Horological Meandering

Noodia
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Universal Geneve asymmetrical case divers

Following the interesting recent posts on the Polerouter Sub, I thought it could be of interest of some of you to pursue the journey into the Polerouter Subs range UG launched just after the super compressor one.



Here's what I think is the first execution



and what should be the second



Being cautious with UG history is a must as the least we could say is it is often unclear and not much documented over the 60s period

Anyway I believe these have been launched somewhere in the mid 60s, here's a period ad from 1968



First obvious common characteristic is their asymmetrical case made by their oversize side, case diameter is 40 mm





Asymmetrical cases are something the vintage collector can cross from time to time with different flavors



a closed inspection to the case shape allows to better understand how IMO it's been designed with elegance in mind, a key factor in UG productions





Hands are another detail often appealing with UGs,

1st execution ones



which show a shape some of us may have in mind





which was widely used by UG in its 60s production



2nd execution shows the same hands shape with paint to improve legibility



both have a screwed big crown although their shape and size are different





a cyclop with an uncommon polygonal shape also found on some Polerouter Date I believe



Both bezels are bi-directional





They're both powered by in-house micro-rotor calibers developed with Buren

1st execution by the Caliber 69



without to forget the inner case back



2nd by its evolution the 1-69 caliber



and its inner case back with different engravings



Both calibers have a whopping 57 H power reserve.

But - keeping in mind Polerouter were somewhere UG "mass production" watches - what really amazes me with these movements is the level of finishing using techniques like "cote de geneve " (?) and anglages







1st execution dial shows UG typical art deco numbers



while 2nd execution have swapped them for luminous indexes



Making sure any vintage UG is in its fully original configuration is a difficult task considering the lack of documentation available fortunately, I've been able to find these





Both versions together



but this overview would be incomplete without the Space Compax



which uses the same case, dial type, bezel and crown as found on the 1st execution



same comparison with the 2nd execution is obvious too


Space Compax photo credit : Jatucka

Here they are altogether







and the traditional wrist shots as a conclusion