I know I've created a few threads about potential Tri's and bothered the heck out of many of you. This thread, therefore, is equal parts a thank you, a show of gratitude, and an acknowledgment that the furious search for a Tri-Compax that started over 6 months ago has come to a (hopefully successful) close (for now...).

I always like to create posts with a bit of backstory so that not only does it make for interesting reading but, potentially, a journal or a documented timeline/reference for future collectors and hobbyists as well who might embark on the same or similar sort of quest/journey, so here goes:

Background:

I first came across this Tri-compax on the website of a known seller (Paul Duggan) a couple of months ago and messaged them to ask about its availability. We had a bit of back and forth but (perhaps not surprisingly) during the exchange, where a number of my usual questions about both the watch and the potential purchase process were being clarified, the watch got sold. What irked me was that I could tell, based on the months of dial exploration, studying and questions asked here, that the dial was all original without requiring any outside/third-person validation. I was rather proud of this fact because I believed my eye had now been "trained". What really helped was that Hodinkee had sold a very identical model (22279) a couple of years ago and comparing the high-resolution images of that compared to this, it was very evident that, apart from a few dial blemishes (expected, and more on that later), nothing was amiss.

Fast forward a few weeks later when @bgrisso, who I had spoken to separately about the watch and who, coincidentally, was the original owner of the Hodinkee watch that I was referencing, alerted me that it had been relisted on both eBay and on the seller's website. Apparently, when the watch was sold, it was bought via eBay and the buyer was given time to make the payment, which they didn't so that transaction did not materialise, even though the watch appeared to have been sold momentarily (for a few weeks at least).

I of course was overjoyed. I resumed my conversation with the seller and even managed to negotiate a fairly decent discount on the original asking price (full disclosure: all included, the watch cost me USD 7k)

Thoughts:

The reference 22279, along with the 22297 and the 222100 was amongst the 3 models that I had looked at, investigated, and studied the most. Of the 3, I was perhaps most inclined towards the potential ownership of the 222100, primarily due to its more appealing size (36mm, vs the 35mm of the others) and its curved/lyre lugs which gave it more wrist presence. However, (and I created another thread with a poll about this), I was more smitten by the look of the older, more original Tri-Compax (square/rectangular pushers especially) so I am very glad about this. I need not have been worried about the size either because, with its hefty 12.5mm height, it doesn't feel or look small at all. It also has a double signed dial (Turler) which gives it a bit of uniqueness (Antiquorium has another double signed Turler for sale right now which has an almost identical dial font, though it's a different model).

Finally, the dial blemishes and spots meant that it was both untouched by dial artists (the original washed out pictures from Paul Duggan's site do not do this watch justice and I've passed on this feedback to them), with a light off white patina that's developed (you can tell in the image where the dial is contrasted against the white background). Also, in my mind (and this may be a general quirkiness on my part), while I love a clean, pristine dial just as much as anyone, for some reason, I rarely, if ever, found them on UG's from this era so to me the dial could only feel original if had some imperfections (yes, I know it's irrational, but nothing about this hobby is sane).

Lastly, this would not have been possible without the wonderful resource that is the UG section of this forum, but especially because of the educational, insightful, and patient thoughts, inputs, and wisdom of a few members of this place, most notably the aforementioned @bgrisso, @Larry S, @Oku and @Ted1858.

Link to the original listing:

https://pduggan.com/products/j37469-universal-geneve-tri-compax-chronograph

Pictures:

Thanks again for listening and here are some pictures to feast on:

 

Enjoy it, bro!

 

Congratulations!!!

 

Very nice. Congrats

 

Beautiful, that is super clean.
Many congratulations

 

Really beautiful watch and I'll bet definitely worth the wait

 

Congratulations. Lovely Tri Compax. I was tempted to pull the trigger on this. Happy a fellow forum member has it.

 

I remember seeing this listing, it's lovely!

 

Thanks, everyone. Feels good to finally be an owner and not a lurker

 

Well done! Despite the run-up in prices, I feel UGs still present a solid relative value. And in that condition, what's not to like?

 

Yup, UG and Movado are about the only brands I look at these days. While prices for them have risen considerably since about 5 years ago, I have no regrets about spending my time/money on vintage Rolex back then because the prices for those are absolutely unaffordable now.

 

Nice pick up fizz, always liked the "chapterless" versions, makes the watch a little more formal.

 

Thanks, it's a very clean look and has worked unknowingly as a great (and elegant) dress watch.

 

Bgrisso is the man. Ben sold me a lovely salmon UG that I never should have sold. That dial was magnificent.

 

thanks. I've also sold many UG that have given me second thoughts if I should have kept. But cutting from a high count of 80 or whatever it was, down to 10 now or whatever it is, I had to realize at some point I'm not actually a "collector" and I'm really not trying to build a "collection". I just like having a reasonable number of watches in rotation that I can actually wear, and otherwise I don't really have the financial stability to tie up huge amounts of $$ into a collection at this time in my life. Nothing against large collections, I wish I had the luxury, but keeping things small is just a better fit right now. Thankfully many of the really nice ones that I have passed on are still around in the community.

 

I hear ya Ben. I'm trying to keep it simple and at minimum have a piece that's both subjectively cool to me (so I get the enjoyment in the present of looking at it) and has a personal connection to me or family for each of my 3 sons. Anything beyond that is extra. All the best Ben.

 

Congrats on finding it, and enjoy it for many moons to come

 

Yes, they are. You can visit the ones you sent my way at any time.

 

thanks ! I definitely plan to one of these days

 

I personally don’t think any UG collection can be considered complete without having at least one of Ben’s old watches