Offered for sale is a very rare, but ultimately a flawed, Universal Geneve PolArouter.

Turning first to its faults:
- It is a redial
- The gold capped case is worn on the ends of the lugs
- The crown is not original

Now, let's turn to why the watch should be of interest to the collector.

It is a PolArouter and has all the signs of being one i.e.
- it has a 20214 Polarouter case reference rather than the later S20214 PolErouter case reference
- it has the early six-key case back and 'WATERPROOF' engraved on the case back
- it has the gold marker ring surrounding the dial with the narrow hour markers seen only on Polarouters

The 1'648'913 serial number puts this as one of the earliest gold capped Polarouters produced.

However what makes this watch particularly rare is that, to my knowledge, it is the only known example of a 20214-3 case reference. For some reason, no other examples of the 20214-3 (or even its Polerouter successor, the S20214-3) have surfaced.

I purchased the watch from the family of the original owner. His Aunt Irma had given his Uncle Vittorio the watch for his birthday in June 1995, which explains the engraving on the case back.

The nature of the redial is debatable. The "Automatic" text is not correct. However the "Universal Geneve" text could be original. I could not say for certain why the "Polarouter" text is missing. I have seen another example of a very early Polarouter which is missing the "Polarouter" text about which I have no doubt.

I could not say for certain whether the lume is original. It clearly has age and there are signs that it was applied accurately originally. The hands are also consistent with a lumed Polarouter dial.

The bumper Cal 138ss movement is working well. I've tested with a timegrapher and it is keeping time to within a few seconds per day although I'm sure it would benefit from a service.

This is a watch for the Polerouter completist. Although far from perfect, I've not seen another 20214-3 and it could be a while before we see another. If anyone does have a 20214-3 or has a theory as to why we've not seen any, I would be interested to hear from you.

Price: £1,000 GBP including insured shipping worldwide for OF members. Payment via bank transfer or PayPal for known members or members with acceptable references. Returns not accepted unless grossly misrepresented.

 

I'm happy to consider offers if there's anyone who wants to complete their collection, otherwise I'll tuck it away in the safe.

Has nobody else got a 20214-3? Where are they all?