Hi OF members,
My watch collecting journey started with UG and with this forum. More accurately, it started with Ben Clymer mentioning OF as a rich knowledge source, and showing his 124113 Climate-proof.
Almost 10 years later, I’m still on OF, and the Climate Proof is still in the back of my head.

So here it is, with a dial that was climate-tested , but in a much better state than most Climate Proof on the market, honest case, a nice 37mm, un-used pushers, and a very clean movement. Looks and feels great on the wrist







Dear OF members, your critics on it are very much welcome ! For ex, I am unsure about the crown. Maybe I’m missing other stuff.

 

Doing my homework on this model, I gathered info on Universal Geneve Climate Proof Compax references (124113 and 12299), that I’m sharing below.
It comes primarily from this thread from Italian forum Orologi & passioni, but also from chats I had with other collectors, and a few other articles. It’s not worth more than a summary of already existing knowledge, but I hope it helps to have it here in english and in a structured form. Please point out any error, I will correct it.


Sala’s pages

(source for this Sala page)

(source for this Sala page)
Note: on the 124113 above, Sala shows a 124113 with a dial not mentionning climate-proof. I have never seen such example, nor did the members of Orologi & passioni.


2 references
There are 2 references of Climate-Proof Compax: 37mm (124113) and 34mm (12299), both only available in rose gold.

The 37mm reference 124113 was produced first, the smaller 34mm reference 12299 came after.
Their specificity is to have a secondary inner caseback in metal, to make it more climate proof… at least from the back of the watch!


1. Reference 124113, 37mm, rose gold, (2 dial options: inner and outer telemeter scales)
The 37mm reference 124113 was produced first (1951-1952, 1.54M to 1.57M), with two dial variations (inner and outer telemeter scales):




2. Reference 12299, 34mm, rose gold, (1 dial option)
The smaller 34mm reference 12299 was produced after (maybe 1952-1953 (1.62M)), with one single dial option



Production numbers dates
Based on the discussion in this same thread, we can estimate the 124113 was produced in a total of ~1.600 examples. See details on this here.

A great job of listing known serials of Climate proofs was done by Nicola1960 on this post on Orologi & passioni. I am reusing his work, added some I identified, and removed one that was an error from the auction website (this auction website put the same serial number on two UG watches, here and here).
The tables below also include the serial numbers tracked by @Mark020 in a later in this thread.




From these tables, we can see that:

• The production of each reference only lasted for one or two years.
• Both dial options of the 124113 (inner and outer telemeter scale) were produced in parallel, and not successively (contrary to what is mentioned on the original Orologi & passioni post).

A watch specifically for South America? Brazil?
With its low production numbers, in a very short period of time, an hypothesis could be that the Climate Proof Compax has been produced for a specific market / region. The hypothesis from @dandywatchman on IG is that it was targeting South America (hence the rose gold material for both references).

Another indication: the 124113 dial with inner telemeter scale is very similar to the one of the 124107, another rose gold Compax, that I think includes examples produced for the F.A.B (Força Aérea Brasileira). Example here.
Maybe the 124113, and the Compax Climate Proof was targeting South America, or the Brazilian market specifically?
→ let me know what you think!


Why do so many UG Climate Proof have a dial that suffered from humidity?
This is a running joke here: most Climate Proof Compax on the market did not weather the elements very well (quote from @carlton-browne)
It seems indeed that "they were not really THAT climate proof, but people definitely used them for this purpose, so many of the dials just didn't hold up very well", as mentionned by @bgrisso later in this thread.
@Larry S also mentions he believes "the crown seal is the undoing of most of these models"
Finally, one last hypothesis from @dandywatchman, is that a faulty plexiglass can harm those watches that were probably actually worn in humid environments.
... Ok, basically, the Climate-Proof was not Climate-Proof

Hope this post helps, apologies if anything is wrong, and thank you for everyone mentioned above.

M.

 

Do you have Sala's permission to post pages from his book online?

 

I found it on this dealer's page, did not even think about copyrighting.
http://www.highlifewatches.com/stor...-Proof__Pink_Gold___Papers_-_Ref._124113.html
I just removed it from my post. Thanks for raising it.

EDIT, I added it back, following Larry S ' comment below

 

I think there will be more. I have a 124113 with serial 1.548.638 on record so the one with 1.548.576 may be legit. The highest serial appears to be 1.549.971. With lower serials - where I did most of my research - I'm pretty convinced that there will be (then) no other references made between these serials. The batch is then at least 1395 pieces. My guestimate is that the batch was 1.500 pieces. Tank number approach suggests an even higher number.

