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  1. JimJupiter Jan 3, 2021

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    Hey guys,

    some of you know, that my heart belongs to the watches with the Saturn on its dial. Since Enicar went bancrupt in the 80s and all documents were trashed, us collectors dont have the luxury of an archive like we are used from Omega. Though its challenging, its part of the fun to dig into the history and find interesting stuff.

    Enicar is especially known for its dive watches with their special bayonet EPSA compressor cases. Hans Hass, the superstar of diving in the 50s and 60s (even before Cousteau) was involved in the first tests of an Enicar dive watch with a bezel: The Enicar Sherpa Dive.

    Enicar_Sherpa_Dive_ad_2.jpg

    With the help of Hass' book "Expedition into the unknown" and information I could gather around, I put the pieces together and wrote a small blog entry about it on my page. I found cool old pictures and interesting anecdotes, you may like it.

    https://enicar101.com/2021/01/01/hans-hass-expedition-xarifa-ii-and-the-enicar-sherpa-dive/

    No post without pics, so here some teasers :D

    20210101-DSC09221.jpg expedition_ins_unbekannte_page_118.jpg hans_und_lotte,1957.jpg
    expedition_ins_unbekannte_page_113.jpg
     
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  2. loniscup Jan 3, 2021

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    Nice read :thumbsup: I always enjoy diving into your Enicar articles
     
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  3. Tony C. Ωf Jury member Jan 3, 2021

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    Excellent article and photos, thanks!
     
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  4. Robert M Jan 3, 2021

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  5. Dan S Jan 3, 2021

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    Great article, Nico. I wasn't aware that the early examples had Bakelite bezels. I doubt many have survived.
     
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  6. Gaz6263 Jan 3, 2021

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    Great watches. My earlier non bezel BA90ED66-9822-4D00-A1EE-973E0B67C32B.jpeg
     
  7. JimJupiter Jan 3, 2021

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    Yeah, I came across this one during my research. The problem is, I don't have a physical DVD Player anymore :D
    I was thinking about buying the original 1961 Hass documentation on Amazon Prime, but the screens showed a very bad quality.


    Thanks Dan! The interesting thing is (and need to be researched as well) that we find different bezels at the same time. I do have this Diver 600 (40mm) for example with a bakelite bezel, but dated to 1960. A time when the alloy one was allready for sale.

    20190223-DSC04870.jpg

    Maybe later it was an option, due to better readability but the price of more radiation?

    @all, thanks for you feedback!

    Nico
     
  8. Dan S Jan 3, 2021

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    Interesting. Mine has the aluminum bezel, and the inside case-back date is 7-58. Perhaps it originally had a bakelite bezel. I never thought of that.
     
  9. JimJupiter Jan 3, 2021

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    I guess the bezel was broken at one time and maybe changed.

    To my research this is the evolution of the bezels (catalog and ad pics):

    I. Bakelite with big lumedots at 3-6-9-12
    II. aluminium with small lumedots at 3-6-9-12
    III. aluminium with small lumedots at 3-6-9-12 and red ring
    IV. aluminium with lumedots at 12 and red ring

    (There is one variation missing: Alloy with lumedots at 12 and marker points from 0 to 20 only)

    comparison.jpg
     
    Edited Jan 3, 2021
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  10. Dan S Jan 3, 2021

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    That's what I have on mine. Markers from 0 to 20.
    enicar_sherpadive.jpg
     
  11. JimJupiter Jan 3, 2021

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    Nice one! Maybe those came with a red ring too....but as I said. Not really investigated yet on produrction date an serial. Will be the next project I guess ;)
     
  12. Dan S Jan 3, 2021

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    Thanks and yes, I agree about the ring.
     
  13. JimJupiter Feb 7, 2022

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    Edited Feb 7, 2022
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  14. watchyouwant ΩF Clairvoyant Feb 7, 2022

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    Slight deviation, Nico: what is the story behind the big 2 crown Sherpas with crown guards? Was there a black anodized version as well ?
     
  15. JimJupiter Feb 7, 2022

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    Hey Achim, you mean these ones?
    FC48CC52-D01D-476F-9437-807AE284A315.jpeg

    It’s called the ultradive and OPS for the anodized version. The UD appeared around 1966, maybe 1965, the OPS a bit later. Looks like the OPS was the first black „coated“ watch, except someone knows an older one (WW I doesn’t count ::bleh::).

    i am working on the classification at the moment, but don’t have enough serials yet.
    Until then, you can read my blog text about a big fan of the ultradive- Alain Delon!

    https://enicar101.com/2021/02/04/alain-delons-ultra-dive/
     
  16. watchyouwant ΩF Clairvoyant Feb 11, 2022

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    Just bought one. Again. Had 3 so far over the last 30 years. Time to keep that one.... Kind regards. Achim
     
  17. JimJupiter Feb 11, 2022

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    PICS! :D
     
  18. watchyouwant ΩF Clairvoyant Feb 11, 2022

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    On the way. Maybe 2 weeks and pics are coming.
     
  19. watchyouwant ΩF Clairvoyant Feb 26, 2022

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    Looks like we are getting 2 new Ultra Dive soon..... 2 x Ultra Dive cases from France just sold on Ebay.... each over euro 1000 .
     
  20. watchyouwant ΩF Clairvoyant Mar 23, 2022

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    finally arrived and after a trip to the Watchmaker , ready for everyday wear. Very nice and now i`m on the lookout for an inner bezel ring.... can they be repainted? and experience with that ? SAM_8936.JPG SAM_8935.JPG
     
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