Eterna

In 1856, teacher Urs Schild and Dr. Josef Girard founded the watchmaking company “Dr. Girard & Schild” in Granges, which later became Eterna. By the 1880s, the company embraced automation with hydraulic and steam-powered machines, making its first fully in-house manufactured watch and earning the designation of a manufacture. Urs Schild’s political involvement led to his passing in 1888, and in 1889, the brand name Eterna appeared on a pocket watch, officially becoming the brand name in 1906. Notable innovations included the introduction of the first wristwatch with an alarm at the Swiss National Exhibition in 1914. In 1932, Eterna split into two entities: Eterna SA for watch manufacturing and ETA Manufacture Horlogère for movements. The iconic Eterna-Matic rotor, featuring ball bearings, was introduced in 1948. In 1974, the Schild family sold the company to the General Watch Company, later part of the Swatch Group. In 1995, Ferdinand Alexander Porsche acquired Eterna, re-establishing it as a true manufacture. The brand continued to innovate with calibers like the 6036, the extra-thin 3030, and the “Eterna Spherodrive” system in 2009. In 2011, China Haidian Holdings Limited, owner of Porsche Design and Corum, acquired Eterna Uhrenfabrik.