WT_2008_02: MOVEMENTS: ETA 2892

MOVEMENTSETA 2892Maurice Lacroix MasterpieceJours RetrogradesWhy is the ETA 2892 so Popular? Experts Weigh In“The ETA 2892A2 self-winding mechanical movement is withouta doubt the caliber that’s used most frequently as a base for thedevelopment of complication modules. Produced in large quantitybut also with good quality, this movement offers a reliableperformance. Furthermore, it’s rather slim – one of the slimmestmovements in this category. This makes it an ideal base for interestingcomplications. It satisfies all our demands with regardto stability, quality and industrialization. Analyses conducted byour watchmakers show that we can rely on it to provide the highquality that we insist upon for our own calibers. Thanks to its“The ETA 2892 has many positive aspects, two of which deserveparticular mention: superlative isochronism andsmall dimensions. This movement’s diverse spectrum ofmodules satisfies the specific requirements that wereceive from our R&D division as specifications foreach new development. For example, we use theETA 2892 as the base caliber for a Parsifal model into“We use the ETA 2892 as the base movement forapproximately 20 of our module movements. Eachmodule is developed with Dubois Dépraz, whichproduces it exclusively for Breitling. As long ago asthe 1960s, Dubois Dépraz already had the idea of alwaysusing the same basic movement as the powervarious advantages, which include highquality, stable performance and low overallheight, the ETA 2892 offers plenty oflatitude for us to put our own ideas intopractice. These reasons are why it’s so popularin the watch industry, but this popularitycan also cause capacity problems.”— Sandro Reginelli, Product Director, MauriceLacroixwhich we’ve integrated the power-reserve displayas a complication module provided by La Joux-Perret. We’re verysatisfied with the options offered by this caliber. It fully satisfiesour expectations and our demands. One could, however, enlargethe movement’s basic size in order to meet the future need forlarger watches and thus larger openings.”— Eric Yersin, Technical Director, Raymond Weilsource. For Breitling, this always meant a chronograph plus additionalfunctions such as a big date, a flyback function, a counterfor 30 elapsed seconds for the chronograph, and similar additionalfunctions. The ETA 2892 delivers very high performance ina small package and offers us numerous options.”— Jean-Paul Girardin, Vice-President, BreitlingBreitlingBlackbird“The ETA 2892 is a mature movement and it worksvery reliably. Thanks to its low height, it can be usedvery flexibly. Plenty of diversity is assured through thedifferent add-ons with various functions such aschronograph, power-reserve display or second timezone. There’s essentially no need to improve thismovement. Of course, at a certain price level, a customerhas a right to expect a wristwatch to contain abase movement made by the watch’s brand. The powerreserve could be lengthened to last more than 46hours. As a base movement, the ETA 2892 has itslimitations: practically only modular add-onsare possible, and the stability, size andtorque all have their limits. That’s why forthe new world-time module in Eterna’sPorsche Design Worldtimer, we had to relyon an ETA-Valgranges movement becausethe module wouldn’t have fit on anETA 2892.”— Patrick Kury, Technical Director, EternaEternaDivermodels supporting a wide array of additionalfunctions.The ETA 2892 also serves as a basefor more exacting demands — at least until2010, when ETA, with permissionfrom the Swiss legal authorities, will terminatesales of movement kits. Untilthen, specialized enhancers such asDubois Dépraz, La Joux-Perret and Soprodwill continue to offer everythingone’s heart could possibly desire: engravings,rotors crafted from precious metals,PVD coatings, etc. The modules includechronographs, power-reserve displays,and a repeater movement with chimes.The trusty 2892A2 served as the base forOmega’s Caliber 2500, introduced in1999, the first to incorporate GeorgeDaniels’s co-axial escapement. All that’smissing is a tourbillon. Then again, awatch with a tourbillon wouldn’t run anymore accurately than the officially certifiedchronometer version of the ETA2892A2. 132 WatchTime April 2008