Horological Meandering

Inspired by the wonderful post by "noodia", check here: home.watchprosite.com I queried some of my friends about this brand. I knew absolutely nothing about Universal Geneve watches and I always associated those watches with the Polerouter watches...  

I passed on several, and your pics make me regret it... Best, Nicolas

Today, on our weekly GTG, Mr. A. (famous by his collection of uncommon watches) was wearing this one: A U.G. Compressor sold by Tiffany: Forgive me for the lousy picture. The coffee shop that we went is the worst place on this universe for watch photograp...  

Here, my " normal "... Best, Nicolas ...  

That always surprises us. Mr. A. is one of those. Always chasing and wearing the most unusual pieces. Mr. Nicolas is another. When we believe that his bag is empty, there is always another one to make us ... envious. Congratulations for your Universal. Ch... 

On this special configuration? Best, Nicolas.

But I need more details. I will get and post an update as soon I bump on him again (next Saturday). Cheers, Nilo

thanks for sharing! Matt

A very-thin pocket watch, with a manual wind wristwatch movement inside. The whole watch is thinner than this Seiko Bell Matic movement I bought it about 7-8 years ago, when visiting various watchmakers around town with Ken, my watch repair mentor. Later ...  

I have a friend that collects ONLY ultra thin watches. I already forward your post to him. Someday he will join us. Cheers, Nilo

Its an unusually large (38mm) three hander with a 1200 cal. manual wind movement. and have just bought another with a 262 cal. movement (currently in the mail). I wish I was posting pics of this along with a tri compax but it remains on the list for now.....  

With a lovely movement. Cheers, Nilo

for the comments and also for starting this thread. The Tri Compax is my favorite but I have fairly recently discovered UG has so much more to offer. Best, Tim

Made in the 1950s Love this the most. ...  

Wonderful piece. Few people knows that Compax is derived from "Compact Chronograph". Cheers, Nilo

My 1944 Tri-Compax just came back today and running superbly. My Polerouter is still convalescing, awaiting a jewel install. ...  

Tri-Compax is here. This Polerouter is to die for. Stay tuned. Next week I have some Tri-Compax to show. Cheers, Nilo

Polerouter Sub SuperCompressor, Unicompax of 60's, Asymetric Polerouter Sub ...  

Of Universal Geneve. As an added bonus, the two subs are marvelous "dressed" with beautiful straps. Congratulations, Nilo

...  

A true PuristsPro watch. Cheers Nilo

. . . but came close some time ago when this immaculate UG chronometer . . . [images courtesy mrsnak] . . . came up for sale at a price that would be ridiculously low in today's market. An 18 kt solid gold case, and a movement so clean "you could eat off ...  

I never paid attention to Universal watches because they look, in my mind, designed for old people (not that I'm young, by far). This post and the forthcoming one, show me another side of Universal and, looking around, they seem to be relatively inexpensi... 

And so, in memory of the one that got away from you, I had to buy it. What do you think? In-store trial run - I'm liking it! Ultra-thin (5.2 mm) and 28 x 35 mm With tuxedo strap ...  

An experienced seller told me that ten days back, there was a rush towards Universal and the prices followed the rush. Recently it's possible to pay what the sellers consider "gold prices", if it's gold or close to nothing if is gold caped or SS. Yours is... 

but I already have the micro-rotor movement, (sadly with no watch - just the movement - maybe the case got melted down) so I am happy to have this thin one. Perhaps not so all-around high quality as the one Art saw, but when they fall into one's hands ......  

that is nice Mike, unbelievably thin. G On 28 Feb 2013 16:46, "www watchprosite" *Alert from:* www:watchprosite > *Posted By:* cazalea (registered) on February 28th, 2013 - 08:46 > > *Title: Art, one came up last night "that at today's prices was a steal"... 

. . . some fifty years ago at a UG watch store. "Well, sir, the automatic chronometer is a bit out of your budget, but how about this elegant manual wind instead? Almost the same, and for half the price!" :-)

Dear Nilo, Universal Genève is IMHO one of the most interesting Swiss brand, amongst the inactive ones. It’s a pity they don’t produce anymore, and I think the last models (Baselworld 2009) don’t give justice to the brand’s history. One of the reason why ... 

Watch companies succeed or fail based on several factors but one that is common to the failures is plain and simple bad luck. There were few decision points made by Universal that put the company on the route for doom. - Decision to go vertical, "let's do... 

...It would deserve several dedicated posts On the top of the well known Polerouter range Nilomis mentions, UG succeeded in creating a full range of calendar watches and chronographs from the simplest Uni-Compax to the most "complicated " Tri-Compax here'...  

I'm collecting material about UG but it will take a lot of time to organize on a series of posts. One correction: It was Universal that cut the relations with Martel around 1955 by starting their own movement manufacture. The challenges faced by Martel, a... 

The "who did what" story between Martel, UG and Zenith is unclear to many collectors and has been through considerable debates, it remains kind of a mystery to me Many collectors seem aligned with the El Primero chain of events you mention cheers, L

Nilo, Is he the winding guy? Me

According to the same source, the inventor of the IWC winding system, Albert Pellaton, is not related to Raoul Pellaton. Same info states that Pellaton is/was a Swiss common family name. Cheers, Nilo

Killer chrono's.

i have but one, simple in looks, but not so simple in reality. a polerouter from 64 which is actually a single crown supercompressor. correct brevette numbers and dating system. i only knew when Bill Sohne pointed it out to me. cant wait to see more. Grah...  

A wonderful piece. I had one of those in my hands but I passed to a dear friend. Stay tuned that I have a ton of pics to post for the "Week 2/?". Cheers, Nilo

...that it's almost a distant memory. Yours is quite nice.

Loking forward to seeing more of these UG's. None in my collection, but I do have a small catalogue from the 40/50's? I think. ...  

I only have one... Patened rights reserved. I think Nicolas have better photos of the fron than I have... Looking forward to upcoming parts, Nilo! :) Best Blomman ...  

Universal x Buren. "Buren also licensed its technology to other companies, including IWC, Baume & Mercier, Bulova and Hamilton. After a patent dispute, Buren also began to license its micro-rotor technology to Universal Geneve." (Jeffrey M. Stein words n ... 

Here's a trace on my thin pocket watch. Straight is good, vertical is exactly keeping time: I let the watch run on my timing machine for an hour and it averages about 7 seconds a day slow, but what a nice line! Slow movement too, 18,000 bph I happened to ...  

I should pay more attention to pocket watches. Here, except the gold ones, they sell on flea markets for a song. I had a few, that I acquired as "props" but never focused on any. Add to that, that I never saw a pocket made by Universal. Thanks, Nilo

...  

It's modern? Cheers, Nilo

10 years old now. ...