Much has been discussed about the connection between Martel Watch Co. and Universal Genève. However, the focus is generally on chronograph movements rather than time-only movements. I have found a couple of instances in which time-only movements, made by Martel, have been presented in forum discussions. One instance is a post by @nicola1960 on Orologi & Passioni: https://orologi.forumfree.it/?t=66008463
Another instance is a post by SilkeN on WatchUSeek: https://www.watchuseek.com/threads/...o-and-zenith-chronographs.660565/post-7744584

Source: https://www.watchuseek.com/threads/...o-and-zenith-chronographs.660565/post-5714553


Source: https://orologi.forumfree.it/?t=66008463



Source: https://www.watchuseek.com/threads/...o-and-zenith-chronographs.660565/post-7744584



Seeing these movements made me wonder which time-only movements UG used in their earlier pocket watches. My initial search yielded an example with the UG caliber 268. It was immediately evident that this movement closely resembled the time-only movements by Martel. However, there are a few differences, such as the design and location of the click and click spring, as well as the shape of the lever cock.

Source: https://vintagewatchesantiquejewelry.com/watches/1221-universal-geneve.html



A bit more searching yielded the UG caliber 290. This movement seems to have the same click and click spring as the Martel movement, but the lever cock of the UG caliber 268. The balance cock is also different, presumably to accommodate a flat hairspring.

Source: https://www.ebay.com/itm/2030235319...ctS4IaY2oAjxHykC/WiEa3Bzk=|tkp:Bk9SR7zqiry2YQPurchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network




Another thing that I noticed were the numbers on the dial side of both the Martel movement (40'837) and the UG caliber 290 (122'380). I wonder if these are serial numbers? I looked for other examples and found a few repeaters, with Martel-signed dials, that had visible numbers. See number 28'827 below.

Source: https://www.ricardo.ch/fr/a/martel-watch-minutenrepetition-laeuft-1157499916/






If anyone has more information about the movement numbers, Martel time-only movements, or UG caliber 290, I would be curious to learn.

 

There are companies that have these weird black holes. UG and Minerva made almost no simple dress pocket watches. IWC made almost no chronograph movements. Just... strange.

The UG cal. 268 can come in really fine finishing.

Here's another variation of this movement, this one marketed by Election, who shared doors with Marvin by the 50's.

 

Thanks for your response!

I have come across quite a few "Universal Watch" pocket watches, but not many UG-signed examples that are time-only and pre-1950. The Universal Watch examples seem to come with a variety of movements. Maybe they were made prior the establishment of Martel, or prior to Martel supplying time-only movements.

That Election variant of the movement is really neat. Unlike the UG calibers 268 and 290, it seems to have the same lever bridge as the Martel-signed example(s). Also, I like the more complex escape wheel and fourth wheel cocks. I will explore Election/Marvin further.

 

P.S. I also notice a zero or letter "O" by the crown wheel. I suspect that this indicates that the movement was originally sold in France, and in a gold case.

 

Here is one more brand -this one being a UG type:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/3038716833...UeVPFjeC/EmptqtejBQ/7epDz5|tkp:Bk9SR_j0sJC3YQPurchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network

 

Another great find, thank you!

This one appears to be for the American market, with the "PXT" import code.

 

Movement numbers they are

 

Here is cal 290 (but a chrono) https://www.archive.jones-horan.com...l+290&sort_by=date&limitnbr=300&Submit=Search

 

Thanks for sharing this example and information. I am surprised that UG assigned the same caliber number to two distinct movements. I wonder if they were produced at the same time? So far, the only serial number I have for a UG caliber 290 (time-only) is 659'xxx.

I wonder if you read about this somewhere, or determined it independently?

 

Universal Geneve initially used the Valjoux 69, calling it first 270 and then 290. Subsequently the 10.5'' Martel, called cal.289. A few photos: the 290 is on my Compur and a Valjoux 69 on my JJ .

 

Indepedently....

 

Thanks Mark020, they look contemporary to me, even though I thought the first denomination was the 270. A 270 with case back serial number 679.xxx appears on a Japanese site. Other 270s with 738.xxx,cal 290 with 710.xxx and 728.xxx.I apologize for the translation.

 

Thanks for the information and photos! Calibers 270 and 290 look the same, to me. I wonder why UG used two different caliber numbers? As a side note, the finishing on your Jules Jurgensen is wonderful!

 

Just for fun, here is another example of a UG caliber 290. This one has gold-plated bridges and a caliber 268-style click.

Source: https://www.ebth.com/items/10788265-vintage-universal-geneve-stainless-steel-open-face-pocket-watch




Here is a comparison.

 

Another UG 290 (in disguise...) https://www.chrono24.nl/jaegerlecou...er-290-yellow-gold-18kt-1937s--id26801596.htm

 

Here is a UG caliber 274, which looks to be related to caliber 268. The design of the balance cock and lever cock, location of the click, and other details look to match up.

Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/CjQb6B3LD8_/

 

Adding this one for posterity. Yet another variant, it seems, with a lever bridge that resembles the the Martel-signed movement in my original post. See comparison further below. Thanks to @Mark020 for posting this watch in the UG Pocket Watch Thread here: https://omegaforums.net/threads/ug-pocket-watch-thread.66551/page-4#post-2168472

Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/BbPSzyRFLNl/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

 

Adding another example for posterity. This one is unsigned, but closely matches the Martel-signed example and has a close serial(?) number on the dial side. The Martel earlier in this thread is 40837 and this unsigned one is 39208.

Source: https://www.ebay.com/itm/3945155450...CcjZLjWDyQw5u4R6M%3D|ampid:PL_CLK|clp:2349624Purchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network

 

Not sure if this is a Martel base, but it's marked cal 262

 

I've also got a caliber 262 laying around somewhere. Unfortunately, I do not know enough to comment on whether these were made by Martel.