Grail Watch Reference

A Reference Library for Watches from Grail Watch

L98

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Cal. L98 (and the similar L97) is a large hand-winding movement produced by Landeron Swiss Movements, a modern company unrelated to the historic Landeron company. It appears to be based on the classic ETA/Unitas 6498-2 design and is available in a variety of finishings. The similar Cal. L97 is similar to the ETA 6497-2.

There is some confusion about this movement due to the images on the company’s website as of 2022. They appear to be flipped horizontally, with a counter-clockwise balance cock that is not seen on any similar movement. Additionally, Landeron Swiss Movements has consistently labeled the image resembling the ETA 6497-2 clone as “L98” and the image resembling the ETA 6498-2 as “L97”. It is likely that this is a mistake, given the naming of these movements. We have matched the images and description to the ETA nomenclature, on the assumption that Landeron did not re-design the movements entirely.

Landeron Swiss Movements also produces a decorated and partially skeletonized (“Fleur”) and 3/4 plate version with bridge.

L21

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Cal. L21 is a compact hand-winding watch movement with date produced by Landeron Swiss Movements. The 11.5 ligne movement operates at 28,800 A/h and offers 36 hours power reserve. A date complication is positioned at 3:00 on the dial.

Cal. L21 is similar to the ETA 2804-2 or Sellita SW215-1, which have similar specifications and very similar appearance.

Cal. L21 was listed on the Landeron Swiss Movements website in 2020 but is no longer listed as of 2022.

L97

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Cal. L97 (and the similar L98) is a large hand-winding movement produced by Landeron Swiss Movements, a modern company unrelated to the historic Landeron company. It appears to be based on the classic ETA/Unitas 6497 design and is available in a variety of finishings. The similar Cal. L98 is similar to the ETA 6498-2.

There is some confusion about this movement due to the images on the company’s website as of 2022. They appear to be flipped horizontally, with a counter-clockwise balance cock that is not seen on any similar movement. Additionally, Landeron Swiss Movements has consistently labeled the image resembling the ETA 6497-2 clone as “L98” and the image resembling the ETA 6498-2 as “L97”. It is likely that this is a mistake, given the naming of these movements. We have matched the images and description to the ETA nomenclature, on the assumption that Landeron did not re-design the movements entirely.

L24

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Cal. L24 is a compact automatic movement with various options produced by Landeron Swiss Movements. It is designed as a replacement for the ETA 2824-2 and related movements, with a family of options available, including small seconds, power reserve, big date, moon phase, and GMT hand. The similar day/date movement (a replacement for the ETA 2836-2) is called Cal. L36.

Landeron Swiss Movements (which is unrelated to the historic Landeron company) produces the movement using components made in house and supplied by Swiss manufacturers. In response to our questions, Landeron management assured Grail Watch that they do not source components from Chinese factories.

Landeron is working to supply small and medium brands with smaller quantities of movements. One confirmed customer is BWG Bavarian Watch, which will use a customized version of Cal. L24 starting in 2022. The BWG movement is pictured above.

Landeron Cal. 24 Family

The following variations of Cal. L24 have been referenced, though it is unclear how many have been produced in volume:

  • 25 jewel, central seconds, date at 3:00
  • 25 jewel, date at 3:00, small seconds at 6:00
  • 27 jewel, central seconds, date at 3:00, power reserve at 6:00
  • 27 jewel, central seconds, power reserve at 6:00, big date at 12:00
  • 27 jewel, date at 3:00, small seconds at 6:00, moon phase at 12:00
  • 26 jewel, central seconds, 24 hour dial, date at 3:00
  • 26 jewel, central seconds, GMT hand, date at 3:00 (“L24 GMT”)
  • 25 jewel, central seconds, day and date at 3:00 (“L36”)

Landeron 248

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Cal. 248 is one of a family of cam switching chronograph movements produced by Landeron. It is closely related to the preceding Cal. 148. Like all movements in the family it uses Heuer-style oscillating pinion rather than a traditional horizontal clutch to activate the chronograph function.

Cal. 248 was widely used in the 1960s, including by Heuer-Leonidas, Nevada, and Ardath.

Landeron Calibre 48 Chronograph Operation

Unlike many 2-button chronograph movements, the stop function shares the reset button rather than the start button. Therefore, on many Cal. 48 family movements from Landeron, the buttons function as follows:

  • 2:00 – Start
  • 4:00 – Stop/Reset

The later Cal. 149, Cal. 189, Cal. 349, and later movements have a conventional start/stop button at 2:00.

Landeron 39 Family

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Charles Hahn & Cie. produced the 14.5 ligne Cal. 39 family in the 1930s through the 1960s. It is unusual in that it contains both the column wheel Cal. 39, Cal. 42, and Cal. 52 as well as the cam-operated Cal. 53. It was a mid-market movement, unlike the higher-end column wheel chronographs produced by Landeron at this time, and similar to the cam-operated Cal. 48 family.

