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bgrisso
·Interesting, but I'm not sure how to pursue. If we can't figure it out in english I wouldn't know where to start in other languages, especially since I don't speak them myself.
Chronographs classified as Chronometres.
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WilyB
·I exchanged messages with a nice gentleman selling a 1951 HPC Medico Compax on Chrono24 and after verifications with a local expert he says the "C" stands for Chronograph which makes sense. HPC = High Precision Chronograph.
Was it a marketing gimmick for Pulsation Chronographs obviously meant for Doctors which might have been extended to other chronographs, or are the movements the next best ones as in very good but not CPSC good? Maybe like the top ten% vs. top 3% for the COSC.
Was it a marketing gimmick for Pulsation Chronographs obviously meant for Doctors which might have been extended to other chronographs, or are the movements the next best ones as in very good but not CPSC good? Maybe like the top ten% vs. top 3% for the COSC.
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Mazoue
·I exchanged messages with a nice gentleman selling a 1951 HPC Medico Compax on Chrono24 and after verifications with a local expert he says the "C" stands for Chronograph which makes sense. HPC = High Precision Chronograph.
Was it a marketing gimmick for Pulsation Chronographs obviously meant for Doctors which might have been extended to other chronographs, or are the movements the next best ones as in very good but not CPSC good? Maybe like the top ten% vs. top 3% for the COSC.
I’m afraid that is almost certainly not correct.
There are a number of watches shown in this thread with HPC dials that are not chronographs and I have personally handled two Polerouters with HPC dials.
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WilyB
·Yes, I realize that. I should have written "Was it a marketing gimmick ... which might have been extended to other models, ..."
I see now there is an edit button.
I see now there is an edit button.
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Mazoue
·I’m open to any ideas but it does seem unlikely to me that HPC, if originally an acronym for High Precision Chronograph, would then be extended to models that are not chronographs.
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WilyB
·I’m open to any ideas but it does seem unlikely to me that HPC, if originally an acronym for High Precision Chronograph, would then be extended to models that are not chronographs.
That is a very valid point indeed.
I remember in the early sixties Ferrari made a handful of "Gran Turismo Omologato" (GTO) car and in 1964, without any shame, Pontiac launched the mass-produced GTO, a great car, the first muscle car in fact, but the Pontiac was definitively not homologated anywhere.
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WilyB
·A bit off topic, but given the recent news, here is a picture of the Queen checking the oil on Nick Masson's Ferrari GTO.
(Apologies to the moderators if this too much off topic and ou have to delete it).
(Apologies to the moderators if this too much off topic and ou have to delete it).
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Carlton-Browne
·...and after verifications with a local expert he says the "C" stands for Chronograph which makes sense. HPC = High Precision Chronograph.
I'm afraid that "an expert told me" is not really much different to "this bloke down the pub...". It's all about sources.
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WilyB
·I'm afraid that "an expert told me" is not really much different to "this bloke down the pub...". It's all about sources.
This is the source the gentleman mentioned:
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Moahunter
·I've been trawling back through this thread and found this quote by bgrisso " There is at least one UG advert showing a watch with 'HPC' on the dial (Sala P224) and therefore it's quite likely that watches left the factory with HPC dials?" Doesn't that sink the Pfeiffer hypothesis?
If HPC means "Certified" that implies a Certificate. This would necessitate a unique identifier like a movement number and a piece of paper. Do all HPCs on record have the first, I don't think anyone has found the second.
If HPC means "Certified" that implies a Certificate. This would necessitate a unique identifier like a movement number and a piece of paper. Do all HPCs on record have the first, I don't think anyone has found the second.
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Mazoue
·I've been trawling back through this thread and found this quote by bgrisso " There is at least one UG advert showing a watch with 'HPC' on the dial (Sala P224) and therefore it's quite likely that watches left the factory with HPC dials?" Doesn't that sink the Pfeiffer hypothesis?
If watches left the factory with HPC dials, why do we not see them in the archives in Sala?
If HPC means "Certified" that implies a Certificate. This would necessitate a unique identifier like a movement number and a piece of paper. Do all HPCs on record have the first, I don't think anyone has found the second.
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Mazoue
·Not relevant to the HPC discussion but interesting nonetheless.
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bgrisso
·@Mark020 just posted what could be our first legit example of chronograph marked as chronometre in the double signed thread. I felt important to post it here.
It's been a while since I read this whole thread, which I just skimmed to refresh my memory. Basically the thread started with an advert from UG stating that Chronometre could be chronographs, and then we almost immediately got side tracked on HPC, which is a whole separate (but perhaps related?) can of worms, and in the entire thread only one example of possible chronograph with chronometre on the dial was posted (a Tri compax sold by Matt Bain), however that watch was missing a case reference and case serial plus there were other questions, so it was not generally taken as a viable example.
This new example looks legit to my eye. The dial printing looks good, and everything else about the watch looks good to me. Interesting that instead of the full movement serial it is only 4 digits ?! (or did someone very expertly retouch the missing digits in image editing?).
The maddening thing is the *&%# bridge is still marked unadjusted!
Anyhow curious what everyone thinks.....
It's been a while since I read this whole thread, which I just skimmed to refresh my memory. Basically the thread started with an advert from UG stating that Chronometre could be chronographs, and then we almost immediately got side tracked on HPC, which is a whole separate (but perhaps related?) can of worms, and in the entire thread only one example of possible chronograph with chronometre on the dial was posted (a Tri compax sold by Matt Bain), however that watch was missing a case reference and case serial plus there were other questions, so it was not generally taken as a viable example.
This new example looks legit to my eye. The dial printing looks good, and everything else about the watch looks good to me. Interesting that instead of the full movement serial it is only 4 digits ?! (or did someone very expertly retouch the missing digits in image editing?).
The maddening thing is the *&%# bridge is still marked unadjusted!
Anyhow curious what everyone thinks.....
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Mark020
··not the sharpest pencil in the ΩF drawerInteresting that instead of the full movement serial it is only 4 digits ?! (or did someone very expertly retouch the missing digits in image editing?)
Edited:
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Moahunter
·Perhaps but not very likely. I have (only) 20 records of 1.4m serials with numbered movements of which 1 dodgy and 2 on Girard P's. The font seems to be a bit off as well. On the other end: this may be a clue 😉
This leads me to doubt the honesty of the example under discussion.
Edited:
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WilyB
·I’m open to any ideas but it does seem unlikely to me that HPC, if originally an acronym for High Precision Chronograph, would then be extended to models that are not chronographs.
Having seen an "H.P.C." Polerouter I admit you're correct and I was definitively wrong and I do apologize for it.
H.P.C. does stand for High Precision Chronometer.
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WilyB
·The Swiss Watchmaking Chronometer Bureau was first opened in 1942 if you believe this article: https://notrehistoire.ch/entries/J78rg5XDWEl
The building in the picture dates from 1966.
The building in the picture dates from 1966.
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