ETA 2500 Series / Family of Watch Movements

Manufacturer	ETA
Caliber Family	2500
Movement Type	Manual Wind / Automatic
Lignes	11.5”’ / 13”’
Power Reserve	~40 hours
Vibrations Per Hour	18,000 bph
Lift Angle	Needs confirmed
Shock Protection	Incabloc
Country of Manufacture	Switzerland, Swiss made
Known Models	(Add your watch in the comments below…)

The ETA 2500 family of movements was produced in the 1960s-1970s. The calibers from the 2500 series are considered to be predecessors to the ubiquitous ETA caliber 2824-2 framework that most watch enthusiasts are familiar with today.

Calibers in the ETA 2500 series:

ETA 2500 – Manual wind, 11.5”’, 18,000 bph, time-only (no date)
ETA 2502 – Manual wind, 11.5”’, 18,000 bph, date
ETA 2503 – Manual wind, 13”’, 18,000 bph, date
ETA 2508 – Manual wind, 11.5”’, 18,000 bph, day/date
ETA 2509 – Manual wind, 13”’, 18,000 bph, day/date
ETA 2516 – Manual wind, 11.5”’, 18,000 bph, quickset day/date
ETA 2520 – Automatic, 11.5”’, 18,000 bph, time-only (no date)
ETA 2521 – Automatic, 13”’, 18,000 bph, time-only (no date)
ETA 2522 – Automatic, 11.5”’, 18,000 bph, date
ETA 2523 – Automatic, 13”’, 18,000, date
ETA 2524 – Automatic, 11.5”’, 18,000 bph, time-only (no date)
ETA 2525 – Automatic, 11.5”’, 18,000 bph, time-only (no date)
ETA 2526 – Automatic, 11.5”’, 18,000 bph, date
ETA 2527 – Automatic, 11.5”’, 18,000 bph, date
ETA 2528 – Automatic, 11.5”’, 18,000 bph, time-only (no date)
ETA 2529 – Automatic, 11.5”’, 18,000 bph, date
ETA 2532 – Automatic, 11.5”’, 18,000 bph, quickset date
ETA 2538 – Automatic, 11.5”’, 18,000 bph, quickset day/date
ETA 2539 – Automatic, 13”’, 18,000 bph, quickset day/date

ETA 25XX Similarities and Differences:

The one feature that the calibers in the ETA 25XX family of movements shares is that they all have a beat rate of 18,000 bph. Differences between the caliber numbers mainly come down to movement type (auto vs hand-wound), size (11.5 vs 13 lignes), and calendar complication (no-date, date, day/date, quickset and non-quickset).

Similar Families:

The ETA 2600 family of movements is similar to the 2500 series, but with a higher beat rate of 21,600 bph vs the 2500’s 18,000. There is also a 2700 series with a similar framework as the 2500 and 2600 line, but with hi-beat offerings of 28,800 and 36,000 bph.

Additional Resources: