Marcus Hanke
[PuristSPro Moderator]
11295
New Union catalogue, discontinued models
I just received the new Union catalogue, which in style and content is more or less the same as its predecessor. Only changes: Inclusion of the limited Bergter series and the new perpetual. On the other hand, the former perpetual calendar with the small subdials has been omitted. Unfortunately two other nice Union watches have now been dropped: the regulator and the full calendar.
Both were rather popular Unions. Well, I can understand why they decided to discontinue the regulator. This dial design was everything but timeless, it followed a fashion initiated by Mr. Lang and his Chronoswiss regulator. Soon thereafter, nearly each watch brand had one or even more regulators in their line. Now this has changed, and these watches disappear from the market. However, I still love my Union regulator very, very much.
What disconcerts me, however, is the disappearance of the full calendar. Since Union re-emerged as a brand, this was one of the absolute best-sellers. I think it is a pity that it is discontinued now. The only reason I can come up with for this is the nature of the calendar module: It is no secret that this module was never produced inhouse, but was purchased from a specialized module-producer in Switzerland (I think it was Dupraz). Maybe it is GO's policy now to integrate inhouse elements only (except, of course, certain small parts, just as jewels and springs).
Marcus