Compax 30

Frenkling

Ahahah sorry but english is not my native leaguage so I might sound too scolastic as I sometimes use the translator. But still hope that what I have shared could help you

Frenkling

Thankfully, I don't believe AI has this kind of specific information yet. My insights, as general as they may be, are based on my knowledge and hypothesis, which, as we know with Universal Genève, might be wrong, especially when discussing watches sold before even my parents were born! However, I'll try to articulate my thoughts more clearly now.
Regarding the 'Compax 30' (and 'Compur 30') series, my observations suggest that most of these Universal Genève watches indeed featured the Caliber 386. This specific caliber appears to be the key characteristic that distinguishes the '30' line from other Compax and Compur alternatives, and a more economical version, characterized by elements like its plane spiral and, if I recall correctly, the use of fewer rubies.
Moreover, this caliber and the 385 version was also shared with brands like UWECo and Berthoud. We could certainly consider these brands to be more accessible lines compared to Universal Genève's premium offerings, which further suggest the 386 as a cost-effective movement.
It's also worth noting that we sometimes encounter these '30' series watches in chromed cases, which could be an additional indicator of less valuable production compared to solid gold or stainless steel.
As for the specific reason why this particular, more economical line was named '30,' I honestly have no definitive idea.
I'll be adding some sales material I have. These are of two similar gold waterproof watches, which are the first relevant documents I have on hand. I hope it will help the discussion.

bgrisso

Does anyone know if all Compax 30 have 30 minute subdial?

Mark020

I checked my archive and the answer is yes (n=31)

Frenkling

it confirms the Caliber 386 was a variant of the 285, exclusively used for the Universal 30 line

Mark020

I have 128 386's on file. UG: 121, Berthoud: 3, Jaeger: 1, Uweco: 3 (all 32407, which is not a '30'). Of the 121 UG's 81 are Compax/Compur 30's. Based on the 'pattern' I assume the remaining 40 may have replaced dials. The non UG's are probably also replacement movements. The Uweco 32407's are perhaps the odd ones out.

Frenkling

Thank you, Mark, for your contribution.
That 40 out of 121 is definitely a significant number! Enough to be statistically relevant, and I believe unlikely to be limited solely to replaced dials. My initial comment was based purely on the image provided before, but these valuable archive data offer another, and much more convincing evidence.
It's incredibly difficult to be absolutely certain about the original configurations of these watches. We can only really make educated guesses. This kind of comparison, supported by personal archives like yours, seems to be the only way to find a plausible, though not definitive, logic behind their production dynamics. To sum up I believe we can state that all Universal 30 watches are equipped with the Caliber 386, but not all Caliber 386 movements are found in Universal 30 watches.

bgrisso

Thanks checking this, I was going to ask but you beat me to it.

A few other questions…

1) can you do a reverse check working off dials instead of calibers? Meaning can you poll all the compax 30 and Compur 30 dials and give us a breakdown of calibers used? @martinc already provided an example of a compax 30 with a cal 381 in the other thread, and stated that cal 385 was also used (but I’m not sure we saw that example posted).

2) can you deduce any information about case serials and dates working off the cal 386 movements (and/or 381, 385) or by working off the compax 30 and Compur 30 dials ?

Thx