Compur Colonial

jumpingsecond · Jul 1, 2023

I trust all our member's eyes. Vujen larry bgrisso dirty dozen syrte woops aap etc have seen a lot of watches. Still - very hard to make these calls without touching the watch. Its from a time when universal sourced dials/parts from multiple places and there was never strict congruence- but there was rampant customization and incongruity, and a company that was expanding to try and meet market demand for their product. They didnt care so much is my point as long as it looks good and we all agree this watch looks good..

For the OP- Don't worry about the value- we are a small segment of watch nerds and even more segmented by a craze for ug. We are not normal 😉 Most normal people would anyway consider it an original dial and at auction I would predict a favorable outcome to you if you ever sold it (especially given it was gifted). But instead I hope you Enjoy it - its a beauty.
here are some other UG to counteract some ideas here

Mods · Jul 1, 2023

@jumpingsecond well said

Syrte · Jul 1, 2023

Just posting a few more for reference- all collected on Omegaforums by @valjoux72, @aap and on Instagram by @legi_ero.
One of them is part of the collection of now deceased OF member Laurent aka @Noodia.

Mark020 · Jul 1, 2023

jumpingsecond
For the OP- Don't worry about the value- we are a
here are some other UG to counteract some ideas here

Don’t really understand what you mean with this. The white one was discussed with as conclusion: maybe. The black one is - without a doubt - legit. And of course: nobody knows whether it started it’s life in this case

vujen · Jul 1, 2023

@Syrte , 1934-1935 dials are pretty recognizable, come on.
Their style is specific.

Anyway again, for the second time, you just need to see the second subcounters to understand that it's not legit.
It's like seeing a Longines 13zn with telephonic signs on the minute subcounter.

Collecting UG chronographs is not so easy like collecting other stuff, because you have to study more, specifically about dials during times.
For instance looking at the colonials you showed us, I see - at least - 2 with later dials.

I mean there's one with a UNI-COMPAX dial! UNI-COMPAX models were created years later! Come on.

Again, for the last time (personally speaking!): truly congrats to the owner for the amazing gift, enjoy this rare watch and don't worry about its economic value. It's really rare to find a colonial, and for sure at some point in the future a matching dial can surface somewhere!

Mark020 · Jul 1, 2023

The economics are there to just buy a compur with correct dial and swap the dials

jumpingsecond · Jul 1, 2023

Mark020
Don’t really understand what you mean with this. The white one was discussed with as conclusion: maybe. The black one is - without a doubt - legit. And of course: nobody knows whether it started it’s life in this case

You are right I just thought on the black dial the indices werent railtrack but closer look they are. Will leave it up anyway.

aap · Jul 1, 2023

Syrte
Just posting a few more for reference- all collected on Omegaforums by @valjoux72, @aap and on Instagram by @legi_ero.
One of them is part of the collection of now deceased OF member Laurent aka @Noodia.

Not sure if you tagged me by mistake, @Syrte?
In any case, to add to the references on this thread, here's a pic I took of another UG Colonial owned by the Japanese collector, Taku:

I've seen and held this watch twice before:
https://omegaforums.net/threads/when-3-guys-from-of-met-tokyo-pic-heavy.59443/
https://omegaforums.net/threads/tokyo-jan-2018-report-pic-heavy.69907/#post-879879

DirtyDozen12 · Jul 1, 2023

jumpingsecond
here are some other UG to counteract some ideas here

Thanks for posting those two dials. To clarify, I was specifically asking about Compur-signed dials, rather than Compax-signed dials.

A few people have mentioned that UG used multiple dial suppliers, and that there was huge variation in printing quality, and a lack of congruence among original dials. It has also been mentioned that there is a lack of data available, and that it is difficult to draw conclusions as a result. I would say that despite multiple dial suppliers, I do see a level of consistency (both printing quality and dial design) among original Compur dials. There may be more variability than with Longines 13ZN dials, for example, but there are still margins and trends.

In terms of quality, I would be surprised to see an original dial with a telemeter scale that overlaps with a concentric seconds scale. I know I keep harping on this point but I think that it is significant.

In terms of dial design, there is definitely a lot of variation. However, sub-dials are one area where there seems to be more consistency. As I mentioned, the sub-dials of the dial in question are unlike any other original Compur dial I have seen.

