highlights


Eberhard’s new assets

Pусский
October 2010


Since 1969, Eberhard has essentially been the province of one man—Palmiro Monti, when he became the major shareholder and took over managing the brand. For nearly 35 years, right up until his death in 2005, Monti worked hard to revive and develop this watch company, which was founded in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1887, and whose specialty has always been the chronograph. Most notably, Eberhard created the first chronograph wristwatch in 1919 (with a pushbutton at 4 o’clock), followed in 1935 by a two-pushbutton chronograph with stop and start of the hand without a return to zero. Three years later, in 1938, it introduced the first chronograph with an hour counter, while in 1939, the brand created the first flyback chronograph. After the end of World War II, the brand distinguished itself again in this domain when it launched its mythic ‘Extra-fort’ chronograph, characterized by a return to zero, accomplished with the aid of a sliding pushbutton. When Palmiro Monti took control of the company in 1969, the Swiss industry would soon face its most difficult crisis, one caused by the tidal wave of quartz movements that swept over the industry. Monti was not one to give up, however, and he strove to continue along the mechanical track, demonstrating a high level of technical savoir-faire with the creation of the Chronomaster in 1984 followed by the Navymaster collection and the ‘Tazio Nuvolari’ chronograph, named after the ‘crazy’ famous Italian runner. In 1996, Monti made quite an impression with the launch of the ‘8 Days’ timepiece, the first watch—manually wound—to achieve eight days of working reserve, made possible because of the utilization of two barrels, one of which contained a spring measuring 1.35 metres. Yet, positioned at a price of 2,600 CHF, this timekeeper was paradoxically considered to be ‘too inexpensive’ for the epoch and did not enjoy the success that this innovation deserved.

Creation of an icon
Palmiro Monti followed the ‘8 Days’ timepiece with another model that, this time, would enjoy huge success, eventually becoming the absolute emblem of the company even up to today. This was the famous Chrono 4, created in 2001. Unique in watchmaking, it aligned four counters placed horizontally for hours, minutes, small seconds and GMT time. This particular sequential arrangement allowed for the reading of short time intervals that was both immediate and global, although it also involved a quite complex level of construction. When Palmiro Monti’s passed away in 2005, the compamy was taken over by his daughter, Barbara Monti, aided on the business side by her husband, Mario Peserico. The following period was one of readjustment, made nec-essary because the colourful Palmiro Monti was the soul of the brand. “We revisited our offer”, explained Mario Pesrico, “since we wanted to adapt it to the new timekeeping environment by bringing in more added value and more watch functions while conserving the soul and spirit of the company.”

Eberhard's new assets CHRONO 4 BAD BOY

Re-launches
In 2008, Eberhard reintroduced the ‘8 Days’ model, and increased its size from 37mm to 41mm in diameter. The Chrono 4 also underwent several changes and its size passed from 40mm to 43mm. The Chrono 4 Grande Taille also became sportier. Mounted on a rubber strap, its pushbuttons and crown were also covered in rubber. Another change was in the alignment of the counters, which were placed vertically in the amazing Chrono 4 Temerario. Tonneau-shaped, this chronograph has its two pushbuttons situated at 11 o’clock and at 1 o’clock while the winding crown is at 12 o’clock under a small closable flap. This year at BaselWorld, Eberhard presented an even stronger and sportier version of its icon—the Chrono 4 Bad Boy. With its 46mm diameter, commanding forms, rotating bezel, protected crown, three-dimensional dial, tachometric scale in km/h, water-resistance to 200 metres and a seemingly sculpted rubber strap - this chronograph certainly deserves its name. It also demonstrates the quality changes that have taken place in the concept of the Chrono 4.

The beautiful Gilda
Even though an essentially technical—and therefore masculine—brand, Eberhard has now entered into a new area, the feminine timepiece. And enter it has, with grace and style. Barbara Monti has created an oval watch in the form of an eclipse, with curves all around and a case back engraved with a delicate floral motif that also shows its name: Gilda. These new ladies’ watches feature very clean and pure dials, which are available in a choice of a white mother-of-pearl with stylized Roman numerals, or a white satiny finish with two large Roman numerals set with diamonds, or even a satiny pearl grey treated with ‘black gold’. There is also a choice of straps and bracelets: pearly white alligator leather, rows of five links with softened edges, or an exclusive version with diamonds. It all comes together to make Gilda one of the most beautiful ladies’ watches of the year. Eberhard’s foray into the feminine sector has been a total success.

Eberhard's new assets GILDA

Conquering the markets
Eberhard’s new launch coincides with its plans to conquer the markets, most notably the Asian market. “For now, we are producing approximately 15,000 watches per year,” explains Mario Peserico,“destined for our principal market, Italy, where we have 300 points of sale, a number equal to what we have in the rest of the world. Our goal therefore is to open new markets. To do this, we are offering what I believe to be a very favourable price/quality ratio, with an average price between 4,500 and 5,000 CHF. As an example, the price of our new Gilda collection, with quartz movements, ranges from 3,000 to 9,500 CHF, for a quality product that we can really consider as haut de gamme.” Asked about the brand’s strategy in terms of movements, Mario Peserico is very frank: “For the moment, creating our own in-house movement is not indispensable. In the current economic situation, the supply of movements is easily accessible and guaranteed. We work essentially with ETA calibres as a base on which we develop our own exclusive modules such as for the 8 Days or the Chrono 4. Despite the increase in prices, ETA bases remain very advantageous and are of excellent quality. Moreover, our production is guaranteed to be 100 per cent Swiss, which not all brands can claim. We feel that we have good positioning and a good offer that will let us expand our markets. This is primarily what we are concentrating on today. We believe that success is around the corner, since from both a design and price point of view, our offer is in tune with the times. Clients today want value for their money. And this is what we offer them—not only in terms of exclusivity but also in terms of service, which is essential today.”

Source: Europa Star August - September 2010 Magazine Issue