Two questions come up again and again before people buy a magnetic ball watch: where is this watch actually from, and who came up with the idea of using magnets and steel balls to tell the time?
This page answers both, plainly, without the usual marketing fog.
Where EUTOUR watches come from
EUTOUR is a watch design brand founded in 2017 by Liu Longhua, based in Guangzhou, China. The brand operates under the group company Guangzhou TUOKEXI Dianzishangwu Co., Ltd, and describes itself as a young design brand specialising in watch innovation. On its own brand-story page, EUTOUR says it has registered the brand in the United States, Europe, Japan, the United Kingdom and Australia.
The watches are designed by EUTOUR and manufactured in China. The movements inside them are not Chinese: depending on the model, they are branded quartz calibres from RONDA of Switzerland (founded 1946, based in Lausen) or MIYOTA of Japan, the movement division of Citizen. The exact calibre is listed on each product page.
The name sounds European and that is deliberate — the brand says EUTOUR refers to a journey to the Nordic region, as a nod to minimalist design. It is not a Swiss or Scandinavian company, and we would rather tell you that than let you assume otherwise.
EUTOUR in India
eutour.in is the official EUTOUR store for India. What that means in practice:
- Stock is held and shipped within India, so there is no customs wait and no import surprise.
- Prices are in rupees, and every order comes with an invoice.
- Every watch carries a 1-year official warranty, extendable by a second year with Care+.
- Support is handled here. If something goes wrong, you write to a team in India through the contact page — not to a marketplace seller who stops replying after the return window.
Who invented the magnetic ball watch?
There is no single inventor of “the magnetic watch”, but the idea of using magnets to float steel balls across a dial instead of hands belongs to high-end Swiss watchmaking.
The best-known example is the Christophe Claret X-TREM-1, unveiled in 2012. It displays hours and minutes with two hollow steel spheres that travel inside sapphire tubes on either side of the case. The spheres have no mechanical connection to the movement at all — they are pulled along by magnets riding on tiny carriages, guided by surgical silk thread. It is a 419-part, hand-wound calibre with an inclined flying tourbillon, made in limited editions of eight pieces.
Its price at launch: 264,000 to 288,000 Swiss francs. At today’s rates that is well over two crore rupees.
What EUTOUR did from 2017 onward was take the idea — time shown by moving spheres rather than hands — and build it as an everyday quartz watch that an ordinary person can actually buy and wear. The engineering is completely different and far simpler: a magnet on an arm under the dial, turned by a quartz movement, carrying a steel ball around a track. Our explainer covers it here: how a magnetic ball bearing watch works.
So the honest version of the story is this: the concept came from Swiss haute horlogerie, and EUTOUR made a version of it that costs a few thousand rupees instead of a few crore.
What “original” means when you buy one
Because the design is popular, there are plenty of ₹500 to ₹900 imitations on marketplace listings. They copy the look, the photos and sometimes the model numbers. What they don’t copy is the movement, the case finishing, the service, or the warranty.
Four things to check on any listing, ours included:
- Is the movement named? “Swiss RONDA” or “Japanese MIYOTA” is a fact. “High quality movement” is not.
- Is the water resistance a rating? 3ATM or 5ATM, not the word “waterproof”.
- Is there an invoice and a written warranty? No bill means no warranty.
- Is there someone to contact? A website and a support address, not just a UPI number.
We go through this in more detail in original vs copy: how to spot a real magnetic ball watch.
Frequently asked questions
Where are EUTOUR watches made?
They are designed by EUTOUR in Guangzhou, China, and manufactured in China. The quartz movements inside are made by RONDA in Switzerland or MIYOTA in Japan, depending on the model.
Is EUTOUR a Swiss brand?
No. The name was chosen to evoke a Nordic journey, but EUTOUR is a Chinese design brand founded in 2017. Several models do use Swiss RONDA movements, which is a different thing from being a Swiss brand.
Who is the founder of EUTOUR?
Liu Longhua, who founded the brand in 2017. It operates under Guangzhou TUOKEXI Dianzishangwu Co., Ltd.
Who invented the magnetic ball watch?
No single person. Magnet-driven steel spheres as a time display were made famous by the Christophe Claret X-TREM-1 in 2012, a Swiss watch priced in the hundreds of thousands of francs. EUTOUR built an affordable quartz interpretation of the idea from 2017.
Is the magnet inside safe?
For most people, yes. People with pacemakers or other implanted devices should check with their doctor. Details are in are magnetic watches safe.
Where do I buy a genuine EUTOUR in India?
From eutour.in or our official marketplace stores. Every order ships with an invoice and a 1-year warranty.
See the full collection, with the movement, case size and water resistance listed on every product page.
Browse EUTOUR watches →
Sources: EUTOUR brand story (eutour.com), company’s own stated registrations; Christophe Claret X-TREM-1 specifications as published at launch in 2012; RONDA AG (Lausen, Switzerland, est. 1946); MIYOTA (Citizen Group, Japan).