History of the Eberhard brand

Eberhard & Co. — a (very) chronographic history

Origins: Eberhard & Rosselet (1887)

The company was founded in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1887 under the name Eberhard et Rosselet, by Georges-Lucien Eberhard (from Jegenstorf, BE) and Henri Rosselet (from Douanne/Twann). In 1892, the firm became Eberhard & Co., and in 1906 it moved into the spectacular Maison de l’Aigle (73 Avenue Léopold-Robert), crowned with an eagle and combining workshops and housing.

The decisive turn: the first chronographs (1919–1939)

1919: Eberhard launches one of the very first monopusher wrist chronographs.
1935: appearance of a double pusher with an unusual function (start/stop without reset).
1938: first hour counter on a wrist chronograph by the brand.
1939: perfected split-seconds chronograph.

These milestones set Eberhard’s technical DNA and explain its popularity with officers – particularly Italians – in the 1930s.

Extra-Fort: the Eberhard language (1940s–1960s)

The name Extra-Fort appeared in the early 1940s and became the signature of the brand’s great chronographs. “Pre-Extra-Fort” and Extra-Fort pieces are recognizable by their sliding device on the right side (a lever to lock/pause the chronograph) – a very Eberhard idea to prevent accidental operations.

Movements:

Caliber 16000 (16 lignes): Valjoux-based architecture developed for Eberhard in the 1930s; widely used in “pre-Extra-Fort” models.
Caliber 14000: adopted extensively from 1951 for the Extra-Fort, often paired with the famous sliding lock.

Note: some dealers describe the 14000 as “in-house,” but specialist literature points out that Eberhard’s first true modern manufacture movement would only appear much later (EB 140 in 2019).

1600 vs 16000 — close but distinct

The caliber 1600 (without the two zeros) is linked to the split-seconds chronographs of the late 1930s and described as a modified Valjoux 65; while the 16000 was another major 16-ligne base of the period. Both designations sometimes overlap in auction listings, which explains the confusion.

Other vintage pillars

Scafograf (1959): the diver’s family that marked the 1960s.
Contograf (mid-1960s): two-register chronograph with a strong sporting identity, reinterpreted in 2014.

From crisis to revival (1978–today)

After relocating to Biel/Bienne in 1978, the brand returned to its Maison de l’Aigle in 2018 and inaugurated its museum in 2019 – the eagle regained its dome.

Tazio Nuvolari (1992) celebrated motorsport,
Chrono 4 (2001) lined up four counters horizontally – a patented solution that became Eberhard’s contemporary icon,
In 2019, the brand unveiled EB 140, its first modern “in-house” movement.