Eta 6498 1 Mechanical Movement

ETA/Unitas Caliber 6498-1

Eta 6498 1 Mechanical Movement

Manufacturer ETA
Caliber Number 6498-1
Base Caliber 6498
Lignes
16.5”’
Diameter
36.6mm
Height
4.5mm thick
Jewels 17
Vibrations Per Hour 18,800 bph
Lift Angle
44 degrees
Power Reserve 46 hours officially (some claim 48, up to 53 hours)
Functions Central hours; central minutes; small running seconds subdial at 6:00
Hacking Seconds? No
Country of Manufacture Switzerland
Known Models
Votum Blue Ocean, too many to list (add your watch in the comments below…)

The ETA/Unitas caliber 6498-1 is part of ETA’s Mecaline Specialies line of movements. It is a hand-wound or manual-wound movement and is considered to be one of the most common mechanical calibers on the market. This is essentially a pocket watch movement that has been adopted by the wristwatch.

6498-1 vs 6498-2:

The main difference between the 6498-1 and the 6498-2 is that the -1 beats at 18,800vph while the -2 beats at 21,600vph. Click here to learn more.

6497 vs 6498:

The caliber 6498-1 is often mixed up with the ETA/Unitas 6497-1. The main difference between these two calibers is that the 6498 has the seconds subdial at 6:00 and the 6497 has the seconds at 9:00. Click here to learn more.

Power Reserve:

The official power reserve rating on the 6498-1 is 46 hours. You may see others claim a 48 hour power reserve, even up to 53 hours. This could be due to a different configuration depending on the watch brand, or ETA simply used 46 hours as a guide for the lowest power reserve to expect from a full wind.

How many turns of the crown until fully wound?

Unlike some other movement manufacturers, ETA does not clearly define the number of turns needed to take a cal. 6498-1 from 0 to full power reserve. Perhaps this is due to the fact that technically the number of turns may vary depending on the crown size. In an effort to start crowd-sourcing this information, a few sample 6497-1 based watches were used to count the number of clicks from a stopped state until the movement could not be wound further. The results were as follows:

ETA 6497-1:

Others:

All examples have 56 teeth on the ratchet wheel.

Maybe not the best experiment, but interesting enough. Will test these again and update if there are any differences. If you wish to join this experiment, please comment below with your watch and how many clicks you counted from 0 to fully wound.

Video:

Extra Information:

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Ed Sadler
Ed Sadler
4 years ago

This is my favorite movement. I love winding it. Currently have a Dufrane Bergstrom with one, but it’s not as nicely finished as the one pictured here.

trackback
New Watch Alert: 3/27/2020 - The Truth About Watches
3 years ago

[…] historical echoes are more than skin deep – the 336’s hand-wound Unitas 6498 movement was originally designed for pocket watches. All things being equal – which […]

DAVID
DAVID
3 years ago

Any comments on accuracy of the older movement?

Raffaele Prencipe
Raffaele Prencipe
2 years ago

STEINHART Military 42 manual

BERT McAuley
BERT McAuley
1 year ago

CORNEHL, STUTTGART also utilise this movement.

trackback
Maurice Lacroix Caliber ML-76 Watch Movement | Caliber Corner
1 year ago

[…] Masterpiece line. This movement is essentially a reworked – or reimagined – ETA/Unitas caliber 6498-1 with a retrograde date and power reserve […]

Steve
Steve
1 year ago

Great movement, ande very beautiful. I think this is definitely a classic. I have 1 in a Laco Wurzburg. Stays within 10 seconds after a week.

Ondrej
Ondrej
1 year ago

Hi guys, I just bought T119.405.16.037.00and it takes only 13 revolutions to fully wind the watch, after that there is great resistance and I don’t want to ruin the movement. But after the winding, it runs for less than 24 hours. Should I go over the resistance? Or do you havy any recommendation?

Kent
Kent
1 year ago
Reply to  Ondrej

I’ve had that ref for about a year, from the gray market. It takes about 30 turns from empty to hit the stop. Mine is still running at -3m per day because I have not had it regulated yet. I guess Tissot just tosses them in the case and sends them to the gray market without thinking about it :(.

Kent
Kent
1 year ago
Reply to  Kent

I took it to get regulated and it turns out it was magnetized. The watchmaker de-magnetized it (no charge) and now it is running at +5.

Stu
Stu
11 months ago

Does Sellita make a clone of the 6498-1?

Bo
Bo
11 months ago

Italian brand ‘Ublast’ presents a model ‘President’, with on-dial moonphase and power reserve (Ref. UBPR43-MPPRW) that lists its hand-wind movement as “Fabior Calibre 98 MP”. Some personal research finds the French ‘Fabior Watch’ (in Villers-le-Lac) manufacturing a pocket-watch with a movement, originally made by Parrenin (Calibre HP X 40, which seems to be based on Unitas Calibre 6498). This HP X 40, would be a 18”’ lignes follow-up of a 16 1/2”’ lignes Calibre HP 40. Another French manufacturer, Berthet, makes a wristwatch, rather similar in make-up as Ublast’s President and mentions its caliber as “Fabior 16 1/2 6498”. It… Read more »

Mencarini
Mencarini
4 months ago

Celui-ci anime ma montre BERTHET, je crois. Une merveille de précision et une bonne résistance. Joliment décoré,. Je suis ravi car apparemment, il est fait pour durer.⌚

jlew715
Member
2 months ago

The Tissot Bridgeport Skeleton pocket watch (reference T859.405.19.273.00) uses a skeletonized version of the 6498-1.

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