I've been meaning to ask this question for a while and the stunning photos of Dre's great find have reminded me about it.

Do we know when UG started to add the UG logo to their crystals? Dre's watch is mid 1950s, which strikes me as quite early although that's based on pure guesswork and not really any research.

Were all models fitted with a signed crystal from a certain date?

 

I don't know that your question has ever been definitively answered, and perhaps it is a topic for some research. There may be enough examples of signed crystals and serial numbers on this forum to get some idea. I vaguely recall a thread discussing whether signed crystals were on Polarouters; perhaps that would give you a starting point. (found it: https://omegaforums.net/threads/thoughts-on-this-polarouter.32845/#post-368135)

 

Thanks. I've not been able to find an earlier watch with a UG signed crystal than a Polarouter from 1954 so, in the absence of any contrary evidence, I'm assuming that was when UG started to use signed crystals.

 

So I have a polerouter with a crystal that has a trapezoid loupe window. It doesn't appear to have the UG logo. Is there any way to find out if the crystal is original or not?

 

Presumably the logo could have been polywatched put over the years?

 

it's inside

 

I don't know, hence the question mark.

 

Not to offend anyone, but that trapezoid loupe is so much classier than the Rolex "blister" that is so common. I am new to collecting, but a UG Polerouter is definitely now on my "to buy" list. Very classy, beautiful watches.

McK

 

I don't know but I assume that generic replacement crystals would have been available from manufacturers such as Germanow-Simon that would have been a perfect fit and with the correct trapezoidal loupe but without the UG logo.

The crystal on the watch belonging to @kreyke above looks to be exactly right for the watch. It may well be a later replacement but I don't think we can be sure. Although there are Polarouters dating to 1954 known to have signed crystals, I am not sure that we know enough to conclude that all Polerouters started life with signed crystals.

 

It’s inside. I’ve seen plexis for the Pole Router Sub signed and not signed. Legit crystals as they had the correct and unique trapezoid date window. Perhaps it’s down to who made the plexi and when

 

Kreyke take a loupe and look at the center of the crystal. Here is a picture of it, through a loupe, of a “Nina Rindt” purchased in 1966. It’s very hard to see with the naked eye as you can see how magnified the hands are....