Eberhard & Co. relaunched the Contograf in 2014, a chronograph first presented in the 1960s. Two features distinguish it in particular: for one, three longer indexes within the chronograph’s minute totalizer at 3 o’clock. The reason for this is that the watch was issued at a time when making phone calls was much more expensive than now and the costs were calculated in increments of three minutes.

The second detail is the “50” marked at about 2 o’clock on the dial. At a time when cars did not often include a speedometer, the driver knew that he had reached 50 km/h if the second hand reached this point after one entire revolution around the dial using a distance of one kilometer as the reference.

The Contograf’s bracelet also includes the exclusive and patented locking system called Déclic to avoid it unexpectedly opening.

Reissuing old models can no longer be called a trend as doing this has now been fashionable for several years. However, the exercise remains challenging as the goal is to adapt a previous model to contemporary standards respecting what made it unique in the first place. Eberhard & Co. succeeded with this new version of the Contograf. The design is clear, proportions are well balanced, and it retains some technical features as the industrial-strength movement has been slightly modified. Last but not least, a military version was launched at Baselworld 2015.

This couldn’t be a more trendy watch, with good and strong arguments.