Forums Latest Members

Universal Geneve Watches On Ebay

  1. studeb May 2, 2020

    Posts
    306
    Likes
    289
    My guess is it is a mold to make printing blocks. So you could make one block for each brand.
     
  2. Dan S May 2, 2020

    Posts
    18,588
    Likes
    42,858
    No idea whether it's legit, but I think it's a cool piece of memorabilia.
     
  3. DSOTM May 2, 2020

    Posts
    36
    Likes
    85
    What is wrong with the sub dial hands? I thought that "peak" sub dial hands were a possibility on the Exotic Blue dial.
     
  4. killer67 May 2, 2020

    Posts
    1,443
    Likes
    2,425
    I have only seen 2 original owner 885108s (also in the 2,892,9XX serial) and they both have had the rectangular subdial hands. I have seen the peak subdial hands and a mixture of peak/rectangular subdial hands on this reference but trust these less than original owner watches. I’d welcome any information or resources as there is limited scholarship on the exotic ninas
     
  5. jumpingsecond May 2, 2020

    Posts
    820
    Likes
    2,137
    The 60's were a crazy time for UG. I think Ninas and Exotic Ninas were built with whatever parts Universal had left in the bin. Less concern about uniformity of handsets than getting the product out to market. That's not to say there aren't patterns with handsets/logos/dials etc but I don't think there were definitive hard and fast rules- at least that is my thinking now until someone can point to a diligent research or evidence on it. Also these are 50+ year old watches so were there changes, were there replacements, modifications??
    here's another thread on these
     
  6. CafeRacer May 3, 2020

    Posts
    388
    Likes
    878
    Can I ask what your basis for this is?
     
    jumpingsecond likes this.
  7. jumpingsecond May 3, 2020

    Posts
    820
    Likes
    2,137
    Yea - the thing with Nina comes directly from a discussion I've had with Sala about the 60s and UG. Also given Universal's chaotic business history-
    Here's from Sala on Nina- translated from Italian by google:
    In 1961/62 UG had lost the Pont Martel factory, was in financial difficulties and did everything possible to get out of this situation.
    To do this he used all the material he had in stock, combining it as best he could according to the needs.
    It is no coincidence that many tricompaxes came out in that period, because they had many stocks of these movements that in that period
    they were appreciated as now.
    The much vaunted Nina Rindt, who now pay unjustified sums, is nothing more than the assembly of crates that had in stock
    with a purchased Valjoux 72 inserted, as they had finished the movements for the Compax and also for the Uni-compax (Val.23)
    Moreover, in that period all the watchmakers were going through a period of economic difficulty and were trying to overcome the crisis.
    For this reason it is not possible for watches of that period to have certain references.

    Universal in 60s was a business trying to survive the ups and downs of quickly changing industry and their sky-rocketing popularity at the same time. It leads to chaotic practices and some of the best watches ever made. But -to me- not all of them can be held under the microscope of today's collector with expectations of uniformity and predictability. They were a business trying to push product and stay afloat so if a handset fits the bill and it wasn't the handset that was used on the prior 100 watches of the same ref- so be it.

    Everyone will have their own tolerance for what they are willing to accept. With UG- I've learned to give them some slack.
     
    isnardi, sdre, khmt2 and 5 others like this.
  8. fibonacci May 3, 2020

    Posts
    167
    Likes
    369
    That's an interesting way of putting it.
     
  9. CafeRacer May 3, 2020

    Posts
    388
    Likes
    878
    Did he give a source for this information?
    I recall he ended that communication with "This is my humble thought, not supported by anything other than my experience, since the archives no longer exist."
    Id be keen to find out, if he happened to mention anything along those lines...
     
  10. CafeRacer May 3, 2020

    Posts
    388
    Likes
    878
    Didnt Zenith just buy out Martel in 1960, so UG lost access to their chronograph movements?
    The timeline fits with UGs switch to Valjoux chronograph movements in the early 1960s...
     
  11. fibonacci May 3, 2020

    Posts
    167
    Likes
    369
    It's just striking that he doesn't seem to acknowledge the existence of Martel at all. "They lost the factory in Pont Martel" is a very strange and dismissive way of saying "they were no longer supplied movements by their movement supplier, the Martel Watch Co".

    Edit: I should take translation into account indeed.
     
    Edited May 21, 2022
  12. jumpingsecond May 3, 2020

    Posts
    820
    Likes
    2,137
    Ha you remembered this from another post I'm guessing? This was what he told finished with in that discussion (translated from Italian via google):
    I wrote it in my preface that I preferred to stop my attention (and my collection) only on the models that mounted their
    Universal production movements.
    Having said that, UG certainly could not think that 50 years later a collection of the brand that led to have developed
    perfect pieces, original and coeval in all their parts.
    This is my modest thought, endorsed by nothing but my experience, since archives no longer exist.


     
  13. jumpingsecond May 3, 2020

    Posts
    820
    Likes
    2,137
    How so? With respect- I think you may be reading into it too much imo. Also pls remember it's being translated by A.I..
     
  14. killer67 May 3, 2020

    Posts
    1,443
    Likes
    2,425
    I have heard/read this before so the rule is no rules
     
  15. Diabolik May 4, 2020

    Posts
    1,371
    Likes
    2,657
    I agree. There is no consensus on sub hands. very early ninas and evil ninas are normally seen wirh lolipop hands but are also seen with rectangular hands. Space compax models are seen with blues and rectangular that end with a spike.However, other confis (including lolipop hands) are also seen especially in later space compax references (second gen). Even catalogs shows a variety of hands on compax, space compax and exotics. info is scarce ... the 60s and early 70s with the influence of bulova where weird times for UG ...
     
  16. killer67 May 4, 2020

    Posts
    1,443
    Likes
    2,425
    what that said what do you guys think of the price tag for that exotic Nina on eBay?
     
  17. jumpingsecond May 4, 2020

    Posts
    820
    Likes
    2,137
    Yea I think you're right - the transition of losing those movements I'm not sure about though- did it get phased out over time or did it occur abruptly? It was a long relationship between the two companies so I'm not sure how easy it was. Also just 7 years later Universal was bought by Bulova. Lot of transitions in a short time for one of the great watchmakers.
     
  18. Mazoue May 4, 2020

    Posts
    1,129
    Likes
    2,587
    billving likes this.
  19. OllieOnTheRocks May 4, 2020

    Posts
    1,174
    Likes
    2,658
  20. Mazoue May 4, 2020

    Posts
    1,129
    Likes
    2,587
    I strongly suspect that someone made an offer that was too good to refuse.
     
    OllieOnTheRocks likes this.