ESA 9180

Description

Around 1973, the Ebauces SA (ESA) started the quartz era for the masses with the pretty ecnomic constructed caliber ESA 9180, which used already many plastic parts, but on the other hand, had a compilated motor with four coils.

On early quartz movement, is was standard to bear fast turning wheels in ruby, just like on this movement, the rotor wheel (with bearing and cap jewels) and the first transmission wheel.

Like most all other ETA / Eterna movement, the ESA 9180 series also had a dial-side driven display works. At position 11 o’clock, near the center, you see the dial-side bearing for the third wheel, which drives the display works.

A speciality of the 9180 caliber series is, that it has got an electrical, as well as a mechanical hacking function. The electrical one is realized with the lever at position 8:30, for th mechanical, you see an elaborated lever mechanism on top, of which, the right lever blocks the rotor. Futher details will follow…

Compared with modern quartz movements, the rotor is incredibly large and heavy, with eight tiny magnets and a very filigree axle, which runs in a shock protected bearing.

Interestingly, seconds and third wheel have their ruby bearings only on the (visible) movement side, not on the dial side, where only metal bearings are used.

Here again the detail view of the rotor with its eight(!) tiny permanent magnets.

On the lower side of the rotor, there’s a four-pointed star. Into this engages the hacking lever (described above) and blocks the movement not only electronically, but also mechanically.

The coil block with its four, plastic mounted coils is very laborious. A modern lavet stepper motor of todays quartz movements with only one coil is trivial against it.

The large shock protection block of the rotor is nice to see. It reminds a bit of an Incabloc shock protection.

Next to it, at position 3 o’clock, there’s a free space for a type label, which is left empty on this specimen here.

The electronics block with its plastic-riveted traces is a genious construction. And even more genious is the IC, whose connectors can be attached with screws. The two right ones connect with the coil block, the lower one with the positive pole of the battery.

The large trimmer capacitator is also nice to see. It is used to fine-ajust the resonant quartz circuit.

Last, you can see the electronic hacking function, on which, supported by a lever, the third pin of the integrated circuit is connected to the minus pole.

Typical for first generation quartz movements are their large quartz resonators, which here, however, already uses the standard frequency of 32 kHz.

the empty dial side is quite sober. It uses a simple yoke keyless works, with three positions. In the second one, the calender can be corrected by engagement of the right transmission wheel.

At position one o’clock near the center, you see the pinion of the third wheel, which drives the dial-side minute wheel, which is also equipped with a sliding clutch.

The date ring is unfortunately made of plastic and so prone to break (plastic becomes brittle after the 50 years, this movement is already old). It has got on its outer rim a tooth ring, which is used for the quickset funktion - in both directions!

The switching lever of the 24hr gear, which advances the date and, at least on the sister caliber ESA 9181, the weekday ring, is also made of plastic. It is spring loaded to realize the instant date switch.

The date ring is beared by the screwed cover, and you also see the space, the weekday ring would use.

This movement was indeed the only ESA movement, which still uses an comparatively complex construction (rotor with eight magnets, shock protection, voluminous quartz resonator). Its successor, the ESA 9360, was already made with modern construction standards and hardly differs from quarz movements of today.
Evolution was so fast back then, and it’s easy to imagine how fast mechanical watches became obsolete shopkeepers practically overnight.

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