I just wanted to get it nicely done but maybe I should not have touched it

 

OK, thank you for providing this feedback. I have to pay more attention to these subjects and see where to post future questions.

 

It's a good looking dial, despite the work.
Redials are generally frowned upon here, due to collectors loving originality, & many redials being of aweful quality.
Take a good clear picture of the watch from the side, if you can, with as little reflexion as possible.

 

ok. so, several of your questions have been answered. the case is not 18k, it's gold cap over steel. my chronometer has the same style case and it's very nice. an approximation of the date of manufacture can be obtained of your watchmaker snaps a clear pic of the serial number. and the dial has been refinished.

I wouldn't beat yourself up too bad about that. my experience is that yes, collectors of swiss vintage watches are fairly strict about their desire for original dials. but you aren't planning on selling this, so that's kinda irrelevant. you didn't like the look of the dial and that's really all there is to it. as a family heirloom, you're just going to wear it and be happy.

sidenote- collectors of vintage American made watches aren't like this. a historically accurate and respectful re-painting isn't a deal killer to those guys. in fact, there are times when it can increase the value. end sidenote.

 

As far as I'm concerned it's the OP's watch, and he can do what he wants with it. If the dial was unacceptable to him, and it's an heirloom that he wants to enjoy, then a re-dial was a logical decision. It's not like this is a museum piece; a re-dial is not a crime against humanity.

At the time we mentioned the re-dial, the OP hadn't told us that he was already aware of it. So we were just passing on our observations.

 

I agree Dan. sometimes I feel bad about mentioning it though. I remember the excitement of posting a new watch to a board only to have the re-dial chorus shoot me down in a hot second. but...it was a lesson I had to learn in order to further my knowledge.