Anyway: nice write up!

 

…… we all do that. It’s like quoting/interpreting scripture. The UG info sticky for example. If Mr Sala had an issue with how we use his excellent book here, I’m sure he would have said something long ago.

 

My thought is they were not really THAT climate proof, but people definitely used them for this purpose, so many of the dials just didn't hold up very well. It's similarish with EB and FAB which are not climate proof models, but there are round pusher versions of these, with similar additional red outer scale, and they were for South America, so I've always thought there was some potential cross over there. Many of those dials are pretty cooked.

 

@MarcelGuinchard … I can’t add to the excellent research discussion, but I will say as a UG collector, that your watch is superb. I believe the crown seal is the undoing of most of these models. Oh and one of these days, despite the cynicism and jokes directed his way, I’d love to visit Bernadini with Mrs S watching me like a Hawk with my wallet in her pocket.

 

Thanks @Mark020 !
If I understand your post correctly, all couples "references+dial" have consecutive serial numbers? Or is it just "references, whatever the dial" that have consecutive serial numbers?

NB: I added your 124113 on the reference table (it is an inner telemeter scale dial, right?)

 

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?

 

Sorry I did not record the dial. This is the list of numbers I have (I record them sequential - hint ;-))

My thesis is that UG made watches in batches of 50-100-150-500-1500 pieces. The following is not 100% true but I think - in general - references were produced (or at least numbered) in sequential order as well. However: some references were produced in more than 1 batch.

 

Great write up!! I've got 1,549,448. Feel free to message for details

 

Thanks @Mark020 . I added your serial numbers to the main table in the original post.
Based on your thesis, and available serial numbers, we could conclude the 124113 was at least produced in a first batch of maybe 1.500 watches, and then in a second batch of maybe 100 watches

 

Great thread that I've saved for future reference.

Fantastic detective work and compilation @MarcelGuinchard

 

It is great to see these gorgeous references getting some love in their own thread. I have collected a few Universal Genève watches over the years containing these designated ‘Climate-Proof’ dials and hope you don’t mind me expanding the field a bit.



My view is that the ‘Climate Proof’ branding was simply a marketing ploy by UG to shift more watches ALL over the world. My time-only pieces above are in utilitarian steel cases and therefore suggest a wider target audience outside of Latin America, or just Brazil, specifically. Barring the extra dust cover in the chronographs, the rest of these watches seem identical to their generic equivalents in the catalogue. I wonder if the short production run was because UG got so many moisture-damaged watches returned for repair? It is easy to imagine these models failing to live up to the bulletproof claims of the promotions department, as the new owners put them through their tropical paces.

With regard to the chronographs 124113 and 12299 specifically, I also have the sneaking suspicion that the number built is greater than we initially thought, say even ten years ago. I know this is incredibly subjective but they do seem to pop up in my collector circles a lot. I also wonder how many have been destroyed and/or melted down, given the average condition of most of those that are left, creating an illusion of initial manufacturing scarcity.

It would be so cool to find some vintage advertising for these references from the era, like those ads we see for the earlier Colonials, say, but in all these years I’ve never found anything. Again, I find it curious that an ad-man’s dream watch concept appears to have no surviving marketing.

I have always been fascinated by the Climate Proofs and, for me, they symbolise a special period within UG of hopefulness and optimism and bold new adventures, of moving into a more modern world that, ironically, eventually killed the company.

 

This is a very interesting theory @Woops I'd also love to see some vintage advertising for this Climate Proof line-up.

@Woops would you say our production estimate of ~1.600 watches for the 124113 only, here earlier in this thread is also under-estimated?

 

Bravissimo !

 

I would never dare cross our UG Databaser-in-Chief and, as far as I can tell, the only person around here who fully understands German tank theory . Seriously though, around 1,500 units of each reference does indeed sound like a far more likely production number to me based on my own very subjective collecting experience. There always seem to be more Universal watches out there than you think.

For context, around five or so years ago, some collectors, myself amongst them, were guilty of parroting the received wisdom that there were just 150 units built of each reference. These days I can easily believe that UG manufactured ten times that number.

 

Found this one with the wayback machine (courtesy of Carsandwatches)