Eberhard has started revisiting various points on its long adventure by relaunching some of the milestone timepieces from its past. One of them is the Extra-fort, reissued to celebrate one of the classic chronographs from the 1940s - protagonist of several international auctions - which has now become one of the company’s best-selling models. The next chapter will be told by the Tribute to Contograf, contemporary interpretation of a creation from the 1960’s. An era of optimism, lively creativity and innovation, and also of growing wealth which, among other things, allowed more people to buy fine objects which until then had been considered a privilege for the few, mechanical watches from Switzerland.
The 1960’s Contograf boasted some very innovative characteristics. It was a precision chronograph with two counters and a large date window at the 6 o’clock position, featuring a fast-changing date, something of a revolution at the time. This feature and its waterproof buttons made it a piece for everyday use, helping promote the view of a watch as an indispensable accessory. One interesting element was the minute counter, divided into three units and designed to measure the duration of a telephone call, at a time when long-distance or even international calls were undertaken with a degree of caution...
Most of these original features have been maintained in the new 2014 edition, but there is no shortage of innovative details: the new ceramic bezel with unidirectional rotation serves as a frame for the tachymeter scale inspired by automotive design. The caseback is attached with screws like in the original version and contains the inscription “Tribute to Contograf - 1960s”. The date window at 6 o’clock has kept its particular trapezoidal shape. The innovations include the new metallic bracelet Chassis and an original black leather strap with a “red arrow” embroidered detail . The deployment buckle Déclic (Patented) is available as an accessory. The 8147 calibre guarantees the reliability and precision that have made Eberhard & Co. one of the points of reference for mechanical chronographs.
