Universal Genève has received a lot of enthusiasm over the last several months given the news that the brand was purchased by Breitling. Collectors are hoping that this will mean the revitalization of a brand with a rich history of watchmaking. But, many are approaching this news with a skeptical mindset because with such an important, historical brand comes huge expectations and responsibility to do the brand justice.

Collectors have obviously been looking back at the archives of what was produced by Universal Genève and wondering what will be the first piece released? We are definitely a few years from that faithful day but exploring vintage Universal Genève can fill the void while we await the great news.

Universal Genève is known for many watches; the Polerouter, Uni-Compax chronographs, the Tri-Compax chronographs, and the Golden Shadow. What cannot be overlooked is the plethora of watches they produced outside of these lines of watches. In fact, military-style watches were a big part of the brands history.

The watch today is the quintessential vintage steel watch that collectors love. These military-style watches were produced by Universal Genève throughout the 1940’s into the 1960’s. This Universal Genève was manufactured in 1940. The watch has a stainless steel case in very good condition. The case is 34mm in diameter, making it to some the perfect size. The watch has very few signs of polishing but does have signs of wear; as to be expected with a watch that was worn and loved from the 40’s. The lugs are long and sharp, with three angles of polish still visible. This is an extremely attractive part about this watch - the original design dimensions are still visible.

The watch has an unsigned crown, likely a replacement from the original. The watch has a white dial that has beautiful patina on it. As you can see, the dial has a seconds track around the outside of the watch, with the hour numerals on the inside of the watch. This styling gives it the military feel. The blued hands are likely replaced, or have been re-lumed due to the colour of the lume being different than that of the dial. But the hands design adds to the overall aesthetic of the piece nicely.

As we look to the watch for more details, if you flip the watch over you will see the case serial number and reference. The reference number, 21222, does not seem to have a ton of information about it online. But there is some documented information about research that has been done about the brands use of reference numbers. In 1936 or 1937, the company began stamping serial numbers on their cases. At the time they used four-digit numbers. In 1940, they switched over to five-digit numbers. There is not a clear understanding of how the numbers were assigned, but there was work done where a photo archive was put together of watches from 1940-1950’s to understand the logic. The information is outlined here, but here is the logic:

“The first number indicates the material used to make the case.
- 1 = 18 carat gold case
- 2 = steel case
- 3 = chrome-plated case
- 4 = gilded case
- 5 = 14 carat gold case
- 6 = no examples of reference numbers starting with the number 6 has been found, or any sources attesting to any such existence
- 7 = 14 carat white gold case
The second number indicates the type of movement,
- 1 = time only
- 2 = chronograph
The third number indicates the size of the base plate housing the movement in relation to the calibre used.
- 1 if the case housed a calibre 289 (23.3mm)
- 2 or 3 if the case housed a calibre 281 (27.8mm) or a 283 (29.5mm) or 481 (31.7mm) derivative
- 4 or 5 if the case housed a calibre 285 (31.7mm) or a 287 (33.2mm) or 292 (35.2mm) derivative
This logic applies to chronographs; in calendar watches, the third number is always a 3 as the only calibre mounted in these watches is the calibre 291.
The last two numbers indicates the case design; 99 numbers were available to define the visual aspect of a case. In order to aid understanding of this numeration system, let us look at a few examples: a model with reference number 52408 has a 14 carat gold case and is a calibre 285 (or derivative) chronograph. On the other hand, if an example bears the number 22305, this tells us that it has a steel case and is a calibre 281 (or derivative) chronograph.”

This guide can be helpful in identifying if casebacks have been swapped or if they are original. Removing the caseback, one will see the Universal Genève stamp as well as “Enversteel” written. This describes the fact that the case is manufactured using Enversteel, an early stainless steel alloy. Many collectors will focus on the type of steel alloy used in their collector. For example, black dial, Enversteel Uni-Compax watches are exceptionally rare and sought after by collectors.

The watch runs on the famous caliber 263 movement. This caliber was introduced by Marc Favre as the caliber 595 and was sold to Universal Genève as their caliber 262 and 263. Marc Favre was a watchmaker who established his factory in Bienne in 1904. Favre inherited the Cormoret branch of his father’s Favre Frères operation. Marc’s son, Robert, took over the business when Marc past away in 1930. He ran the business with his brothers Jean and Paul. Interestingly Robert went on to become a managing director of Omega in 1954.

During this era, it was extremely typical for watch brands to source items like their dials, movements, and cases from companies that specialized in this type of production. The caliber was introduced in 1940, making this a very early version. The movement has a 39 hour power reserve and has a nice brushed finishing to it. Early versions of this movement did not have shock protection, but later versions were equipped with incabloc shock protection. Looking at the movement it appears that this one does have Incabloc installed. The movement has the Universal Genève name and caliber number written on it.

Beyond its overall aesthetic appeal, this time-only, military-style Universal Genève has something for everyone. The style, case condition, and beautiful dial have such a great look to them. Additionally, the movement is historic and important for the history of a brand that so many collectors love.

Enjoy!