1939 Eterna Majetek Czech Pilot’s WW2 watch.

The Majetek Pilots watch was issued to members of the Czech Air Force in the late 1930’s and early ’40s and produced by three different brands – Longines, Lemania and Eterna.

It’s unique 37mm. steel case cushion-shaped case, black dial, and simple Arabic hour numerals form a sharp package that looks just as relevant today as it was back then.

In the 1900s, wristwatches were just starting to become fashionable. Schild Freres started to produce lady’s wristwatches adapted from small pocket watches. In 1905, the company changed their name to Eterna. The company continued to be at the leading edge of watch development, and in 1908 it patented the first alarm wristwatch. In 1948, Eterna advanced self-winding watch technology with the development of the Eterna-matic automatic movement. The use of five strategically placed ball bearings made the movement very efficient with significantly reduced friction and resistance on the oscillating weight that wound the mainspring. This reduced the wear and tear on internal parts, increasing the watch’s accuracy and its useful life. Its popularity was such that in 1948 Eterna adopted the image of five ball bearings as its corporate logo.