Need help identifying "Mirona" wristwatch!

[Warwian]

Hello fellow members!

I recently won this "Mirona" wristwatch in an online auction and I'm looking for some more information about it. There is basically no information regarding the brand on the internet, one exception is a thread here on the forums: Any info please.

Here are some pictures I took of the watch. I don't have a very good camera but I hope they will suffice:





Looks good doesn't it?

Here is a picture of the backside courtesy of the previous owner:



I brought the watch to a local watchmaker who told me that the movement was in decent condition. I also managed to take a quick picture of the movement with my friend's iPhone:



I apologize in advance for the horrendous quality of the picture above. I sadly don't own any equipment to open watches and I don't dare opening it with what I can find lying around the house, so I can't provide a picture of better picture of the movement yet. It does look like an ETA movement though doesn't it? I tried having a look on Ranfft.de but I couldn't find the exact one. The watchmaker also believed it to be an ETA movement but he wasn't sure about the specific model. Sadly I didn't get a good look at the movement in the store as there were a lot of others there and the watchmaker was quite stressed.

The previous owner wasn't much help either, she basically didn't know anything about the watch!

To summarize: Does anyone know anything more about the brand? When was the watch made? Mid-sixties perhaps? Was it an expensive watch at the time? What movement does it use? Do you recon it'll be easy finding spares for the watch/movement? I like the watch and I'm hoping to be able to wear it for quite some time! :)

If anyone is interested I paid around 16$ for it, which seems like a good deal so far as it seems to be keeping time quite well!

Many thanks in advance for any help!

[Hartmut Richter]

Looks like a relatively no-name brand using generic high quality movements from the sixties. Mirona was apparently registered as a brand by Nitella SA on 27th November 1943. The movement isn't by ETA, it's by Unitas (something from the Cal. 6300 family):

bidfun-db Archiv: Uhrwerke: Unitas 6300

Hartmut Richter

[Warwian]

Looks like a relatively no-name brand using generic high quality movements from the sixties. Mirona was apparently registered as a brand by Nitella SA on 27th November 1943. The movement isn't by ETA, it's by Unitas (something from the Cal. 6300 family):

bidfun-db Archiv: Uhrwerke: Unitas 6300

Hartmut Richter

Wow, thanks a bunch Hartmut! Wasn't expecting an answer quite so quickly! I forgot to mention it in my original post but the movement actually has the text "6300N" engraved. So you were spot on! Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't Unitas eventually bought by ETA? Might be why we were confusing it with an ETA movement.

Anyways, this seems to be quite a rare movement. This might seem a bit ignorant but do you think I should spend a bit of money getting it to perfect condition? It does run a little fast as it is now but it's not a major issue and I sadly don't have much money to spend. I wasn't really expecting much when I bought it for around 16$ and it seems to be a much better watch than I was anticipating!

Thanks for all the help so far!

[Hartmut Richter]

Unitas and ETA (and Adolf Schild, FEF, FHF, Felsa, Valjoux, Venus, Landeron.....) were part of the Ebauches SA trust. This was a conglomerate of independent companies that agreed on some terms under which to work. These mainly eliminated competition between the companies - chronographs only allowed to be made by Venus, Valjoux & Landeron, automatics only by Felsa, ETA and AS, large pocket watch movements made by Unitas, pin levers by Ebauches Bettlach, etc. - so they amounted to protectionism. It kept the Swiss watch industry alive until serious competition arrived from outside - Japan and quartz! Thereafter, they had to consolidate fast and the ESA effectively became the strongest individual unit (ETA) with all other players absorbed or eliminated. Nowadays, the ETA still has movements originally designed by other makers in their collection (Valjoux 7750, Unitas 6497/6498 and until recently the Peseux 7001).

Although generic, the movement is indeed rarer than many of the ETA and Adolf Schild movements. I don't know why but I suspect that this is due to the relative sizes of the companies. It runs fast? By how much? Any more than 1 minute/day is probably too much and requires serious adjustment or parts replacement. Is this worth it? No, not in cash terms - the additional selling value on the watch afterwards will be worth less than the cost of the service. Still, if you are going to use it, it will be worth it - the cost of the service will be less than the cost of a decent equivalent modern manual mechanical watch.

Hartmut Richter