On casual study, the UG model range for chronographs can seem bewildering, but there is a system to it. Here it is explained in a factory brochure. It is devoid of date, but I am estimating later 1940s to frst half of the 1950s for the date of its publication - after the TriCompax was introduced in 1944 and before Universal's marketing efforts shifted to the Polerouters in 1954. ..and for those of you who can never keep the auxiliary scales straight:
Hi Lou - excellent resource and maybe this will educate the watch world on what exactly a Tri Compax is, a term miss used by many. I just wanted to add a document I had on file sent to me by UG Geneve SA back in 2009 in response to a question I had about my now ex Aero Compax. Picture of the watch in question also attached. They were very helpful at the time and I was wondering if you had been in contact with them at all in relation the vintage resources that they have and may wish to share. I have a name and email address should you need it. Best regards Paul www.heuerworld.com
Paul, I haven't been in touch and would love the contact info. Please PM or email it to me at your convenience. I hope that this forum, as the first and only UG forum on the web, will for a reservoir of resources for UG collectors. If the manufacture wants to contribute information, that would be wonderful! As you know, it is largely undiscovered country. Do you know what year that page from a UG catalog belongs to.
Lou, in the email I received he referred to the manufacture date of the watch ref: 22703 as 1963-1964. Looking at the hands on the catague watches I would say that seems consistent with the fashion of that time. I am referring to the early Autavia and Speedmaster of the periof both if which had sword or dauphine style hour and minute hands. Just my opinion of course. I also think my ex Aero Compax was a little later still close to the ref: 22703 but different hands and hour markers. I have emailed you the contact details I have for UG but bare in mind it was back in 2009. regards Paul www.heuerorld.com
I believe the dating. The other factor is the applied UG logo, similar to the top two watches in teh catalog page you post. I think this predates the more perfectly geometrical painted "U."...which reminds me that we need to look into UG dial logos - examine the progression particularly in the later years and try to determine when the change from "pointy U" to "Perfect U" was made.
"... If regulating covers several days, one can turn the hands back 8 o'clock after each jump, thus shorteting the operation..." Have any of you ever tried? Is it a dangerous maneuver ?
I believe the brochure posted by LouS dates crica 1946. This is what I read on another Forum where it was posted and it also kind of make sense as the Dato-Compax is still present and advertised and I have never seen a late 40s/early 50s Dato-Compax, as the success of the Tri Compax impacted massively in the sales of the Dato-Compax which was discontinued relatively soon (making pretty rare today). Also, the Tri-Compax has the painted moon disk: by even early 50s and perhaps late 40s the moon disk would have been faceless.
But it is strange that even this user's manual (in french) writes that it is possible to do this operation
The reason why it is not recommended to do it (anymore) is as follows: When the watch left the factory, it was adjusted such that this operation works. Turning the hands until the day switches to the next day, then turn back to eight and move forward again until the day switches again. So far so good. The movement must switch day, date, moon and sometimes month when the day is over. This is usually not done exactly at the same time so that less power is needed when switching. That means that for example the day switches first, then the date, then the moon, then the month. Important note: I don't know the exact sequence so it is justan example! So turning back the hands and switching the day again is fine, but moving forward, switching the date and the moon and then turning the hands backward is most probably not. This operation could work, but it is also much likely that is damages the switching mechanism of date, month, and moon. Therefore, as we don't know the sequence and how the watch has left the factory, turning the hands backwards is not recommended. However, if you bring your watch to a skilled watchmaker and ask him, he can look under the dial and inspect the mechanism. It might be that turning the hands backwards is possible also for date, moon, month. But without having a look at the mechanism, my watchmaker recommends not to turn back the hands. By the way, your french instructions say not to push the setting buttons between midnight and 3 o'clock. Otherwise, you will damage the switching mechanism as it is in progress during this time. This indicates that the day is the first which switches.Again very important: We usually don't know how the watchmaker who serviced the watch in the past assembled the watch. It can be that the switching is not finished at 3 o'clock as he assembled the watch differently to the factory settings. Therefore, it is now recommended to turn the hands to 9 or 12 o'clock before pushing the setting buttons.
Grazie ! Il mio orologio è stato appena revisionato. My watch has just been serviced by a watchmaker.
You shoud have asked him about the quick set before assembling! Just a question: Why didn't he remove the rust from the movement parts? You didn't want to?