ETA 2890 Family

Brand:	ETA

ETA 2890 Family Overview

The ETA 2890 family is a series of slim and robust automatic watch movements produced by ETA since 1975. They are generally regarded as superior to the similar ETA 2800 family. Cal. 2890 and its successors is based on an Eterna design, with ball bearings on the rotor and a smaller balance wheel in the modern style. The family remains one of the leading watch movements to this day.

The most well-known movement in this series today is Cal. 2892A2, a highly evolved automatic movement with central seconds and a date wheel. Because of its slim dimensions, Cal. 2892A2 is often paired with modules to add world time, power reserve indicator, chronograph, and other complications.

Distinguishing features of the ETA 2890 family include a smaller balance wheel than historic movements, including the ETA 2824 family, and a large rotor hub located with seven visible bearings. The balance is located at 12:00 when viewed from the back with the crown at 9:00, and is located by a clockwise cock with an eccentric screw for regulation.

The Sellita SW300 family is considered to be a clone of the ETA 2890 family.

ETA 2890 Family History

The original ETA 2890 and 2892 were introduced in 1975 and produced through 1983. These measured 12.5”’ (28.0 mm) in diameter and were designed to be ultra-thin with the option to be used as a base for modular complications. One novel design feature is the fact that the automatic winding gear extends into the base movement, keeping the total profile to just 3.6 mm regardless of whether or not a date complication is fitted.

The family was revised in 1983 with a narrower 11.5”’ (25.6 mm) width. Most aspects of the design remained, though the no-date 2890 was dropped and official modular movements added to the ETA 2892-2 base: ETA 2894-2 was a modular chronograph, ETA 2895-1 had small seconds, and ETA 2890-9 and ETA 2891-9 had a perpetual calendar mechanism with moon phase. Of these, only the chronograph ETA 2894-2 remains in production as of 2019.

The third generation appeared in 1999 with the ETA 2892A2. The modification was focused on winding efficiency, with a reduced chamfer increasing the mass of the winding rotor and the switch from a stud to a jewel in the upper winding bridge for the intermediate wheel. Although the small seconds and perpetual calendar movements were updated (ETA 2895-2, ETA 2890A9, and ETA 2891A9), the chronograph remained in production as-is. New movements were also added: ETA 2893-1 and ETA 2893-3 have a “world time” disc, ETA 2893-2 has an adjustable 24 hour hand, ETA 2896 has a “big date”, and ETA 2897 has a power reserve indicator.

	First Generation 1975-1983	Second Generation 1983-2000	Third Generation 1999-present
No Date	ETA 2890 (12.5”’)
Date	ETA 2892 (12.5”’)	ETA 2892-2	ETA 2892A2
World Time Disc, Date			ETA 2893-1
Adjustable 24 Hour Hand, Date			ETA 2893-2
World Time Disc, No Date			ETA 2893-3
Modular Chronograph, Small Seconds, Date		ETA 2894-2 ETA 2894S2
Small Seconds, Date		ETA 2895-1	ETA 2895-2
Dual Concentric Wheel Date			ETA 2896
Power Reserve Indicator, Date			ETA 2897
Perpetual Calendar, Moon Phase, No Seconds		ETA 2890-9	ETA 2890A9
Perpetual Calendar, Moon Phase, Central Seconds		ETA 2891-9	ETA 2891A9