On the occasion of the 12th Watchmaking Heritage Biennial, Eberhard & Co. opens the doors of its historic headquarters in La Chaux-de-Fonds, offering the public special guided visits to its Museum.
Dedicated to celebrating the iconic sites of Swiss watchmaking, the event features a programme of activities in La Chaux-de-Fonds, neighbouring Le Locle and Saint-Imier, three localities with deep-rooted ties to Swiss watchmaking. La Chaux-de-Fonds and Le Locle were recognised as UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2009 for their exceptional heritage linked to the watchmaking industry.
Visitors will be welcomed at the Maison de l’Aigle, a historic building commissioned by Georges-Lucien Eberhard in the early twentieth century. Inaugurated in 2019 and normally accessible by appointment only, the Museum traces nearly 140 years of the Maison’s history through an extensive collection of timepieces, ranging from late nineteenth-century pocket watches and early wrist chronographs to more recent creations.
The exhibition is complemented by a valuable historical archive containing a wealth of period documents, alongside original components, tools, materials and other supplies, offering tangible insight into the Maison’s history and watchmaking production over the decades.
During the visits, Eberhard & Co. will present its two latest acquisitions, both dating from 1969, which will join the Museum’s permanent collection, showcasing two very different expressions of the Maison’s creativity.
The first is a Contograf ref. 31504, a manually wound mechanical chronograph belonging to one of the Maison’s most representative collections of the period. Introduced in the early 1960s, the model embodies Eberhard & Co.’s chronograph expertise through a particularly distinctive technical and graphic design.
Powered by the Eberhard 310-82 calibre, this example features a 43 mm water-resistant stainless-steel case and a distinctive black “reverse panda” dial with two white counters and a date display at 6 o’clock. Its defining features include tachymetric and telemetric scales printed on the inner surface of the plexiglass crystal. The case’s softly contoured lines and the dial’s graphic design anticipate some of the aesthetic codes of the 1970s, while keeping legibility, functionality and character at the forefront.
The second acquisition is a refined jewelled watch brooch, exemplifying the Maison’s more precious and decorative creations. An elegant botanical motif, embellished with enamel and precious stones, incorporates the watch as an integral part of the composition. The delicate 18-carat rose gold case, measuring 16.5 mm in diameter, blends into the ornamental motif like a small “mechanical fruit”. Inside is a manually wound mechanical movement, the Eberhard 400 calibre, 4 ¾'''.
Together, these two timepieces, created in the same year yet markedly different in function, aesthetics and intended use, offer a compelling illustration of the diversity of Eberhard & Co.’s production during a period of transition. In 1969, the company’s leadership passed from the Eberhard family to the Monti family, on the eve of a period that would profoundly reshape the world of watchmaking with the advent of quartz technology. Throughout this transformation, Eberhard & Co. would remain steadfast in its heritage while embracing new horizons.
