The Extra-fort Roue à Colonnes Retour en Vol exemplifies the unique craftsmanship that defines the Swiss Maison’s most remarkable creations. It embodies the commitment to designing innovative chronographs that blend the technical and aesthetic allure of historic Eberhard & Co. timepieces with a modern twist.
This "return to the past with the eyes of the present" is a metaphorical flight on the wings of the eagle that dominates the Maison de l'Aigle in La Chaux-de-Fonds, leading to the rediscovery of instruments capable of segmenting, measuring and tracing the passage of time with unparalleled accuracy.
The new Extra-fort embodies this ideal flight by incorporating in its movement two outstanding features historically synonymous of a great chronograph: the column wheel and the fly-back complication.
The soul of the chronograph is the column wheel, blued, visible through the sapphire glass caseback: a refined mechanism that controls the chronograph's functions, ensuring greater precision in activating them, smoother operation of the functions and a feeling of softness when using the push-buttons.
Then there is the fly-back complication, indicated on the dial in the suggestive French translation retour en vol, which allows the chronograph to be reset and restarted with a single push of the button, without having to stop, reset and restart the chronograph. This function, which is particularly useful for measuring successive time intervals in rapid succession, was originally used by pilots in the 1930s to facilitate the timing of various phases of a flight.
The refinement of the movement is reflected in the watch's meticulously crafted aesthetics. The dial, featuring the frappé finishing, has a circular zone and azurée counters and is available in various colour combinations: argenté with argenté, black or blue counters; blue with argenté counters; and a very original "total blue" with a blue dégradé dial and blue counters. Depending on the dial version, a classic strap in black or blue alligator leather or a steel Chaque bracelet for a sportier look are proposed.
