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You are here: Home / Movements / Soprod A10-2

Soprod A10-2

Last Update: June 5, 2019

Brand:Soprod
Family:
Soprod A10 Family
Height:3.60 mm
Jewels:25
Reserve:42 hours
Frequency:28,800 A/h
Winding:Automatic, Bi-Directional Automatic Winding, Central Rotor Automatic Winding
Diameter:25.60 mm (11.5 ligne)
  Complications:Date, Hacking Seconds, Quick Date Correction
Hands:Central Hour Hand, Central Minute Hand, Central Seconds Hand, Date Window at 3:00
Distinguishing Technical Characteristics
Central-Rotor Automatic
Counter-Clockwise Balance Cock
Screw Regulator
Central Rotor
Production: 2004 – 2016
1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s

See Also: Soprod M100 Date

The Soprod “Alternance 10” (also called the A-10, A10, and A10-2 and later sold as M100) is a Swiss Made movement based on the Seiko 4L25 design but produced in Switzerland under license. It is an advanced, slim automatic movement with modern technology and is not a clone of the ETA 2892A2 with which it competes. The A10 was introduced in 2004 and remains in production under the name M100 today.

Although a Japanese design, it includes many signature Swiss features, including Incabloc Double-Cone shock absorbers and an oscillating pinion automatic winding switcher. It is exactly the same size as the ETA 2892A2, with the same locations for dial feet, crown, hands, and date window. This makes it a drop-in replacement when that movement is unavailable.


Soprod A10 Family History

This early promotional photo shows the “Alternance 10” with Soprod’s original name, “Indtec,” engraved on the rotor

Seiko Instruments first designed their Cal. 4L family to create an ETA 2892A2 competitor for the Swiss OEM market. It appears that it was not intended for use in Seiko products initially.

SFT subsidiary, Indtec SA, announced their Swiss Made version, “Alternance 10” or “A-10”, in 2004 and began offering it to Swiss watch makers. The company was not explicit about the design source of the movement. The company took the Soprod name shortly after, with the movement commonly called “A-10.” In 2007, Soprod was acquired by Peace Mark of Hong Kong for the company’s quartz movement operations in China, and the Swiss mechanical operations were sold to Festina Group the following year. Seiko introduced their own 4L25-powered Brightz and Credor models, though the 4L family remained rare and was retired after 2013. Soprod continued to produce the A-10 as well as many modules in partnership with Dubois-Depràz.

Soprod redesigned the movement and announced the updated and renamed Cal. A10-2 in 2012. At this time the company also reworked and renamed the module series to differentiate their products from the simpler offerings of the competition. The A10-2 was renamed Soprod M100 in 2016, along with another refresh of the modular offerings.

Images are taken from official publications and are used here for commentary and educational purposes. Copyright is held by the original owner as noted.
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