Cal. 39 and Cal. 42 were mainly used by Breitling.

Landeron 149

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Cal. 149 is one of a family of cam switching chronograph movements produced by Landeron. It is closely related to the preceding Cal. 48 and contemporary Cal. 148 but uses a conventional start/stop button rather than combining stop and reset. The similar Cal. 189 adds a date complication.

Landeron 148

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Cal. 148 is one of a family of cam switching chronograph movements produced by Landeron. It is closely related to the preceding Cal. 48 but uses a different stamped hammer. Like all movements in the family it uses Heuer-style oscillating pinion rather than a traditional horizontal clutch to activate the chronograph function.

Landeron Calibre 48 Chronograph Operation

Unlike many 2-button chronograph movements, the stop function shares the reset button rather than the start button. Therefore, on many Cal. 48 family movements from Landeron, the buttons function as follows:

  • 2:00 – Start
  • 4:00 – Stop/Reset

The later Cal. 149, Cal. 189, Cal. 349, and later movements have a conventional start/stop button at 2:00.

Landeron 48

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Cal. 48 is one of a family of chronograph movements produced by Landeron from 1937 through the 1970s. In all, over 3.5 million examples were produced.

Landeron Cal. 48 is a 13.75 ligne movement with a cam switching chronograph system. A variety of 14 ligne variants were produced, as well as complicated versions with calendars, moon phase, and hour counters. Like all movements in the family it uses Heuer-style oscillating pinion rather than a traditional horizontal clutch to activate the chronograph function.

The preceding Landeron 47 movement (the first cam-actuated chronograph) featured three buttons Start, stop, and reset. Cal. 48 switched to two-button operation.

Landeron Calibre 48 Chronograph Operation

Unlike many 2-button chronograph movements, the stop function shares the reset button rather than the start button. Therefore, on many Cal. 48 family movements from Landeron, the buttons function as follows:

  • 2:00 – Start
  • 4:00 – Stop/Reset

The later Cal. 149, Cal. 189, Cal. 349, and later movements have a conventional start/stop button at 2:00.

Original hammer
Curved hammer
Note the different hammer shape in this alternate Cal. 48 image

The original Landeron 48 featured a deep, curving hammer, a feature carried on to the 54, 56, and 58. The Landeron 51/151 features a conventional “boot” hammer, as does the 55, 57, 59/159, 80/180, and 81/181. The Landeron 148 moved to a distinct “JI” hammer shape, a feature shared by the 149/189/349, 154, 185, 186, and 187/248. Finally, the Landeron 152/352 moved to a deeply bowed hammer, a feature shared by the 153/353.

This image from the Esombl-o-Graph manual shows the alternate hammer shape

Soprod P092

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Cal. P092 is a compact automatic Swiss movement with date. Produced by Soprod, it is the first member of their in-house “Newton” family of movements and is intended as an alternative to the popular ETA 2824-2 and Sellita SW200 Family. The initial Soprod Newton movement, identified as “P092” on the plate, is the first in a family of related movements from Soprod.

Soprod Newton Cal. P092 measures 11.5 ligne (25.60 mm) in diameter and is not especially thin, even for a central-rotor automatic, at 4.60 mm. It includes a date-only calendar with semi-instantaneous changes and quick adjustment using the crown, a stop-seconds device, and fast 28,800 A/h (4 Hz) operation. It has 23 jewels and is rated for 44 hours power reserve.

Serica uses the Newton movement in their Ref. 5303 dive watch

The Newton is used in the following watches:

  • Serica 5303 (no-date version)

Soprod Newton Family Overview

Introduced in 2020, the Soprod “Newton” family is an inexpensive Swiss movement designed for mass production. It is a modern movement and does not appear to be related to the earlier Soprod A10 family, which was based on a Seiko design. Key elements include a full balance bridge supporting the exposed balance at 6:00, suggesting that an open heart version is also in the works.

The initial Newton model features a date-only calendar

The Newton by Soprod is offered in two quality versions:

  1. “Sophisticated” – Plus or minus 7 seconds per day, adjusted in 3 positions
  2. “Top-Flight” – Plus or minus 4 seconds per day, adjusted in 5 positions

Each movement is tested by Dubois Laboratory and earns a “Chronofiable Certificate” after a number of tests.

The Newton design is quite different from the Soprod A10 or M100 movement

Soprod’s previous offering was an ultra-thin automatic based on the Seiko 4L25 design. Introduced in 2004, the Alternance 10 (later called A10 or M100) was a high-end movement with advanced features and a radically different design more competitive with the ETA 2892A2. In contrast, the Newton is thicker and more plain in design. Notable differences, apart from the use of a full balance bridge, include the location of most components below plates and bridges on the top and a single-screw rotor with five ball bearings (unlike the triple-screw, 7-ball A10). This places it in competition with the common ETA 2824-2 (and similar Sellita SW200-1) in mainstream watches. But the Newton is quite different in design from this movement as well, with a smaller balance on the opposite side and the bridge.