1942. While Europe is ablaze, Eterna emerges from its workshops in Grenchen with large diameter watches featuring black dials and luminous numbers… the same calibre 852 that equips the pilots of the Czechoslovak air force. Eighty-four years later, it has lost nothing: neither its dial, nor its hands, nor its luminous material. Nothing has been redone, nothing has been replaced, nothing has been polished… but it has been carefully serviced!
Staybrite steel case, ‘Jumbo’ format, wide and faceted lugs with still sharp edges, never polished. Screw-down back engraved Waterproof, Anti Magnetic, Shock Absorber, Swiss.
Original black dial, never restored, now tropicalised into a deep military black-grey-brown-green that changes with the light.
Railway track and small seconds counter at 6 o'clock printed in gilt.
Applied relief Arabic numerals, Fab. Suisse mentioned at 6 o'clock.
Indexes and hands: the original luminescent material is fully present on the twelve indexes as well as on the two hands, verified with a scintillation spectrometer. It has darkened over time, and this gives it its character: a dull, mineral contrast, impossible to reproduce.
Original gold lance-shaped stick hands.
Period fluted steel crown. V
ery good condition plexiglass crystal.
Light signs of use on the sides and the back, even patina.
Dimensions: 36.5 mm excluding crown, 38 mm including crown, lug to lug 43 mm, lug width 18 mm.
Eterna Calibre 852 S, manual, 15 jewels, 18,000 alt/h, shockproof device, no. 2957208. A movement of 14 lines (31.6 mm), nearly double the volume of a dressed calibre of the time: it is this that dictates the diameter of the case, and not the other way around.
Serviced in August 2026: complete disassembly and cleaning, detailed lubrication, adjustment. It works perfectly and keeps time very well.
Genuine leather strap handmade by an artisan, ecru stitching.
Delivery subject to the special margin scheme for taxation. VAT not deductible
1 year warranty
