Comments:
A magnificient duo of Super Compressor Cases.
Universal Genève Polerouter Sub / Longines Diver.
Similar and so different, in the same time.
Both of them share a 42 mm super compressor case. Same construction, but different lugs.
Different movements, too, since the Longines houses the Cal 290, and the UG a nice microtor movement, the Cal 215-2.
The true difference is the most visible one, the dials, which give to each of them their own personality.
A pretty lovely one, I have to say.
Best,
Nicolas
Each time I see this dial, it gives me a " smash " in my face. ;) [nt]
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How about a wrist shot of that UG in sunlight?
Yes I know, not much sunlight these days!
I'd love to see that piece in the wild. Stunning dial.
Best
Joe
What a pair!
Those are quite simply two of the coolest divers ever created.
I have the modern re-issue Longines, and lust after the Polerouter. The problem, it seems, is that the vast majority of the UG's that have been surfacing of late are fake. I'm starting to learn about some of the tell-tale signs to identify the incorrect UG's, but makes it a bit of a mine-field to find a good one. Yours, of course, is magnificent.
Never tire of seeing either of these.
Darren
I was lucky to find my Polerouter Sub some 8 years ago.
At that time, the market was a bit more secure, less fakes, and much less expensive than nowadays.
As for the Longines, this one has a strong and big place in my heart. With me since 2008, it has been stolen to me in 2011, then found back two months after the burglary, miraculously.
Those two, + my 2 Polaris, are one of my prides.
Best, Darren, and thanks for your feedback!
Nicolas
They are indeed beautiful and iconic watches, and yet IMO they share a weakness...
My opinion is likely to be a part of small, minority view, but both of the models shown use a plain second hand, which I believe to be a weakness of design. Part of my objection to that choice is aesthetic, and part of it is practical.
Aesthetically, I find that some kind of accentuation of the tip of the second hand makes the dial more interesting, and is more consistent is terms of balance with the typically large indexes, and hour and minute hands found on vintage dive watches. A thin second hand, shared with the most elegant and refined dress watches of the day, strikes me as being out of place.
Practically, while of course only a small fraction of such watches were actually used for diving, there was at least a serious pretense that they were designed to be high performance tool watches. As such, there was good reason for the indexes, hour and minute hands to be large, and luminescent. So again, it strikes me as dissonant to find a second hand – a hand that could literally prove critical to a diver – to be both thin and entirely unadorned.
To my mind, the designers of the IWC ref. 1812 Aquatimer got it right (and there were others, of course). The luminous "paddle" on the second hand (also a feature of the ref. 866 Ingenieurs) would have allowed a diver to quickly focus on the seconds if necessary, and even under adverse conditions (e.g. challenging light).
Regards,
Tony C,.
Agreed. That weakness is not limited to these 2, but to most ( if not all ) the SC ones! [nt]
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