I acquired this recently without seeing the watch in person and it will be a week or two until I get my hands on it. In the meantime, whilst I sit out the wait, I wondered what the experts thought?

The case number suggests late 1930s. Cal 287. 35mm.

Does the dial look a little "flat" to be original?
Do the hands and crown look original?
Why do the lugs have the satin finish? I am presuming that is not original and is the result of recent polishing work.

I won't be disappointed as I think it is very handsome, love the patina and it was relatively inexpensive but would love to know more about it. Does anyone have pictures of a similar watch?

Thanks in advance.

 

Mine had some resemblance, I also have a zenith with similar layout and fonts, do you have "Swiss" underneath 6?

 

I found an interesting discussion about another UG Compur, on Orologi & Passioni, that may be of interest to you. The watch in question has a similar dial to yours. Here is the link: http://orologi.forumfree.it/?t=41268950

 

Not sure about hour and minute hands (they look right but I could be wrong) but others and crown look good. Dial does not though ...

Case is likely to have had a conscientious buff / brush with emphasis on maintaining the original look.

Nice but pity about the dial! 100% Originals are few and far between and command a premium. There are no free lunches I am afraid and "yous gets what yous pays" ...

So in a nutshell, it is a nice daily beater!

 

The hands are fine, I have zenith compur with exactly the same hands. I still think it is possible the dial is original though, but I must say I also have my doubts....

 

I've finally got my hands on my late 30's/early 40's compur and couldn't be more pleased, so I thought I would attach some more photos.

The case is very sharp. The square chronograph pushers look to be original and have matching chamfered edges. The caseback is clearly marked with the case reference (22416) and serial number (late 700,000s). All of the hands, including those on the sub-dials, are a matching blued steel and seem to be of the correct length.

The dial looks fantastic under a loupe - the concentric circles in the sub-dials are clear, the fonts look fine and the printing is clear and precise. I've tried to capture it in the photos but it's not easy with just a point and shoot camera. Does anyone still think it is a redial? I would be interested rather than disappointed but I am beginning to think I've been very lucky in finding this one.

 

And it looks to be identical (other than condition) to this one sold at Bonhams in 2013.

 

I have big doubts. I dont think the dial is correct in both (bonhams and other) ... redial for me on both counts !

register dials not centered and tell tale signs all over ...

 

Thanks for your thoughts. What do you think are the tell-tale signs? It does seem a coincidence that the two watches are identical.

 

compare the dials and you will find lots of inconsistencies. They may look similar but even at low res, some very big differences are plainly visible. for other issues, see parts of dial outlined with red boxes ... One more thing, UG's number 6 and 9 almost always has a long tail ...

 

Thanks, fascinating stuff. I suppose my only remaining question is whether these anomalies are definite signs of a redial or whether could they be within the tolerances of UG watchmaking at the time?

I spotted this stunner which is also very similar (and with matching numerals) although just slightly later, by when the Compur had become a Uni-Compax.

 

I think your watch looks great! I don't see any obvious inconsistencies.

Noodia is a seasoned french collector, maybe you could get his opinion.

Here is his instagram with an email address: https://www.instagram.com/noodiawatch/

 

lol, to each their own opinion.

why don't develop a bit more? for instance, what do you mean by "register dials not centered"?

As for the tiny red squares, I have trouble seeing how they should be considered tell-tale signs given this is a pre-1950s watch.

To me the fonts are correct and none of your tell-tale signs particularly convince me. Hence I don't see obvious inconsistencies.

 

The 5s on the Tachymeter are also inconsistent. And the logo, to me, looks wrong. Compare it to the one @ELV web posted

 

I must say I would be very happy to have the final word on this as it is not easy at all (at least for me) to conclude...
I know Noodia has some truly exceptional pieces and it seems to me that we saw same "inconsistencies" than on @Mazoue pics.
We know that sometimes original UG dials had some "inconsistencies" and the font seems very clear and precise to be a redial.
Or it is a good one.
Even the 5 on the dial and the tachymeter are exactly the same as the ones on the watch of Noodia...
Just to make the debate goes and learn...

 

I may well be rocking the boat here, but I think they are all redials. Albeit, extremelly nice and of very high quality. I just dont see anything on all of them that convinces me that they are original UG dials but, i am a mere mortal and bow to the gurus on this forum. I think we need the experts ...

 

Thanks again for everyone's thoughts. I hope to take some better pictures soon and will post them if I do. When I get the watch serviced I will also ask the watchmaker for his opinion. I'm uncertain too but @nicolas07 is right when he says, if it is a redial then it is a good one because even under a loupe everything is extremely crisp and there are no obvious signs of a redial to my untrained eye.

 

Hopefully this image will clear it up ....



It is a little wonky and there are plenty of printing errors ... The guy who printed this one must have been on a binge ...

and ...

I say again "60 minute counter is off centre, that is the one on left!"

 

Thanks. When I first saw your image, I thought the seemingly off-horizontal text was a dead give-away but actually that's just because the watch is at a slight angle in that photograph and so your orange boxes are not actually horizontal. If you were to do the same using the photo at the very top of this post then I think the text would all appear horizontal.