Basel 2008 Report: Ebel
By: Marcus Hanke (registered) Saturday, April 19th, 2008 - Photo Nav: View All 24 photo(s)Basel 2008 Report: Ebel
Text and pictures: Marcus Hanke
Ebel continued to refresh its lineup, with several highly attractive new watches.
The 1911 Discovery Chronograph series received some colour spots, especially on the bezel. After Omega started combining orange bezels with black dials, more and more brands discover this freshness, and the Valjoux 7750-equipped Ebel Discovery chronographs really look good in this colour combination!
One of Ebel's strongest points always was the marvelous casework. The Discovery chronograph is no exception here. I have never seen a better camouflage of the 7750's thickness than on this watch. It really appears to be thin and elegant.
The perpetual calendar received a slightly enlargened stainless steel case:
Absolutely stunning is this limited edition of the perpetual calendar with skeletonized dial: it appears very architectural, and reminds me a bit of the Corona watches made by Sarpaneva, which were also shown in Basel.
While the entrance lines are equipped with the ETA/Valjoux 7750 movement, Ebel uses its proprietary cal. 137 in the 1911 BTR chronograph series. This also received a new case. One might notice that the slits of the screwheads in the bezel are now aligned with the case outlines, which is not the case on the other cases shown above. The reason is, that, like Audemars Piguet on its Royal Oak, the case is screwed from behind, into the bolts in the bezel; these only appear to be screws.
A further evolutionary step of the cal. 137 is the new cal. 139 movement, used in the new 1911 Tekton chronographs. These have a central 30 minutes counter, and appear very modern.
Readers of PuristSPro might remember the news of Ebel's partnership with various European soccer teams. To celebrate its newest cooperation with the German Bayern München team, Ebel created this stunning "Bavaria" variant of the Tekton: It has a 45 minutes counter, to make it a good timer for a soccer match's 2 x 45 minutes periods. The steel case features a scratch-proof DLC (=Diamond-Like Carbon) coating.
The pattern on the dial is quoting Bavaria's crest, of blue and white lozenges.
The movement's rotor, too, is influenced by the soccer topic, showing the outlines of a soccer ball.
The Ebel Classic line gets a nice watch with power reserve, weekdays and (illegible) retrograde date display. In spite of the compromised practical value, this watch is really beautiful.
Once again, I want to point out the perfect and unique casework, where the side contours repeat the classic "Ebel wave", as can be seen here on the metal bracelet in the background.
For the Ladies, the Brasilia series now offers a choice of white or black with ceramic sides and rubber straps:
Also new is the small Brasilia with gold bracelet.
And in steel, with diamonds on the dial:
Finally, a design classic was refreshed: The same designer, who was responsible for the Beluga more than ten years ago, designed a facelift. A direct comparison of the new Beluga (upper) with the original (lower) reveals a more refined outline, due to the use of diamonds in different sizes, and a wider and more solid bracelet.
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