uropa Star: As an independent brand, how did you get through the pandemic?

Mario Peserico: Without too much damage, fortunately. In 2020, we minimised the decline to -6%, much better than the industry average of -21.8%. In 2021, we experienced double-digit growth. Recovery has been fast. What has helped us is our loyalty to our physical distribution network and to our retailers. This extensive network, especially in Europe, has allowed us to do well with local customers in medium-sized cities, which are less affected by the absence of shopping tourism than the big cities. For example, we did very well in Mestre, the city just next to Venice, when tourism was collapsing on the Venetian side!

The domestic clients who kept their jobs saved a lot during the pandemic... And during this period they also had time to become well informed about the watch offer – they tend to look for something different, they like independence, not the mainstream. This has changed attitudes a little, and we can feel a favourable wind blowing for independent brands.

“In 2021, we experienced double-digit growth. For example, we did very well in Mestre, the city just next to Venice, when tourism was collapsing on the Venetian side.”

Mario Peserico, Managing Director of Eberhard & Co.

What were your main new releases for 2021?

Given all the talk about magnetic fields, we have reissued the Scientigraf from 1961. This model was one of the pioneers in the use of a Faraday cage, a malleable iron structure that protects the movement. We have also released a blue version of our dive watch, the Scafograf 300 MCMLIX edition, which is sold out. But our most important new release of 2021 was without doubt the 20-year anniversary edition of the Chrono 4.

Eberhard & Co. Chrono 4

Can you introduce it to us?

This is our highly recognisable model with its four counters in a row, which was an immediate success when it was launched in 2001 and has been produced in many versions. For the 20th anniversary, we have released a 42 mm Chrono 4 with a steel or ceramic bezel, patented calibre EB.251 and a wide choice of dials, which will replace the previous series.

Eberhard & Co. Scafograf 300 MCMLIX Blue Edition