A Le Locle manufacturer from the bygone era that has a special place in collectors’ heart, Universal Geneve besides its recent revival embodies a rich heritage that traces back to 1894. And before its now famed Compax and Polerouters, its genesis preceding all is its chronograph, the Compur during the pre-WW2 period.

The first generation Compur chronographs with two pusher and double column-wheel debuted in 1934 BaselWorld Exhibition. And in 1935, the manufacturer make an important move of address. Situated on the prestigious Rue de Rhone 43, their headquarters was sitting beside two of the most important names in horological history, Rolex and Patek Philippe.

Universal further registered new company name such as “Universal Watch U.W" which included the logo as we see on examples stamped on the inner caseback up until 1937. It was only later on that the company changed to the well-known Universal Geneve of today.

Signed Universal Watch and cased in a Colonial Enversteel screw-back case, the multi-scaled (telemeter, snail tachymeter) identified in blue and black is printed on a two tiered dial. The sunken registers and hour markers in black are on the base tier creating depth to the dial. Part of the early first generation dated back to the mid 30s, such example hardly surfaces in the market. For collectors who seeks such watch from an bygone era, this one is hard to miss.