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Eterna was founded on 7 November 1856 in Grenchen, Switzerland, by physician Dr. Josef Girard and schoolteacher Urs Schild, initially as a manufacturer of movement blanks (ébauches). The company's most consequential invention came in 1948: the Eterna-Matic, the first automatic movement with its rotor mounted on five miniature ball bearings, dramatically reducing friction and wear. The innovation was significant enough that Eterna adopted five balls as its corporate logo, a mark it still carries today, and the ball-bearing rotor principle went on to become standard across the entire automatic watch industry. Eterna's movement-manufacturing arm was later spun off and grew into ETA, now the largest supplier of Swiss watch movements in the world.
At WATCHOYSTER, we carry a selection of certified pre-owned Eterna watches inspected in Switzerland. Every piece has been physically examined by our in-house certified watchmaker, verified against The Watch Register, and documented before listing. What you see reflects the actual condition of the watch, with no exceptions.
Few brands can claim to have invented a mechanism now used industry-wide, and Eterna's 1856 founding places it among the oldest continuously operating Swiss manufactures. The pre-owned market offers access to earlier Eterna-Matic and KonTiki references at a fraction of the price of comparably historic houses. Buying a certified second-hand Eterna from a verified dealer in Switzerland means every piece has been assessed for movement accuracy, case condition and dial integrity before listing. Our 12-month warranty applies to every watch in our catalogue, and our 14-day return policy covers any case where the watch does not correspond to its description.
All Eterna watches in our catalogue are available for immediate purchase with worldwide insured delivery. Standard delivery across Switzerland takes 2 to 3 business days. For clients who prefer to inspect the watch in person before completing the purchase, our appointment-only lounge in the Geneva Free Zone is available by prior arrangement.
0% financing is available on selected pre-owned Eterna references for clients based in Switzerland, with terms from 3 to 24 months, no interest and no administrative fees. The full purchase price is divided into equal monthly instalments, with a minimum first payment of 25%. A decision takes under three minutes at checkout, with no documentation required beyond standard order information.