Eterna’s Eterna-Matic revolutionized watchmaking after its 1948 introduction in ladies sizes, and the full-sized Eterna-Matic 1200 Family was one of the most in-demand movements from its 1950 launch. But these movements used a self-contained removable automatic winding system that increased thickness to 5.9 mm. The follow-on Eterna-Matic 1400 family, introduced in 1953 and phased in by 1955, reduced thickness to 5.55 mm for non-date versions and 5.85 mm for date.
With free-spinning automatic winding and date complications now expected, every member of the Eterna-Matic 1400 family was available with and without a date module.
Although mature and reliable, the family were quickly updated as Heinrich Stamm worked to reduce thickness further. This lead to a proliferation of similar movements through the second half of the 1950s, even as earlier models remained in production. The third wave of movements were said to have a conical profile, as each level of the movement was narrower than the one before it. These were introduced at the Basel fair in 1958.
One major update was the quickset date added to Cal. 1453 by 1958 (and perhaps to Cal. 1422 as well), which advanced the date when the crown was pulled to the second position. This is different from modern movements, which advance the date in first position by turning the crown: The date advances by one day each time the crown is pulled. This mechanism was used in the “Dato” models of the Eterna-Matic, KonTiki, Centenaire, and Vision.
Ultimately Stamm’s completely redesigned Eterna-Matic 3000 Family would replace all of these movements in the early 1960s.
| Size | First Wave | Second Wave | Third Wave |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11.5”’ | 1411/1421 | 1427 | |
| 12.5”’ domed | 1412/1422 | ||
| 12.5”’ flat | 1413/1423 | 1428/1438/1453 | 1470/1480 |
| 13”’ domed | 1414/1424 | ||
| 13”’ flat | 1415/1425 | 1429/1439 | 1471/1481 |
| 13.5”’ | 1416/1426 |