Japan Universe Buckles - A Mystery

[kaplan]

I have the only examples I can see of these very eccentric "Universal Genève" buckles:



And this is where they came from:


The buckles are odd sizes, 13mm - 15.5mm etc.

I assumed they were JDM buckles, similar to what Omega did in Japan, since the market was quite large in there, but the "Japan Universe" branding is puzzling me, I researched whether maybe it's a local brand, image searched the buckle, came up empty

Since all the other buckles are authentic, I didn't suspect these were not authentic, but I want to be sure, since I want to sell or gift them

 

[Tohz]

I've always been curious about these buckles as well. I own a ref. 842101, which I purchased in Japan, and it also came with a "Japan Universe" buckle on an unbranded strap. I've seen these buckles before on UGs offered in Japan from time to time, but unfortunately, don't have any information about their provenance either.

 

[kaplan]

T Tohz

I've always been curious about these buckles as well. I own a ref. 842101, which I purchased in Japan, and it also came with a "Japan Universe" buckle on an unbranded strap. I've seen these buckles before on UGs offered in Japan from time to time, but unfortunately, don't have any information about their provenance either.

I've never seen one before but I guess it's because I almost never look at UG's - thank you for the information. Many cost cutting moves from brands for the big Japan market to maximise revenue I guess. Omega did it right, UG seems a tad bit short, probably because they are not steel, they feel flimsy at hand