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Universal Geneve Watches On Ebay

  1. MMMD

    MMMD unaffiliated curmudgeonly absurdist & polyologist Jul 27, 2014

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    Nice looking watch but I find it hard to tap the UG fund for a non-UG/Martel calibre, even though it's a good looking movement... Valjoux 23?
     
  2. LouS Ω 2

    LouS Mrs Nataf's Other Son Staff Member Jul 27, 2014

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    Huh! A German eBay seller willing to take PayPal and ship abroad! That in itself nearly merits the purchase.
     
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  3. Modest_Proposal

    Modest_Proposal Trying too hard to be one of the cool kids Jul 27, 2014

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    Right - I suspect that's part of the reason. But both the Martel and Valjoux movements are outsourced, so I can't understand the prejudice, except that the Martel movement is more historically prevalent.
     
  4. LouS Ω 2

    LouS Mrs Nataf's Other Son Staff Member Jul 27, 2014

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    Not really equivalent, and not just a matter of prevalence. Martel was exclusive to UG (who then sold the movements on to other brands) until about 1950, whereas Valjoux answered the door for anybody. Martel is closely enough identified with UG to be considered within a hair's breadth of in-house. The Martel building in Ponts-de-Martel even sported the Universal brand on the facade.

    [​IMG]
     
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  5. Modest_Proposal

    Modest_Proposal Trying too hard to be one of the cool kids Jul 27, 2014

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    Ah - I'm always used to associating Martel movements with both UG and Zenith. I didn't know they had an almost exclusive right up until the 1950's - but come to think of it, I can't think of any other companies that used it before then.

    Did UG sell the movements to Zenith? Or was it Martel directly?
     
  6. LouS Ω 2

    LouS Mrs Nataf's Other Son Staff Member Jul 27, 2014

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    The relationship between UG and Martel is not clear (ownership, exclusive contract, etc.?). There are advertisements of Martel selling under its own name in the 1920s. At some point in the following years, it vanished as a retail brand and its movements appear exclusively in UGs and companies to which UG sold it. Martel again becameindependent around 1950 and sold watches under its own name for about a decade - MMMD has a nice example (http://omegaforums.net/threads/martel-cal-1111.5671/). Zenith acquired and absorbed Martel in 1959-1960, a hugely important buy from which they acquired the full-rotor automatics which they used from then until the mecahnical movement Apocalypse in 1975, chronograph expertise which eventually culminated in El Primero, and probably also Charles Vermot, the man who saved the El Primero tooling in 1975 (http://omegaforums.net/threads/who-was-charles-vermot.2711/).

    The earlier link between UG and Zenith is yet another layer to this story - the two brands co-marketed chronographs in the 1930s and into the 1940s when the Martel movements probably came to Zenith via UG. some representative ads from around the interwebs - I believe we have Nicola1960 to thank for these.

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    If we are fortunate, Nicola will see this thread and lay down some more of the primary documentary evidence of the relationship that he specializes in.
     
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  7. LouS Ω 2

    LouS Mrs Nataf's Other Son Staff Member Jul 27, 2014

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    ...aaaand it's gone. Buyer, 'fess up. Mo-Pro, you?
     
  8. ELV web

    ELV web Jul 27, 2014

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    Sorry it was me, was up late night making sure my little girl doesn't break her toilet training routine, saw Modest proposal message on the email alert, made a random bid and then..... Anyhow, thanks modest proposal for catching such a nice watch. And yourself Lou, thanks for the comment quite a few weeks back re-bridging between Martel to post Martel for the movement. I have a compax with similar dial set up which still house a cal 281, this kind of makes it complete, at least that is how I feel....
     
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  9. woodwkr2

    woodwkr2 Jul 27, 2014

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    Nice work, ELV. Wrist shots will be required, of course, when it arrives.
     
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  10. ELV web

    ELV web Jul 27, 2014

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    Arrggghhhh what did I just do! :p
     
  11. LouS Ω 2

    LouS Mrs Nataf's Other Son Staff Member Jul 27, 2014

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    why the regret? It's not a bad buy.
     
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  12. ELV web

    ELV web Jul 27, 2014

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    actually, quite the opposite no regrets at all.... really thanks to this forum, it is just I went from 0 to 5 (one franken, a mistake on my part) in UG in just this year and the reality that I have become kind of hopelessly addicted just hit me.
     
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  13. LouS Ω 2

    LouS Mrs Nataf's Other Son Staff Member Jul 27, 2014

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    ah, missed the little smiley with his tongue hanging out. Well, you won't get condemnation here. You have only your daughter's toilet training to blame. ;)
     
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  14. woodwkr2

    woodwkr2 Jul 27, 2014

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    Addicted? No. Addiction is for quitters. You're an investor, my friend, an investor. ::money::
     
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  15. JohnSteed

    JohnSteed Jul 27, 2014

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    True dat! We're investors !!! :whistling:
     
  16. ELV web

    ELV web Jul 27, 2014

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  17. citizenrich

    citizenrich Metal Mixer! Jul 27, 2014

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    I have the same <similar> affliction.

    Managed to avoid ever owning an UG and all of a sudden I have like 7 or 9.

    Thankfully, I'm more of a dress watch guy than a chrono guy. For chronos I mostly stick with Gallet because it's my watchmakers wheelhouse.

    I'm wearing a new-to-me UG right now. 307 USD, box, jewelry store receipt, Cal 139 all in pretty good condition. She's smooth as butter and under 10 secs a day.

    Congrats on your purchase - early signs point to a "score". ^5
     
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  18. Modest_Proposal

    Modest_Proposal Trying too hard to be one of the cool kids Jul 27, 2014

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    I'm glad I could help somebody acquire the watch! Yes, wrist shots are required!
     
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  19. Waynepjr

    Waynepjr Jul 28, 2014

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  20. waXology

    waXology Jul 31, 2014

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