Eberhard & Co. is about to start selling their new take on the hand-wound 8 Jours collection that offers the impressive 8 days of power reserve. Although preserving the same basic dial layout with seconds sub-dial at 6 o’clock and the power reserve indicator at 9 o’clock, the 8 Jours Grande Taille grew slightly bigger to match today’s standards and now sports a more modern appearance with more prominent lugs and a cleaner design.
The watch is powered by the reworked ETA Peseux 7001 hand-wound movement, which is still popular among both German (Limes, Nomos) (as well as the Swiss Baume & Mercier, Blancpain (usually modified to higher specs to justify the premium price tag that the brand puts on its pieces,) Maurice Lacroix, Omega (also seriously modified,) Tissot) brands.
Thanks to its extreme flatness (the caliber is only 2.5 mm thick,) they can create really thin watches with top to bottom height sometimes measuring just about 5-6 millimeters.
The 8 Jours Grande Taille, however, is much thicker measuring an impressive 11.25 mm in height.
The extra millimeters are added to squeeze in an add-on module that adds a power reserve functionality and provides some living space for the second spring barrel that houses a spring 125 centimeters (almost 50 inches!) in length.
The extra spring barrel is responsible for the Grande Taille’s impressive 8 days of power reserve, while the original Peseux 7001 is not able to run longer than the standard 42 hours.
In this respect, the timekeeper looks like a serious competitor to the gorgeous IWC Portofino 8 Days that, while being powered by a true in-house hand-wound caliber 59210, is also significantly more expensive and larger in diameter making it a less ideal choice to those interesting in a more discreet design.
The Eberhard 8 Jours Grande Taille, on the other hand, comes packed in an elegant 41 mm case, which is made either of 18-karat rose gold or surgical-grade stainless steel and features a cut-out on its solid case back cover to provide a view of its nicely decorated mainspring barrel with a figure 8-shaped bridge.
Sporting short lugs and a compact setting / winding crown the time-measuring device will probably feel comfortable on a normally-sized wrist.
The timepiece will be delivered in two versions of dial layout, the first featuring Arabic numerals and the second, which is just a trifle dressier, coming with Roman numerals.
Certainly, a nice watch to own if you can’t afford an *ahem* a bit more expensive timekeeper like, say, Patek Philippe. Of course, the MSRP of €6700 still doesn’t make it a truly affordable timekeeper, but the price seems to be well justified.
See also: Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control 1833 Ultra-Thin
Photos: Eberhard & Co.
Eberhard 8 Jours Grande Taille specification
Price range: €6700 (ref. 21027, rose gold case, MSRP)
Movement: Caliber ETA Peseux 7001, modified, hand-wound, Swiss Made
Complications: Power reserve
Power reserve: 8 days (192 hours)
Case: Steel / 18-karat rose gold
Size: 41.00 mm
Case height: 11.25 mm
Dial: White
Numerals: Arabic
Water resistance: 30 meters
Strap: Crocodile leather strap with 18-karat pink gold buckle or stainless steel buckle (matching case)
Crystal: Sapphire
Back: Solid, engraved, with circular cutout over the balance wheel