====== Eterna 1438 ======
[[Eterna]] **Cal. 1438** was one of a family of [[automatic]] watch movements produced in the 1950's and 1960's.

===== Overview =====
[[ETA]] was one of the three firms "chosen" to develop advanced [[automatic]] watch movements by [[Ebauches SA]], thanks in part to their history with [[Eterna]]. The chief designer at ETA, [[Heinrich Stamm]], had created many of the company's important watch movements, and was famous for the [[Eterna-Matic]] line of watches. Stamm developed Cal. 1438 and its family for the Eterna-Matic Centennaire line.

When it was introduced, Cal. 1427U was the thinnest automatic movement on the market, measuring 4.5 mm high, despite a [[central rotor]] winding system.

The success of this movement made it the template for the [[Eterna 1466]] and today's [[ETA 2892]] family.

===== Technical Details =====
All non-date movements in this family are 4.5 mm thick; date versions measure 4.9 mm. All have 21 jewels and a power reserve of 49 hours. All operate at 18,000 A/h.

This movement family includes 11.5 [[ligne]], 12.5 ligne, and 13 ligne variants.

The quickset date is operated by repeatedly pulling the crown.

===== Variants =====
Cal. 1438 is the most famous of a family of movements. All are automatic unless otherwise noted.

All movements use suffix "U" to signify Eterna-U shock protection. Movements with the suffix "B" lack a seconds hand.

  * Eterna 1427 - (1955-) 11.5 ligne
    * Eterna 1431 - manual wind
  * Eterna 1428 - (1955-) 12.5 ligne
    * Eterna 1432 - manual wind
    * Eterna 1438 - (1959-) quickset date
    * Eterna 1453 - (1962-) date
  * Eterna 1429 - (1955-) 13 ligne
    * Eterna 1433 - manual wind
    * Eterna 1439 - (1959-) date

===== See Also =====
  * [[Eterna-Matic Centennaire]]
  * [[Eterna 1413]], the predecessor movement
  * [[Eterna 1470]], the successor movement
  * [[Eterna 1466]], an unrelated larger automatic movement


{{tag>Movements Eterna_calibres Automatic_movements}}