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Ebel Chronograph Sport from the early 1980's
The legend, the El Primero based Chronograph Sport
Probably the most well known which is the 'Miami Vice' or the Chrono Sport. Probably one of the most legendary watches but somehow completely forgotten. Back in the 1980's this was the 'IT' watch. Forget about the Rolex Daytona. Most of us probably know but for those that didn't. It was Ebel with THIS watch that brought back Zenith to life. Zenith was as good as dead. We all know the Charles Vermot history, right? Zenith was obliged to destroy all El Primero movements, machines and plans but Charles refused and hide away all these valuable things. Anyway, Early 1980 Ebel contacted Zenith and asked if they were able to make the El Primero again. They could and did it, in 1982 the first Ebel Chronographs came to the market. An elegant automatic sportswatch with the typical wave bracelet. During the first 2-3 years these watches had the Zenith 3019 PHC inside. Later when more and more were made Zenith named it the Calibre 40.0 and afterwards the Calibre 400. Ebel named it the calibre 134 all the time ( no matter if it were a 3019 PHC or the 40.0 or 400 ). The dials were most popular in white but black and blue also appear. The hands were non Luminova and plain black. Case material steel with gold accents like the bezel or even a solid gold case. https://i.imgur.com/1J5ET8c.jpg |
Love these history lessons. I'd love the Wave EP in full gold.
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This is an interesting post. I like the dial and hands. I don't like the position of the date. The case design and lugs I don't care for and look outdated. Overall I don't think this watch stood up to the test of time very well. It's not really a timeless design. Still better than a lot of watches though.
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I'm not sure case and lugs are outdated but I respect your opinion. To ma a Nautilus looks damn outdated too. I mean, what if this Ebel was not made by Ebel but by PP or AP, and what is this was also a Gerald Genta design ( which it is NOT) Everybody would love it and would want one :-) And it would be at least 10 times more expansive. The bicolour makes it look a bit older cause bicolour is not what most are looking for but exactly the same is also available is steel and white gold, gives already a more modern look. |
And ... Pretty cool too if somebody like Maximillian Büsser ( MB&F) praises this piece :-)
From an Hodinkee interview wit him https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/ta...imilian-busser --> I really DO recommend looking at this interview ... one of the best on Hodinkee and just listen good what Max tells about this watch :-) https://i.imgur.com/kd8p8F8.jpg |
And this sentence is imo a good one to remember
"There was a time when Ebel was one of the biggest names in Swiss watchmaking, and although the company is not, at least for now, seated at it's former place ...' I hope so hard one day that STUPID Movado group that bought Ebel more or less 20 years ago will sell them asap to a serious watch group that knows what Ebel stood for and brings them back to where they belong. They have such a great DNA and history BTW, not that it is important but it's a fact, these chronograph were in 1980-1990 more expensive and even more sought after than a Rolex Daytona |
This post is intriguing. I'm fond of the dial and hands. However, I'm not a fan of the date's placement. The design of the case and lugs seems a bit dated to me. In general, I feel this watch hasn't aged gracefully. It doesn't have that timeless appeal. Nonetheless, it's still superior to many other watches out there.
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Really great post! I can remember when Ebel was truly a big name in the world of watches, and they ran massive print ad campaigns, perhaps only outdone by Rolex's ad campaigns.