At this point, one might be tempted to say that we are discussing a Colonial, and atypical dials might have been used in this rare model. To me, this seems unlikely. While there might have been Colonial-specific dials, I doubt that these dials had anomalous sub-dial designs in conjunction with unusually poor execution. We do not see this on other Colonial dials, and it seems a much more convoluted explanation than a refinished dial on a watch from the mid-1930s.

Mark020 · Jul 1, 2023

DirtyDozen12
I would be surprised to see an original dial with a telemeter scale that overlaps with a concentric seconds scale

Just for my understanding: you mean the combination of telemeter + snail or that the snail ends somewhere in the telemetre?

DirtyDozen12 · Jul 1, 2023

Mark020
Just for my understanding: you mean the combination of telemeter + snail or that the snail ends somewhere in the telemetre?

I meant that some numbers of the telemeter scale overlap with the seconds scale. On original dials, there is a gap between peripheral telemeter scales and the seconds scale that is inside and concentric.

jumpingsecond · Jul 1, 2023

DirtyDozen12
At this point, one might be tempted to say that we are discussing a Colonial, and atypical dials might have been used in this rare model. To me, this seems unlikely. While there might have been Colonial-specific dials, I doubt that these dials had anomalous sub-dial designs in conjunction with unusually poor execution. We do not see this on other Colonial dials, and it seems a much more convoluted explanation than a refinished dial on a watch from the mid-1930s.

You know what makes universal so fun.. I agree with you on all your points.. the simplest conclusion is generally the best and I know @vujen and his eye for UG he knows what he's talking about. I learned something new with his lesson on the mid-30's subdial indices. Yet still- another thing I do know is that we have seen this thread before with this brand and the endgame... this discussion will die down and be forgotten. Then in a couple years a new colonial will pop up here from another random lucky individual and we will scratch our heads and say motherfukkin ug!!

Larry S · Jul 1, 2023

jumpingsecond
You know what makes universal so fun.. I agree with you on all your points.. the simplest conclusion is generally the best and I know @vujen and his eye for UG he knows what he's talking about. I learned something new with his lesson on the mid-30's subdial indices. Yet still- another thing I do know is that we have seen this thread
before with this brand and the endgame... this discussion will die down and be forgotten. Then in a couple years a new colonial will pop up here from another random lucky individual and we will scratch our heads and say motherfukkin ug!!

I have PTSD from all the threads over the years. I surrender!

scubisino · Jul 2, 2023

Thank you very much for all your comments! I'm new to the watch collection but I was lucky that a good friend gave me her grandfather's watch. I did not know that this watch is so rare and perhaps the lack of information and references makes it very difficult to evaluate it.
The last service that was done to the watch was in 1957, it is engraved inside the back cover, however the watch works correctly, 25 turns to the crown and runs for 39 hours, only 45 seconds ahead. The 285 move is a monster!!
Thanks again for your answers, that's the idea of belonging to a forum!

DirtyDozen12 · Jul 2, 2023

scubisino
Thank you very much for all your comments! I'm new to the watch collection but I was lucky that a good friend gave me her grandfather's watch. I did not know that this watch is so rare and perhaps the lack of information and references makes it very difficult to evaluate it.
The last service that was done to the watch was in 1957, it is engraved inside the back cover, however the watch works correctly, 25 turns to the crown and runs for 39 hours, only 45 seconds ahead. The 285 move is a monster!!
Thanks again for your answers, that's the idea of belonging to a forum!

Thank you for sharing photos of a very special watch!

Mark020 · Jul 2, 2023

scubisino
The last service that was done to the watch was in 1957, it is engraved inside the back cover, however the watch works correctly,

Please: if you want to wear it have it serviced asap.....

scubisino · Jul 2, 2023

Mark020
Please: if you want to wear it have it serviced asap.....

Sure!! but it's difficult here in Venezuela to find a really good watchmaker .

Compur Colonial

jumpingsecond

Mods

Syrte

Mark020

vujen

Mark020

jumpingsecond

aap

DirtyDozen12

Mark020

DirtyDozen12

jumpingsecond

Larry S

scubisino

DirtyDozen12

Mark020

scubisino

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