Eberhard & Co. Pre-Extra Fort One Button 3-Register Chronograph Calibre 16000 40mm Case WWII Era
This is a extremely rare Eberhard & Co. three register one button chronograph. The case is a stepped fully stainless steel 40mm diameter case showing little wear. The case features a full polish finish except for the case back which is brushed finish - typical of Eberhard cases during this era. I estimate the age of this watch to be late 1930's-1940's (early 1940s) and before the name Extra Fort was used. This watch was actually their first (and for the world) 3 register w/hour counter chronograph. The watch was primarily used in military, motor sport, medical and technical applications. It's important to note however that these were in high demand during WWII, with very little available - these were expensive to make. The original silver dial is beautiful - hard to really catch in the pictures. As shown in the photo's, the dial has age marks and some spidering especially around 4 O'clock. All of the hands on the watch are blued steel, many of which are toned dark from age. The seconds hand has its original red paint still visible on it. In some of the photo's the 30min subdial appears much lighter in color than the others but it is not that much lighter; all the hands have a very similar tone. Now let's get to the very special part that makes this so rare. This Eberhard is executed using the calibre 16000. These are not just rare; but especially rare in a tri-compax configuration. This is a one button chronograph. The top pusher manages all the functions; start, stop and reset. The bottom button is actually a slider that locks the top pusher so that no mishaps can happen. When the bottom button is slid up toward the crown, the top pusher will not operate. When slid back down toward the lug; the top pusher then is fully functional. This piece was just overhauled and is keeping time within 10 seconds per day; all chronograph functions work properly and all dials reset as they should. This movement was last serviced in July 2017. This chronograph is a collectors dream, a holy grail of chronographs or if you just like the watch and have the money and want to wear it...you may do that as well. The 40mm case makes this vintage piece look to today's standards of sports model case sizes.
