Hi Guys,
Ben here. Just wanted to chime in and see if I can offer some help re: John Reardon's comments. I do not believe he meant to insinuate that UG and PP had a working relationship in the manufacture of timepieces - I do not believe they did. I can assume all John meant by his remarks was that UG was distributed by HSWA alongside PP for a period in the mid-20th century and as such, shared some marketing collateral and points of sale - and of course used the same "HOX" US-import stamp. He, as a former long-time employee of HSWA, was certainly privy to historical information regarding the relationship with Universal, so perhaps he knows something we don't, but I would wager he just meant they shared some history here in the US. Of course, the US was PP's most important market during the earlier part of last century, and for HSWA to take on one other brand, and it being UG, certainly says a lot about the quality of these great old watches. I've spoken to folks at HSWA about my own Universals and the elder employees refer to them very fondly, and many still own a handful of them.
So, as others have stated above, UG has zero technical tie to Patek (though the Tri-Compax models certainly look a lot like the early Patek 1518's), but they do share a certain connection - one that HSWA is still proud of today.
BTW - I want to thank LouS for taking the time to begin this forum. I can honestly say it will be one I visit frequently.
Best,
Ben
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