Eterna-Matic Vintage Automatic Watch, Five-Dot Ball-Bearing Rotor, 17 Jewels, circa 1950s — view 1 of 4 — View 1 of 4 · Image: Sphere Auctions LLC / LiveAuctioneers · original image source (opens another website in a new tab)

View 1 of 4 · Image: Sphere Auctions LLC / LiveAuctioneers · original image source (opens another website in a new tab)

Wristwatches · Wristwatch

Eterna-Matic Vintage Automatic Watch, Five-Dot Ball-Bearing Rotor, 17 Jewels, circa 1950s

DocumentedDocumented from an auction catalogue; attribution as stated by the auction house.

Maker / attribution: Eterna (maker)
Date: c. 1950s
Historical period: Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
Country of origin: Switzerland
Object type: Wristwatch
Auction house: LiveAuctioneers auction archive
Lot: Item 237318579
Credit line: Auction lot record: lot 319, EXCLUSIVE WATCHES AND POCKET WATCHES 13, Sphere Auctions LLC (2026), via LiveAuctioneers
Catalogue title (original): Eterna-Matic Vintage Automatic Watch, Five-Dot Ball-Bearing Rotor, 17 Jewels, circa 1950s (English)

View the source record (auction lot) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction

Record summary

Catalogued by LiveAuctioneers auction archive (lot Item 237318579), this is a wristwatch by Eterna, made in Switzerland, dated c. 1950s. The Atlas places it in the Modern Mechanical Horology period (1945 – 1969) of its Wristwatches collection. The record is illustrated with 4 photographs.

Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.

Catalogue description

Lot description — Sphere Auctions LLC

This is a vintage Eterna-Matic automatic wristwatch in a stainless steel case measuring 25.47mm in diameter (via caliper, excluding crown), with stepped lugs and a signed crown. The dial reads ETERNA-MATIC below the signature five-dot logo (representing the five ball bearings in Eterna's pioneering automatic rotor design), with applied Arabic numerals at 12, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10, dagger-style markers elsewhere, and a combined minute track plus a secondary numbered scale to 120 (a pulsations-style "base 30" scale common on dress watches of the era).The inner case back is stamped ETERNA WATCH CO. SWISS and ACIER INOXYDABLE (French for stainless steel), with a partially legible reference number and a retailer's scratched signature reading E. ISOARD. The outer case back is stamped with serial number 3343086. The movement, visible through the case back, is stamped ETERNA WATCH CO., SEVENTEEN 17 JEWELS, UNADJUSTED SWISS, BREV. DEP., with serial 3291623, and ETERNA-MATIC engraved around the rotor bridge.The dial shows overall warm patina and aging consistent with its age, and the case shows light wear typical of a vintage piece this old. This watch is running.

Historical context

Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)

Tool watches for divers, pilots and astronauts; electric watches anticipate the electronic age.

The classic era of the mechanical wristwatch: dive watches, chronographs for motor racing and space flight, GMT watches for jet travel, slim dress watches, automatic calendars, and the rise of Japanese manufacturers alongside Swiss, American, German and Soviet industries.

Read the period in the timeline More wristwatches from this period Earlier: Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking

Atlas type guide

Automatic (self-winding) watches

Self-winding watches use the wearer's motion to wind the mainspring. Abraham-Louis Perrelet and Breguet made 'perpétuelle' pocket watches with oscillating weights in the late eighteenth century, but the principle only became practical in the wristwatch. John Harwood patented a bumper automatic in 1923; Rolex's Perpetual rotor (1931) winding in one direction, and later bidirectional rotors (Eterna, Felsa Bidynator), established the modern form. Micro-rotors (Universal Genève, Buren) and peripheral rotors made automatic watches thinner.

What to look for

A semicircular rotor turning 360° over the movement, or a 'bumper' weight that rebounds between springs.
'Automatic', 'Perpetual' or 'Self-winding' on the dial.
A sealed screw-back case, since automatic watches are wound less often by the crown.

Dating clues

Bumper automatics: 1923–c. 1955.
Full rotors: from 1931 (Rolex); widespread after c. 1950.
Micro-rotors: from 1954–1958.

General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.

Mechanisms mentioned

Jewel bearings — Component
Self-winding (automatic) mechanism — Component

Record completeness

Maker or attributionRecorded
DateRecorded
Place or countryRecorded
MaterialsNot in source
DimensionsNot in source
Narrative descriptionRecorded
Inscriptions / marksNot in source
ProvenanceNot in source
Several photographsRecorded

Editorial status: Documented — facts as published by the source; not independently verified by Atlas editors.

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Sources & image rights

Record source: LiveAuctioneers auction archive (opens another website in a new tab).

Image rights: © Sphere Auctions LLC / LiveAuctioneers — permission required (opens another website in a new tab).

Images are hosted by the Atlas for study and credited to their owner. Rights holders may request correction, credit changes or removal, or grant permission, via the editorial office.

Cite this record

"Eterna-Matic Vintage Automatic Watch, Five-Dot Ball-Bearing Rotor, 17 Jewels, circa 1950s." LiveAuctioneers auction archive, Item 237318579. Catalogue record in The Horology Atlas, WatchMuseum.org, https://atlas.watchmuseum.org/museum/eterna-matic-vintage-automatic-watch-five-dot-ball-bearing-rotor-17-je-9f8d18.