At the beginning of this year, Eberhard & Co. extended its Chrono4 line of automatic chronographs with a sportier Chrono4 BADBOY (ref. 31060). Featuring a bold and energetic, yet “industrial” design, which combines a monochromatic color scheme of steel and rubber with only small red accents here and there, it leaves a somewhat ambiguous impression and, like the famous black licorice, should be sold under a “Love it or hate it, Whatever” slogan.
The new Chrono4 BADBOY (ref. 31060) is not precisely a revolution in the world of watchmaking either in terms of engineering or in terms of industrial design. Those keeping a watchful eye on the Swiss manufacture have already seen the same “inline-four” dial layout in several other Eberhard Chrono 4 models powered by the same EB250 automatic caliber.
Based on ETA 2894 ebauche and equipped with an add-on complication module (that, by the way, not only makes the dial looks more complex but also literally complicates servicing or repairing the base caliber if something goes wrong with the mechanism), the movement allows for an extra chronograph totalizer.
Besides the usual 60-second, 30-minute, and 12-hour subdials, there is also a 24-hour counter for those who love to use the function.
Although not of any practical use, the modification provides the watch with a refreshingly cool look, especially if you are fed up with the traditional tri-compax chronograph layout and feel that a bi-compax one is too old-school for cool.
To provide enough space on the dial for all four counters (or maybe simply following with the current trend of constant supersizing,) Eberhard had to increase the case diameter to gargantuan 46 millimeters with crown even not included! Equipped with generously proportionate lugs and a massive winding crown, the Chrono 4 BADBOY indeed makes an impression.
My main complaint here is that the timekeeper doesn’t look like a luxury item that costs close to $10,000. It looks so industrial, so machine-made, so, err, Japanese, that, at a first glance, you expect the price to hover around $300 or $500 tops.
Also, an ETA 2894-based watch just can’t cost like a small hatchback if its case is not crafted either from 18-karat rose gold or a piece of Titanic’s hull.
And judging by the fact that one of the web-based shops offers the BADBOY with a free Wenger Commando chronograph and an “exclusive” auto-winder, there is a great number of consumers also shocked by the timekeeper’s price tag even after the usual discounts.
See also: IWC Ingenieur Edition Zinedine Zidane Edition
Photos: Eberhard & Co
Eberhard & Co. Chrono4 BADBOY 31060 specification
Price range: $10,000
Movement: Caliber EB250, base ETA 2894 with add-on module, automatic, diameter 28.2 mm, Swiss Made
Jewels: 56
Cadence of balance: 28,800 vph
Functions: Hours, minutes, small seconds, chronograph with a 24-hour counter, date
Power reserve: 38 hours
Case: Stainless steel
Shape: Round
Size: 46.00 mm
Case height: 14.10 mm
Dial: Black or White
Numerals: Arabic
Hands: Steel
Water resistance: 200 meters
Strap: Black rubber strap, 22 mm
Crystal: Sapphire
Back: Solid stainless steel, engraved