Eterna's manufacture showpiece is a beautiful example of high watchmaking. But does it really measure up for the price?
WORLDTEMPUS - 3 February 2011
Elizabeth Doerr
The first thing that came to mind when I strapped the Madison Eight-Days "Spherodrive" onto my wrist was, “This watch feels strong.”
I do believe that this impression was chiefly generated by the slightly tonneau-shaped 38.5 x 40 x 13.25 mm stainless steel case, which felt like a very solid horological tank on my wrist. The solid rectangular case is aesthetically enhanced by the case back held by eight screws, the sides of which are fluted in an appealing way. The movement is totally visible thanks to a rectangular sapphire crystal window on the back.
White after Labor Day
Great, actually, that the movement is so visible; it is a real beauty. Caliber 3510 is Eterna's own construction, and what struck me first was that the shape of it precisely matching the case, which is so rarely seen these days. This is really not such a big deal, but in high watchmaking, mismatching the shape of the movement and the case is a bit like wearing white after Labor Day: it's sort of an unspoken horological rule, and following it shows an appreciation for tradition. Its rhodium plating is wonderfully offset by blued screws holding the balance bridge, the base plate, and the barrel bridges as well as decorative blue elements on the two spring barrels that provide the incredible power reserve of eight days.
The manually wound caliber coming in at 33.2 x 27.2 x 6.6 mm was nicknamed Spherodrive, and this refers to the ball bearings found in the movement. Eterna is actually famous for having historically been the brand to come up with using ball bearings in watchmaking (hence the five little balls forming the brand's logo), so it stands to reason that a new manufacture caliber would be based around this idea. There are a total of seven in the movement, in addition to performing for the spring barrels they can also be found in the date changing assembly and the power reserve display. The use of ball bearings means that no lubrication is necessary at those points, which is a great advantage.
Long-winded
The timing on the watch was never faulty, and eight days is a very comfortable amount of time between windings – though I have to say that winding the barrels fully took a great deal of time. When winding, you can literally feel the jump as the power is transferred from one barrel to the other. Though the slip spring in other eight-day barrels is very noticeable when winding, it cannot be felt on the Eterna.
The large date is very easy to read, though the “ten” disk on my test model tended to jump around and needed to be corrected at random times. The date is corrected using a stylus and a recessed pusher, so correcting it spontaneously is not really an option. Also, I found that the two numbers, which are not separated by a mullion, were seldom aligned.
Dramatic dial
The power reserve display is a great addition to what I find to be a very dramatic dial: the anthracite grey middle part is decorated with a squared pattern, leaving the smooth outer part to serve as a base for the applied hour markers of varying length, the “12,” and the apertures for the date and power reserve. The power reserve is white when full, slowly turning red as the mainsprings release their energy. The red is a really funky additional element on the dial, and male observers such as my husband found the dial actually more aesthetic as it showed more of the red.
The final point is the price. The Madison Eight-Days "Spherodrive" retails for 8,530 euros in Europe and a whopping $13,300 in the United States. While a price jump from the brand's rather reasonably priced models outfitted with non-manufacture calibers is more than understandable, a short comparison to manufacture models by other brands leaves us in the dark as to the pricing policy. However, this sum will indeed gift the wearer with an exceptionally beautiful manufacture movement by a grand name in the history of Swiss watchmaking.
For comments in French by Louis Nardin, who also tested this watch, please click here.
Featured brand
