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brainpap
·Regarding the "potential cross over" between the Climate Compax and South America / Brazil / FAB (Força Aérea Brasileira) and EB (Exército Brasileiro), here's what I understand so far:
2 references (all rose gold) were explicitly provided to the army, with "F.A.B." or "E.B." engraved on the caseback:
124107 found for ex here, here, here
12494 found for ex here, here, here
Now many questions remain un-answered to me:
- I never came across a Climate-Proof 124113 that had an Army engraving, so maybe they were targeting the Brazilian market, but not the army specifically?
- Or could the Climate Proof be sold more broadly in all Latin America? even worldwide?
- Generally speaking, why are rose gold associated with Latin America?
There’s a Climate‑Proof that popped up for sale in Germany that caught my eye:
https://www.uhreneder.de/de/armbanduhren/vintage-universal/universal-climat-proof
Hands on this one look a bit suspect to me (not sure if everything else looks good or not, but it certainly should, given how much they want for it...)
“CT Bracui” very likely refers to CTE Bracuí (D‑23), a Brazilian destroyer escort (contratorpedeiro de escolta) that started life as the US Navy’s USS Reybold (DE‑177), and was later transferred to the Brazilian Navy. It was an active wartime escort, with a working‑ship crew of around a couple of hundred men. The date 15.8.44 also fits right into the period when it first started operation for the brazilian navy. I haven’t been able to dig up a full crew list for that exact date, so “Sgt. Simões” himself is still a mystery, but the engraving reads exactly like a period presentation/watch to a Brazilian (sargeant?) serving on Bracuí.
For the broader question about Climate‑Proof and its Brazilian / South American connection, I think this is a fun extra data point: it’s another rose‑gold Universal with a very clear Brazilian military/naval link, sitting in the same universe as the F.A.B. and E.B. rose‑gold Compax pieces, just with a more personal, unit‑level engraving instead of the big official stamps. It doesn’t prove the model was exclusive to Brazil, but it does make it harder to argue against a deliberate push toward that market and to military clients in the region.
