£9,750.00
A particularly attractive 1930s 18ct gold Universal Genève Compur chronograph, distinguished by its refined proportions and technically interesting configuration. The locally-made 18 carat gold case is notably heavier than standard Swiss export examples, reflecting the practice of supplying movements for casing in specific national markets where higher gold standards and thicker cases were often preferred. It features articulated lugs, a design occasionally encountered in the inter-war period intended to improve comfort on the wrist at a time when wristwatches were still evolving from pocket watch forms. The case houses a single-button chronograph (monopusher) mechanism operated through the crown, controlling the start, stop and reset functions in sequence.
The movement is a traditional column wheel chronograph, the finely engineered system used in the highest quality chronographs of the period. The column wheel coordinates the chronograph functions through a precisely machined wheel with vertical pillars which guide the operating levers. This construction produces the crisp and positive action associated with early professional chronographs and reflects the level of mechanical refinement expected from high-grade Swiss manufacture during the 1930s.
The dial is fitted with blued steel hands and features raised enamel Arabic numerals, giving the surface a distinctive depth and clarity characteristic of quality dials of the period. It is printed with a “Gradue pour 30 Pulsations” pulsemeter scale, intended for medical use. By starting the chronograph and counting thirty heartbeats, the central chronograph seconds hand indicates the pulse rate directly on the scale. Such medical dials illustrate the growing relationship between precision wrist chronographs and professional practice in the early twentieth century. During this period Universal Genève was establishing a strong reputation for complicated wrist chronographs, and the firm’s Compur models represent some of the earliest and most elegant wrist chronographs produced during the formative decades of the wrist-worn chronograph.
| Case Size | 35mm x 48mm |
|---|---|
| Complications | Pulsometer and Chronograph |
| Movement | Universal Geneve Column Wheel Chronograph |
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5 North Street, Lewes, East Sussex, BN7 2PA
01273 473123
royce@comberoflewes.co.uk
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