ETA Caliber G10.212

The ETA caliber G10.212 is a Swiss made quartz chronograph movement with 4 jewels. This caliber is part of ETA’s Fashionline family of quartz movements. It is not considered to be a repairable movement and is largely found in entry level lower priced timepieces. G10.212 replaces ETA caliber G10.211. Official tech sheets for this caliber were updated as recently as August 16, 2022, with dates back as far as April 18, 2016.

G10.212 Variations

The G10.212 has at least 4 variations available:

• G10.212 AB – 30 minute counter at 10. PowerDrive.
• G10.212 AD – 30 minute counter at 10. PowerDrive, PreciDrive.
• G10.212 AP – 60 minute counter at 10. Laptimer. PowerDrive.
• G10.212 AJ – 60 minute counter at 10. Laptimer. PowerDrive, PreciDrive.

The laptimer option on the last two versions allows the wearer to track the time of two laps as well as the total time of the laps.

Each movement will simply be labeled G10.212 with no easy way to determine the specific configuration.

(With situations like this, you may want to demand that the manufacturer of your watch be transparent about the exact caliber inside the watch you purchased from them.)

MoonSwatch Movement?

With the recent launch of the Omega X Swatch affordable quartz Speedmaster, members of the watch community have been asking what movement powers the Swatch MoonSwatch? As of launch day, neither Omega nor Swatch have mentioned the caliber number. None of the blogs who were lucky enough to get hands-on opportunities mentioned it either. Looking at the dial configuration and case size, it appears that the G10.212 is the closest ETA caliber that it can be.

See what happens when we flip the caliber G10.212 upside down and put it side-by-side with the MoonSwatch caseback?

The main difference is that the MoonSwatch model does not have a date. That means, either ETA created an entirely separate caliber number without a date, or they are using the same base caliber but without the date functionality. It’s unlikely that a big brand like Omega (or Swatch) would ever put out a watch with a phantom datewheel, especially when they are both owned by the same conglomerate that owns the movement manufacturer. At least we know for sure that the MoonSwatch has the same configuration as this movement. Also important to note: they chose to use the 60 minute chrono subdial version of this movement rather than the version with the 30 minute counter. A great example as to why ETA should have given these two versions different caliber numbers in the first place!

“The Bioceramic Speedy has the same 369 layout as its stainless steel cousin, but with some differences. The mechanical Speedmaster has a 30 minute counter at 3:00, 12 hours at 6:00, and a running seconds subdial at 9:00. The MoonSwatch appears to be all mixed up with a 1/10th seconds at 2:00, running seconds at 6:00, and a 60 minute counter at 10:00. It’s disappointing that they didn’t reconfigure the quartz modules to match the positions of the “real” Speedmaster. Was this an oversight or was it intentional? It would be really interesting to know the answer!

Interestingly, there are other variations of the G10.212 with a 30 minutes subdial at 10:00 rather than the 60 minutes counter. This would have been a better choice because it looks confusing to have two “60” counters on the dial, not to mention that the Speedmaster has a 30 minute counter.” –source

But I saw other sites list the MoonSwatch as having the calibre G10.211?

That may be possible, but we are sticking with the G10.212 until proven otherwise. Why? Because the G10.212 is a replacement for the G10.211. The G10.211 appears to be discontinued. If Swatch is in fact using the G10.211 in the MoonSwatch watches, that means people are lining up and going crazy over a watch with a discontinued movement.

This caliber listing may be updated as more information about the movement inside the Omega X Swatch MoonSwatch is released.

G10.212 VS G10.712

There is also a similar caliber G10.712 which is basically the same but with a datewheel that closer to the center of the dial than the datewheel on the G10.212.

Crown/Stem Removal

To remove the crown, look for the stem release hole on the movement near the crown There is a small arrow pointing to it. Putting the crown to date setting position should reveal a button in the hole that you can gently press with your tool to release the stem. Do this carefully and do not press too hard. If you damage the stem release mechanism, there doesn’t seem to be a way to fix it since it’s encased in plastic.

Metal Plate:

The metal plate on the G10 series is just a thin cover with sticky adhesive. Below this metal cover you will find an plastic encasing that holds everything together.

This is what these movements look like below the metal cover:

In ETA’s Own Words:

“Movements of these calibres cannot be disassembled; therefore, this document contains information on electrical tests and hand-fitting only.” -ETA

G10 Accuracy:

ETA does not always make it easy to find out the expected accuracy ratings of their movements. For their PreciDrive movements (thermocompensated), ETA has officially issued a blanket statement about accuracy:

“The PreciDrive technology integrated into a calibre will allow the watch to achieve exceptional precision of +/- 10 seconds a year, a score equivalent to a precision of 0.027 seconds a day.” –source

The G10.212 being discussed here has several versions: It appears that all are PowerDrive and 2 are PowerDrive + PreciDrive. The G10.212 AJ (lap timer) and G10.212 AD (add, split timer) are the possible versions with PreciDrive.

Non-PreciDrive calibers running in normal operating conditions are claimed to have an instantaneous rate of -4 seconds to +6 seconds per day with an average of +/-1 second per day. Normal operating temperatures are between 0C (32F) to +50C (122F).

Replacement Price

At the time of this post, prices for the replacement G10.212 movements were found in the range of $45 – $59.99 USD.

Additional Resources:

• Official ETA G10.212 tech sheets