Horological Meandering

that I really like. IMHO only behind military-issued watches in coolness-factor they offer a distinct look that is often shared across many manufacturers. A model that is very special and stands out in its design is the Universal Geneve Ferrovie dello Strato - the watch issued for the Italian railway service in the 60s snd 70s along with similar watches from Italy-based brand Perseo. The cushion case and white enamel dial with black Bauhaus-inspired numerals are such cool and unique elements that set it apart from most other offerings that were issued for official railroad timekeeping. I found and example on a local classifieds site with extremely blurry pictures but the price seemed to good to be true - much lower than even the worst, overpolished examples with flaking dials offered on eBay and C24. I tried my luck and DAMN was I lucky:















I got a very good example with only minor wear on the case and crystal, original crown, and - most important - an enamel dial in absolutely perfect, sublime condition. The seller had NO idea at all what he was having there, but as I was not able to see it in real life the risk was on my side as the pictures were so bad and he was not able to send me better ones. Now I only need to find a nice strap for it, I am thinking some gray/brown-ish grained calf strap might be a good match. I will post pictures after I decided on a nice strap for this beauty!

I knew about the Girard Perregaux Railtimer (was bidding on one on eBay recently but sadly it eold outside my comfort zone for such a quirly piece) bit I have never seen the Zenith or Omega before. Your collection is stunning, it serms like you have a vast array of the most gorgeous watches of every genre one can think of.

I especially like the GP as I really have a soft spot for this brand. Happy hunting!

. . . of a subsidiary seconds dial layout in a C-case.  To say it's uncommon would be to engage in understatement.  

In my head is a picture of a few 1970s watches with C-cases and small seconds that still used the trusty old workhorse AS 1130 "Wehrmachtswerk" that served in many watches of the German Wehrmacht in WW 2 and was still used until the 70s due to its robustness. But I can't name you manufacturers or models, they pop up on my lical classifieds from time to time.
I would like to have a look at the movement as well, but right now I only have one of these cheap and flimsy adjustable-3-claw metal caseback openers and I am too scared to scratch the case should I slip with it. It has an Universal Cal 64 inside, a robust workhorse handcranker with a large Balance Wheel but otherwise poor finish. You can google it, there is not much to see, IMHO one of Universals "uglier" movements. The beauty is all on the front side here!

AS1130 powered.

And how i like it, i wear it at this moment.
Resistance is futile. No escape from my Arcadia possible.

like these for example:









None of these are mine but you can find loads of these on my local online classifieds for dirt cheap money.

Enjoy tremendously, and thanks for the excellent pictures! Cheers, Filip

I will enjoy wearing this as soon as I found a jice strap! I am really in love with this watch.

I love railroad watches as if they have two sides in one they are very romantic and in the other they have to be very precise and durable as they are needed for engineering issues and everything to go smoothly.

you can expect very good timekeeping results I think. The UG FS however does not have a Hacking feature, so for the Italians a few seconds here and there were not that critical...

Now with the fast trains like Freccie Rosse etc the calculations must be pretty important.
I didn’t know that the watch did not have a hacking feature, thanks for pointing it out.

Here’s mine: 

What is up with the "split" hour hand? Is this for 2 timezones that are 1 hour apart?

watchexpertise.com

how different it is with rail road watches.

I don´t really have a fascination for trains apart from some historical curiosity (my granddad was a railway station master) but railroad watches are something that truly fascinate me. As far as I know, Austria never had any official railroad-issued wristwatches, but I still have a watch branded with the winged wheel (logo of the Oesterreichischen Bundesbahnen - Austrian Railways) and a "civil" Doxa Antimagnetic that belonged to my grandfather which he wore during his work I think. NIce Bulova by the way!