Once Miami Vice ditched the fake Rolex Day-Date...the all gold Ebel was getting plenty of attention every Friday night on Sonny Crocket's wrist. I actually, didn't know the Ebel Sport Chronograph was more expensive than a Daytona back in the 1980s. Although, I did know that back in the day, the Daytona was not Rolex's most expensive watch. I have an old Rolex print ad from the 1980's and the Sub and GMT were around $1,325 and a Daytona was around $1,100. And back then you could get a steel Sub or GMT from an AD with a 25% discount....and since no one wanted a manual wind Daytona that wasn't using an actual Rolex movement...you could get even deeper discounts on those. While I'm not usually a fan of Roman numerals on the dial of a chronograph, I do think it works well on the Ebel. The date placement doesn't bother me at all. I much prefer it there than cutting through the subdial at 6 as is done on some chronographs. I also like the later style bracelet more than the earlier style wave bracelet, although that is the more classic and original bracelet for them. It's really quite sad how Ebel has gone from being a front runner in the world of sports watches, once mentioned in the same breath as Rolex, Omega, Breitling, IWC to becoming largely absent from any watch discussions. I don't really find the watch dated, especially if it is on the later style bracelet. At least not any more dated than a RO, Nautilus, 222, GP Laureato, Santos, etc. I think at this point we all simply have a lot more exposure to those other watches as they have exploded on social media in the last few years. Reading the OPs post definitely has me at least slightly curious about vintage Ebel chronographs. Cheers! |
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I do like this watch. It does have that 80's feel to it, in a good way.
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It is a really pretty watch, particularly in two tone like Sonny had! (Along with his Ferrari ::cough:: Daytona).
I learned about this watch for the first time when I started to research H Moser's beautiful Streamliner. The Streamliner is not a total copy of the Ebel, but there is clearly very strong inspiration taken from the 80s watch. Ebel should really make much more of their 80s heritage. |
[QUOTE=IGY;12959844
Ebel should really make much more of their 80s heritage.[/QUOTE] They could…. If only that stupid Movado group would sell them to a group that understands the value, possibilities and historical importance of Ebel. I don’t care if it’s swatch , Richemont, LVMH or another big group. But definitely not Movado, they cheapened Ebel Best of al would be some guy with passion and money that makes them independent. But that’s all not happening for the moment so I’ll be happy with the pieces they made in the 1980’s and 1990’s 😁 |
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Always thought this mode was cool
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There is bad marketing and good marketing Take for example Blancain, that was everything but haute horlogerie in the past. They say they’re the oldest manufacturer since 1735 Ok but find me watches made in for example 1930? Won’t find them They had the 50 fathoms but if you open one the movement just sucks Mr Biver did a great job telling everyone how good and important the oldest brand was. He succeeded Same can be said about panerai and mr Bonati They made a succes starting from nothing I’m sure Biver could have do e or do the same with Ebel, and it’s even easier cause the have roots Swatch did somehow the opposite with longines Longines was a fantastic brand in the 1940-50-60 ‘s Take the calibre 13zn of 30ch These are stunning, somehow swatch decided they had to play in the entry luxury watch market. With succes looking at their sales volume. But it could have been a much better high end brand So it’s all marketing Unfortunately Movado sucks big time and seems they don’t know what to do with Ebel. Let’s hope that one day they Movado will sell them to a serious investor. |
They were marketing the brand heavily in the 80's. In tennis, football (European) and Formula 1.
Picked this up from another forum. Here's Niki Lauda advertising the brand on his driver suit and 1982 F1 world champion Rosberg wearing one. I can only imagine what it cost to advertise in those F1 top teams but for sure they don't have that kind of money anymore. https://i.imgur.com/LuPdlqT.jpg |
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Ebel‘s downfall started much earlier than the brand purchase of Movado.
Pierre Alain Blum rocketed the brands to crazy levels but then became more interested in producing movies in Hollywood and consequently the Ebel train lost steam. Ebel‘s newer story is highly influenced by PA Blum - positively and badly. |
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First they were sold to investcorp which also bought breguet. After inverstcorp it went to LVMH and eventually LVMH sold it to Movado. Imo a big mistake from LVMH, they should have kept it. But it was Movado that made the biggest mistake. Putting them in a lower category and selling their in-house chronograph movement to Ulysse Narding |
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Excited to come across this thread, I too share a passion for early Ebel Chronos. With the help of others I put together an overview of the evolution, if interested you can find it here...
https://www.watchbrotherslondon.com/...l-chronographs All the best, Ben |
I loved these watches too. Always looking for the all gold versions (8134901).
Ebel seems to be non-existent in the US market. Why don't they just bring the oldies back? |
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