Hello, full disclosure - I am very new to UG and in general vintage watches...been active in modern/neo vintage over the past 10 years, and have a collections of mainly AP, Vacheron, Rolex, Blancpain etc. I love chronographs and seeing a lot of value in Universal as compared to many other brands of similar standing - history, manufacture roots, nice designs and in every now and then, nicely sized cases. I finally worked up enough courage, started to read this and other forums, got a copy of Sala's book etc but still in early stage of my journey. I have handed a few UG's in real life but in Singapore where I live, that sort of market is rather small so I will be likely buying a piece from Europe and have it shipped there. I am a big guy so anything below 38mm looks rather cartoonish on me so I've been on a look out for an "jumbo" sized UG for a while and this one come up a few weeks ago. By the looks of it, the dial has been refinished but done rather nicely, and the seller says the movement runs very will, with good amplitude and quite accurate for its age; hit dates solidly to 1952 & I love the Gobbi co-signature and as I have some connection to Milan, this is a nice touch for me.

So my obvious questions where I am seeking help are:

1. Dial: what do you think of the dial? My concerns are UG's signature is sort of lacking the accent grave over "E" in "Genève" and "Gobbi Milan" is a little crooked and lacking a comma in between "Gobbi" and "Milan", I have seen several variants of that signature such as "Gobbi, Milano" for example on some Pateks but can not find one where the comma is missing. Any other thoughts on the dial will be also welcomed!
2. Hands: appear to be original so I do not have much concerns there
3. Case: looks to be in a decent shape, heavily polished but I guess OK for this age and it has not been overdone as I think lugs are sill quite "fat" and overall geometry is still present so I am Ok with it. The crown appears to be UG, not sure if it is age-correct but it looks nice and fat so I like it.
4. Manufacture date: the serial dates this to 1952 date of manufacture and the case serial appears to read correctly for the case material, type of watch and the movement so I guess this is a good thing!
5. The movement (Cal 285) - looks nice and clean; the "Universal Genève" engraving a somewhat crooked but I am not sure if this is a red flag? Would appreciate any thought on the movement and and general guidance on how difficult these are to service and find parts for, as compared to say Valjoiux based calibers that UG used later in 20th century.

Thank you for any and all thoughts in advance and I hope to learn a bit more about this piece and UG in general and "join the club" soon!

 

Since the dial is refinished, I would not put too much value on the fact that it is double signed. But if it is appealing to you personally, that’s what matters. I don’t think that a Martel movement is any harder to service than a Valjoux assuming you have a good watchmaker.

 

Thanks Dan. I actually do not know if the dial has been re-finished but given its appearance and condition, I think it is very likely to be the case. The seller does not know for sure so basically says it is what it is which is also fine...so if there are any signs of "bad" re-dial, I'd love to hear your views on that - but what i generally see in re-dials (crooked fat numbers, incorrect font, inconsistent paint applications etc.) seem to be missing here, but my eye is not well trained on vintage so I want to be extra careful if possible.

 

100% refinished. Decent watch but it all depends on the price.

 

Thanks… asking Eur 5K, can prob get it for Eur 4.5K or about that…

 

Dont buy..
Not worth it.
Doubt you will get even half what they're asking if you outgrow it and decide to sell it.

 

I'm partial to a double-signed UG myself but I don't understand how this can add anything to a re-dial. My Monodatic has a personal inscription on the caseback - it was a personal gift from Pope John XXIII*.





* Well, it will have. I just need to send it off to the nice man in Norway who does all my engraving first.

 

The history of Medico UG is murky and as a collector, I was advised early on to avoid. Dial customization was allowed and encouraged. This may have been a bespoke dial made for a customer, hence the double signature. The aging on the indices vs the clean dial …hmmm. Anyway it’s a great piece but it’s not a factory dial and the price is what one would pay for a pristine oversized Uni Compax … if this is a dealer, they know this. 3k is a more appropriate number. Keep hunting, watch for sales here on OF.

 

Agree

 

Patience, you must have, young padawan.

 

You are in a kind mood

 

Way too much

 

3k doesn’t buy much. At least the dial is attractive.

 

Genlemen, thank you for all the insight and help! Having considered the comments, and my overall take on the watch, I think I will offer ~ 25% less and see if this gets any traction. I am not buying into a heirloom quality here for sure, its just dipping my toes into the vintage before spending any "serious" money on, say, Vacheron chrono of similar age. The watch looks attractive to me, and the dial, even with all that potential refinish, appears to be done well and at least doesn't bear all the usual crooked alignment, different fonts, sloppy application etc that one often sees with UG refinish jobs. If I have to lose money on it when and if I sell it, I think I can survive losing Eur 1K on it or so, specially if I keep it for 5-10 years then I feel it is OK. If the deal does not go though, I will keep an eye on the listings here and chrono24, may be something a little bit more special pops up, but in todays market, even Eur 5K gets you next to nothing so there are slim pickings out there;( Thank you all again for your help and education, much appreciate it.

 

This.

Buying this example is a recipe for future disappointment, IMO.

 

With EUR 5k to spend you should be able to find a decent UG

 

Perhaps send this guy a message

 

Don't mean to be harsh, but I wouldn't keep this watch if someone gave it to me for free. Redial and ridiculous price. Keep looking. For $5K euros you should be able to get a very nice completely original UG. Perhaps not an oversized Medico, but if you are not fixed on this model, there should be options. Like the beautiful above compax mentioned by Mark020. Spillman is also a great case size (38mm) and something to consider. There are some around for sale. Good luck, probably best to keep vetting your options before purchase, either here in the forum, or via PM.

 

Agreed, with 5k euros there are many directions he could go.

 

Thanks you guys. I will take your advise and will keep looking. Much appreciated the help!