The modern Eberhard Contograf finds its origins in a 1960 release of the same name. The original watch was distinguished most of all by its period design (picture below, via Analog/Shift). With panda-style subdials, dauphine hands, and the unique red line and “50” print marking the 50 km/hour mark on the tachymetric scale — the standard speed limit in many European cities then and now — the Contograf was a watch that brought together a wide variety of 1960s-era designs in a single format. The original never broke out as a timepiece with mass appeal, and was eventually discontinued about a decade after its release, but today it represents a great value to a few fervent collectors; enough of one, in fact, for Eberhard to revive the design in today’s modern iteration.
The contemporary editions of the watch, first released by Eberhard in 2014, have historically inspired designs with some clear modern updates. Available with a black, white, or two different panda-style dials, the 42-mm steel chronograph features a simple, rotating black ceramic bezel, pump pushers, a screw-down crown, and a vintage-style steel bracelet. The dial of the watch, in all four of its different colorways, has an outer tachymetric scale; applied rectangular hours markers; two subdials, for running seconds and a 30-minute chronograph counter; and a 6 o’clock date window with a red numeral. Sweeping over the face are two dauphine hour and minute hands, with a simple re...