Eterna was celebrating its 160th anniversary at Baselworld along with a three-fold increase in sales in the past year.
The brand, which is owned and operated by the Citychamp Watch & Jewellery Group which also includes Rotary, Corum and Drefuss & Co along with Chinese brands Rossini and EBOHR, is now headed up by new chief executive officer Robert Dreyfuss, who moved across in January.
Speaking to the Baselworld Daily News, Dreyfuss said: “Our chairman Kwok Lung Hon asked me to join and begin the journey of restoring it to its former glory and rightful place in the windows of the world’s finest jewellers.”
“It’s all about going back to basics,” he added. “We dig into the brand’s original DNA, playing on its innovative past, iconic products, movement manufacturing brilliance, and finally executive the basic tasks really well. It’s not about reinventing the wheel, this brand has a history and heritage that money can’t buy.”
Dreyfuss has overseen a complete rebrand with a new blue colour scheme and POS materials including warm wood finishes.
As well as pushing ahead with its well regarded KonTiki collection with the introduction of a new in-house chronograph movement, the Calibre 39, inside the Super KonTiki Chronograph. Eterna will also now focus on growing its women’s watches, something the brand was renowned for in the mid-20th Century.
Eterna is currently stocked in 16 UK doors with an aim to increase that to 50 by the end of 2016 with a combination of multiple and independent stockists.
