Hi Omegoids, I was wondering if anyone can add to the little I know about the Transglobe brand. I think they went under sometime around the mid 70's and has been recently resurrected as a brand by Gravano. The models that seem to have made their way into watchmakers lore are the cockpit models (designed like the Omega Chronostop driver to be worn on the inside of the wrist) for pilots, and the "Poor Man's Heuer" square Chronographs that use the Valjoux 7733. I saw one recently posted for sale here on the forum. I've seen a couple of other valjoux loaded round case ones marked with an additional work Chronographe that folk are asking money for that'd make you spit your beer out. Why this is don't know. This recent object of my affection and purchase is a Transglobe flyback Chronograph 41mm. It's fitted with a Baumgartner cal 590/597 manual wind mechanism. It's a Swiss made pin lever type (but I think Baumgartner are perceived to be of a slightly higher quality than others of this era) that operates at 21800. I'm afraid I fell in love with the colour and the 70's case styling- looks to be in pretty decent shape. ..Though that strap will have to go...as I turned 52 last week and had the refund from my fake JLC purchase sitting gathering dust in my UK PayPal account I pulled the trigger and what I think is a reasonable amount for a rare pretty (shame it wasn't valjoux loaded but you can't have everything! Nice to have a flyback in the collection. I'm guessing it was made in the 69-74 era but that's speculation. A moderator in another forum suggested it was just one brand of many in Switzerland that sprung up in the 70's, cobbled together purchased parts, stuck their name on it and flung it out the door. I'm thinking there's more to the story than that....they're certainly uncommon. A google search digs up one or two for sale of this type in the last decade. Appreciate any snippets of info. Clearer pics to follow once it's arrived.
Mikrolisk has a record of a Transglobe SA/AG based in Basel Switzerland. The company registered a handful of brand names between 1961 and 1963, including Concerta, Madisen, Trans-Globe, Starlifter F99, Turboflite and Cockpit. the business was apparently liquidated in the early 1990s and delisted from stock exchanges in 1995.
Transglobe Turboflite, described as "A gents vintage gold plated Transglobe Turboflite watch with 21 jewel automatic ETA movement" (thanks)
Square chrono with 7733 (thanksPurchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network)
Chronographe with Valjoux 72 (thanksPurchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network)
Divers chronographs with 7733: (thanks) Another version with the 7730: (thanksPurchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network)
Not to rob the OP of his thread, but would this thought be true of my recently purchased, Felicitas Neuchatel branded panda chrono with the Valjoux 7733 movement? It isn't going to bother me if so, I love how it looks. I would just love to know more about the brand and was hoping someone like you or Norman would chime in on my post with a review of the brand. Thank you for any opinion given. McK
http://forums.watchuseek.com/f11/un...ta-cal-baumgartner-bfg-158-31-7-a-992686.html has a bit more info..