While Italian watch enthusiasts have been wearing Eberhard watches for over a century, few American collectors are familiar with the brand's history and collection development. However, Eberhardt's recent success in winning a historically significant model at the GPHG (Geneva Watchmaking Grand Prix) has brought the brand to the forefront in the US. Here's a look at the history of this lesser-known brand.
Text by Mark Bernardo
Edited by Yuzo Takeishi
Published October 2020, 12
Eberhardt is not well known despite his long history
When discussing the history of diving watches, we focus on iconic models like the Rolex Submariner, Omega Seamaster, and Blancpain Fifty Fathoms.
When it comes to historically significant chronographs, I'd focus on Heuer, Breitling, Zenith, and the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona (although the Zenith movement is the most important), and when it comes to motorsport-related watches, I'd mention the Daytona, Heuer's Monaco and Carrera, and Chopard's Mille Miglia collection.
Meanwhile, there's a Swiss brand that, despite being founded in 1887, has not caught the attention of American watch enthusiasts. Based in Bienne, Eberhardt has been innovating continuously for over 130 years. Let's take a look at the inventions, outstanding technology, and exquisite design that the company has produced, including some world firsts.
The Evolution of Timekeeping: Extra Fault and Contograph
Eberhard was founded in La Chaux-de-Fonds by the 22-year-old entrepreneur Georges-Emile Eberhard. He was originally from a family that had been involved in watchmaking in Bern since the 10th century. Perhaps because of this background, Eberhard made chronographs one of his specialties from an early stage.
The company's first chronographs were pocket watches, which were still mainstream in the 20th century before World War I. In 1919, they produced their first wrist-worn chronograph, and as stopwatch technology evolved (and wristwatches became more popular than pocket watches), they released a succession of advanced models, including the double-pusher chronograph in 1935, a model with an hour counter in 1938, and a flyback in 1939. Eberhard's chronographs were also worn by officers of the Royal Italian Navy around the time of World War II, establishing a strong presence in the Italian market that continues to this day.
The pinnacle of this movement was the introduction of the Extra Fort in the late 40s. Named for its durable case, the Extra Fort (Fort is French for "strong") featured a sliding push-piece that allowed the user to measure elapsed time, a mechanism introduced by Eberhard to the watch industry. The Extra Fort became Eberhard's flagship model in the 50s and would influence the design of the company's subsequent chronographs.
Among these, the "Contograph," released in the 1960s, is currently highly prized by collectors. It featured an instantaneous date display with a distinctive trapezoidal window at the 6 o'clock position, and a minute counter with three sectors for measuring telephone call time.
Even today, Eberhard continues to specialize in the production of reliable, competitively priced chronographs. In 2014, they released the "Contograph," a 42mm stainless steel case with a unidirectional ceramic bezel with a tachymeter scale. It's powered by the ETA 7750, supplied by the Swatch Group's movement manufacturer. While there's a growing trend in the watch industry to shift to in-house movements, Eberhard says its relationship with ETA won't change in the near future.
Mario Peserico, CEO of Eberhard, who has been with the company for over 25 years, explains, "We've always had a good relationship with ETA, and we've always promoted our base movements as ETAs. This has allowed us to keep the price range of our core collection at around $2000 to $7000. While technical aspects are certainly important, our research shows that when customers choose a watch, appearance accounts for roughly half of their deciding factor. Of course, we do have special pieces that exceed the price range mentioned above."
One of the special pieces Peserico is referring to is the "Extrafort Grande Date Column Wheel," the first of which was released in 2012 as a limited edition of 500 pieces to commemorate the 125th anniversary of Eberhard's founding. This model, which uses a column wheel for the chronograph movement and features a big date display at 12 o'clock, is unusual for Eberhard and uses precious metal for the case material, with both the rose gold and white gold models selling for $21,070.
The anniversary model also contributed to broadening the scope of the Extra Fault, and the lineup now includes an automatic three-hand model, a three-hand model with a power reserve indicator, and a limited edition Rattrapante watch with a steel or rose gold case.
Dive into History: Scaphograph
Like many Swiss watchmakers of the time, Eberhard invested considerable effort and capital in developing watches with water resistance for diving. As a result, the brand saw growth in both commercial and leisure applications throughout the 1950s and 1960s. The company was one of the earliest entrants into diver's watches, and in 1921 patented a case design that protected the movement from dust and moisture. Prior to World War II, the company produced highly water-resistant watches for both sports and military use.
However, it wasn't until the 50s that Eberhard released the Scaphograph, a watch that cemented his name in the history of diver's watches. The first Scaphograph, released in 58, featured a 36mm case with water resistance to 100m and a distinctive design featuring triangular hour markers at 12, 3, 6, and 9 o'clock on the dial. However, it lacked the rotating bezel, which was a new feature at the time. The first watch to feature this was the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms, which had been released before the Scaphograph.
The 200m water-resistant "Scaphograph" was released just one year later, featuring the same dial design as its predecessor but with a rotating bezel (but no crown guards). Only 200 of these early models were produced, likely due to the difficulty in attracting customers during this era, given the presence of competing models such as the Rolex Submariner, Omega Seamaster, and the aforementioned Fifty Fathoms.
The third generation was released in 1964. As its name suggests, the "Scafograph 300" increased water resistance to 300m, the case diameter to 42mm, and the dial design was simplified. This was also the first "Scafograph" model to feature an automatic movement. The "Scafograph Super" was then released in 1984. This was an era when quartz movements were on the rise, and this model also featured a quartz movement.
Equipped with a helium escape valve, it also boasted 1000m water resistance, something only a handful of brands achieved at the time. The professional-grade model derived from this collection was the "Scafodat." In addition to 500m water resistance, it featured a rotating inner bezel operated by a large crown and a dial design reminiscent of the two early "Scafograf" models. Since its debut in 2006, it remains a part of the collection to this day. (Continued)
