A classic looking men’s Universal Geneve dress watch with integrated Milanese bracelet, and hob nail bezel. Model reference 1-556.
HOW DO WE DATE THIS WATCH?
It is impossible, to the best of our knowledge, to accurately date Universal Geneve watches made after 1968 by their serial numbers. For this watch we have tried to look up the production dates of the movement, but again this is not known. One clue we have is the slim movement would be from the early 1980’s but the ‘fat U’ logo appears on Universal Geneve watches shown at Basel until 1984, when a slimmer U logo is used. Given this combined evidence, we think this watch was made circa 1983.
CONDITION
The most collectible Universal Geneve watches are the Gerald Genta designed Polerouter or White Shadow, and the Tri Compax or Compur chronographs. These are highly sought after, but command significant prices. This quartz powered dress watch has the same brand history but is far more affordable. Quartz was the thing to have in the early 80’s, hence it was a status symbol to have the word quartz on the dial – even on Patek Philippe watches. This follows the rules for a dress watch – slim case, just two hands, no calendar. The movement is marked Universal Geneve calibre 1-43, and is higher specification than you might expect. It has eight jewels, a trimmer for accurate setting and metal components decorated with Côtes de Genève striping – all additional costs that wouldn’t be found on brands who were trying to make watches as cheaply as possible rather as well as they could. We will install a brand new battery before sending the watch out to the new owner. The case back still has a clearly old and slifghtly yellowed case back sticker fixed to it, which is an indicator that the watch hasn’t been worn much – this is born out by the overall excellent condition too. The bracelet is full length and quite fiddly to get used at first, having to slide the tail of the bracelet through the clasp. But it does mean you can get a perfectly tailored fit, and easily adjust the length during the day. Like almost every Milanese bracelet, it does have a slight twist to it. The watch is signed on the dial, case, movement, crown, and clasp.
This watch will be supplied with our branded presentation box and our Certificate of Authenticity.
Please see the HD video for more detail. All photos and videos are part of the description and are of the actual watch unless mentioned. We do not photoshop any pictures, and the images are copyright of birthyearwatches.com and should not be used without permission.
SIZE
Width with crown 33.7 mm
Width without crown 32.4 mm
Lug to lug length 32.5 mm
Case Thickness 6.0 mm
Bracelet will fit a maximum wrist size of 200 mm.
All sizes are approximate. The watch is photographed on a wrist of 190mm/7.5 inches.
Included with this watch is a 2 month guarantee and free delivery to UK addresses. If you live outside the UK we can still deliver to most countries. Please see our Worldwide Shipping information, or Contact Us. Payment can be made by most credit or debit cards, bank transfer or PayPal.
From 1st September 2021 we will be planting a tree for every watch we sell, working with the International Tree Foundation (Est 1922) to make this business positive on carbon. By buying anything pre owned you are effectively reusing what already exists, but this takes it further and makes us feel good.
