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Movement guide — Valjoux

Valjoux calibres

The ébauche that shaped the twentieth-century Swiss hand-wound chronograph — the base inside the vintage Daytona, the Carrera and dozens more

Close-up of a watch movement showing wheels and jewels

No watch was ever sold with Valjoux on the dial. The firm made ébauches — base movements, often deliberately incomplete — and Rolex, Heuer, Breitling and the rest finished them, adjusted them and signed them as their own. That is why one Valjoux calibre turns up today inside watches from brands with nothing else in common. Four hand-wound chronographs make up the important part of the vintage catalogue. Click through on any number for the full page.

CalibreTypeJewelsFrequencyYearsKey note
72Hand-wound chronograph, tri-compax1718,000 vphMid-20th centuryThe tri-compax inside the vintage Daytona
23Hand-wound chronograph1718,000 vphMid-20th centuryThe 72's smaller brother
22Hand-wound chronograph1718,000 vphMid-20th centuryColumn wheel; Patek Philippe used it too
88Hand-wound chronograph, calendar1718,000 vphDeveloped from the 72The 72, plus a calendar

What about the 7750?

Valjoux made the jump to the automatic chronograph in 1973 with the calibre 7750 — known everywhere today as the "ETA/Valjoux 7750", after Valjoux was absorbed into the ETA group. Since it is one movement under a single real name, we cover it once, on the ETA calibre guide.