BRANDS: Sellita
Sellita’s SW500 and SW600 family is a group of automatic chronograph movements based on the Valjoux 7750 design. The Sellita SW500 family is considered a clone of the ETA/Valjoux 7750 family, though there are many more variations available in this Sellita line. Many parts are interchangeable between these movements and their ETA cousins, however. Additionally, Sellita now makes a line of movements, known as the SW600 family, which lack the chronograph complication but are based on the same basic design.
Sellita SW500 and SW600 Technical Information
The Sellita SW500 and SW600 movements are based on the Valjoux 7750 design, itself based on the Valjoux 7733 and Venus 188. This movement is known for durability and flexibility and is used as a base in many watches, from entry-level chronographs to the famous IWC “Il Destriero Scafusia” grande complication. It is a large and relatively thick movement, measuring 13.25 ligne (30.00 mm) in diameter and 7.90 mm thick.
Although based on a classic design, the modern SW500 and SW600 is robust and full-featured. It operates at 4 Hz (28,800 A/h) with an efficient uni-directional central winding rotor. The day and date wheels feature crown-operated quick correction and a stop seconds (“hacking”) feature is included. The base movement has the famous Valjoux 6-9-12 subdial layout with small seconds at 9:00, but many Sellita versions have other subdial designs.
One major differentiator for the Sellita movements is the use of an eccentric screw for regulation rather than the traditional Valjoux articulated index.
Sellita SW500 Chronograph Movements
Sellita makes a wide assortment of variations on the basic 7750 design. Movements ending in “0” feature a 30 minute chronograph counter, while those ending in “1” have a 15 minute counter. The monopusher “MP” movements have a separate pusher at 2:00 while the “MPC” movements have a pusher coaxial with the crown. The “BV” family has a “Bicompax Vertical” layout (subdials at 6 and 12) without running small seconds at 9:00 while the “BH” movements have a “Bicompax Horizontal” layout (subdials at 3 and 9) with small seconds.
| Complications | Hand-Winding Calibres | Automatic Calibres |
|---|---|---|
| 6-9-12 Day-Date | SW500 M a SW501 M a | SW500 a SW501 a |
| 6-9-12 Date | SW500 M b SW501 M b | SW500 b SW501 b |
| 6-9-12 No Date | SW500 M c SW501 M c | SW500 c SW501 c |
| 6-12 Day-Date | SW500 M BV a SW501 M BV a | SW500 BV a SW501 BV a |
| 6-12 Date | SW500 M BV b SW501 M BV b | SW500 BV b SW501 BV b |
| 6-12 No Date | SW500 M BV c SW501 M BV c | SW500 BV c SW501 BV c |
| Monopusher 12 Date | SW500 M MP a SW501 M MP a SW500 M MPC a SW501 M MPC a | SW500 MP a SW501 MP a SW500 MPC a SW501 MPC a |
| Monopusher 9-12 Date | SW500 M MP b SW501 M MP b SW500 M MPC b SW501 M MPC b | SW500 MP b SW501 MP b SW500 MPC a SW501 MPC a |
| Monopusher 9 Date | SW500 M MP c SW500 M MPC c | SW500 MP c SW500 MPC c |
| 3-6-9 Date | SW510 M a SW511 M a | SW510 a SW511 a |
| 3-6-9 No Date | SW510 M b SW511 M b | SW510 b SW511 b |
| 3-9 Date | SW510 M BH a SW511 M BH a | SW510 BH a SW511 BH a |
| 3-9 No Date | SW510 M BH b SW511 M BH b | SW510 BH b SW511 BH b |
| 3 Date | SW510 M BH c SW511 M BH c | SW510 BH c SW511 BH c |
| Monopusher 3-9 Date | SW510 M MP a SW511 M MP a SW510 M MPC a SW511 M MPC a | SW510 MP a SW511 MP a SW510 MPC a SW511 MPC a |
| Monopusher 3-9 No Date | SW510 M MP b SW511 M MP b SW510 M MPC b SW511 M MPC b | SW510 MP b SW511 MP b SW510 MPC b SW511 MPC b |
| Monopusher 3 Date | SW510 M MP c SW511 M MP c SW510 M MPC c SW511 M MPC c | SW510 MP c SW511 MP c SW510 MPC c SW511 MPC c |
Sellita SW600 Non-Chronograph Movements
In addition to the SW500 chronograph movements, Sellita also makes time-only movements based on the Valjoux 7750 design. These SW600 movements are available with central seconds or small seconds. Unlike the conceptually-similar Valgranges movements from ETA, which are oversized, these measure 13.25 ligne (30.00 mm) diameter like their chronograph cousins.
| Complications | Central Seconds Calibres | Small Seconds Calibres |
|---|---|---|
| Day-Date | SW600 a | SW690 a |
| Date | SW600 b | SW690 b |
Sellita SW500 and SW600 History
The SW500 family was launched in 2009 just after the SW200 (ETA 2824 clone) and SW300 (ETA 2892 clone). Sellita had long been a contract manufacturer for ETA, building and re-selling the 2600, 2800, 2890, and 7001 series until 2008. Although they did not list the 7750 in their catalog, they were able to secure components from suppliers to begin production on their clone movement just a few years after shifting to “in-house” manufacturing.
Sellita initially offered just a basic ETA 7750 clone called Cal. SW500. This was in widespread use by 2011, with many watch makers outside the Swatch Group switching to the Sellita version. It was especially popular with lower-priced makers like Invicta, Glycine, and Sinn but even Breitling and Rolex’s Tudor were early customers.
In 2017, Sellita introduced the SW510 series, a clone of the ETA 7753 with a 3-6-9 subdial layout. This movement may have been in use earlier but this was the first public use of the SW510 name.
2018 saw a massive expansion of the SW500 line, with hand-winding “M” movements added along with monopusher “MP” and “MPC” movements. This was also the debut of the time-and-date SW600 and SW690 movements. In all, over a dozen new variants were introduced. 2019 saw a further expansion with 8 more variants. In all, over four dozen different movements are offered as of 2020.
