Bring a Loupe: A Universal Genève Space-Compax, A Movado Tempograph, And An Early Navitimer
Happy Friday, and welcome back to Bring A Loupe! We’re back to regularly scheduled programming with the Spring Geneva auction season wrapping up on Monday. The clear theme this week is chronographs. Maybe I’m just in a chronograph mood, or maybe it’s completely by accident—who’s to say? Speaking of schedule, there will be no Bring A Loupe next week as your humble author is taking some time away from the mothership, Hodinkee HQ. Please express your sorrow and/or disdain in the comments!
As for a recap from last go around, I’ll save you an entire auction slate’s worth of results. That said, some highlights are notable. At Phillips, the Vacheron repeater sold for CHF 698,500, and the Breguet Sympathique with Journe and THA ties ended up at CHF 5,505,000 — we’ll have more on that clock soon here on Hodinkee. The Tank Allongée with “bec d’aigle” lugs at Sotheby’s, caught some steam and sold for CHF 78,740. At Christie’s, the gorgeous and rare Patek 3970EG-028 sold over the high estimate for CHF 882,000. Finally, the AP jump hour from the 1920s doubled its high estimate, selling for €42,000 — I love to see true vintage AP getting some love.
Alright, onward, let’s get into the picks!
1940s Movado Tempograph Ref. 19006
A smooth transition here to start as we’re back at Phillips, but in Hong Kong this time. I couldn’t help but include this Movado, given my deep appreciation for the brand and, specifically, its chronographs of this era. The Tempograph is a rare and odd duck. As an innovative brand in the 1930s, Movado introduced the Chronoplan, a time-only 34mm wristwatch with patented dual rotating bezels to track elapsed time to the minute, up to 12 hours. The bezel execution is a bit odd, but we’re talking about a watch designed decades before the Submariner here. In 1938, when Movado unveiled their in-house, dual-register M90 chronograph caliber, the brand applied the Chronoplan idea to a chronograph, now with a single rotating bezel to track hours in conjunction with the 60-minute counter of the M90. That’s the Tempograph.
It was around for only a few years thereafter as Movado quickly developed, with the help of Frédéric Piguet, the three-register M95 caliber, introduced in 1939. The M95 more elegantly solved the same problem as the Tempograph, as the new chronograph module was equipped with a third 12-hour register. I suspect that orders for Tempograph cases stopped around 1939, but the brand sold through whatever they had on hand in the years after.
In my years of following the vintage Movado market, I have seen a small handful of these watches — roughly half a dozen, I would guess — with the one here at Phillips being the nicest example, condition-wise, that I know of. The case is full, and the dial, while discolored a touch, has no signs of print loss, which is all too common in chronographs of this era. It’s a 33mm masterpiece that will impress even the headiest vintage watch enthusiasts. In other words, my kind of watch.
The Tempograph is a part of a selection of watches from the Watch Museum VOGA collection — a private museum founded by renowned Japanese watch dealer and collector Toshio Masui. For the full story on Masui, check out this excellent article on Hodinkee, produced by our colleagues at Hodinkee Japan.
This Movado Tempograph is lot 861 of Phillips’s The Hong Kong Watch Auction: XX next Saturday, May 24th, at 2 AM ET. The estimate is $7,900 to 19,200. Get all of the details right here.
1950s Breitling Navitimer ‘Pre-806’ For The AOPA
Hand up, the Breitling Navitimer is a watch I had never really been drawn towards as a collector. It wasn’t until working here at Hodinkee on our vintage team and handling a few great examples that I was hooked. My mistake previously was thinking that the Navitimer was just another mid-century sport chronograph. While that statement has a hint of truth, the Navitimer is so charming in the metal because it was designed so purposefully for pilots, with that touch of everyday wearability that watch designers seemed to have a knack for in the 1950s. The build quality is really insane as well, from the stout 40mm case to the glossy dials. Dare I say this is a more compelling watch than a vintage Omega Speedmaster?
That debate aside, here we have what is known as a “Pre-806” Navitimer. Produced in 1954 and 1955, this is the first run of Navitimer production, and it predates the model with a reference number. As you may be able to guess, that eventual reference number is 806. The Navitimer was originally developed for the AOPA, the Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association, hence the golden wing logo on the dial instead of Breitling’s branding.
You can find later examples with a mix of AOPA and Breitling branding, but the prevailing theory is that these earliest Navitimers were intended to be used only by the AOPA, with Breitling seeing little need to include its branding on the dial. Movement-wise, these earlier Pre-806s utilize a Valjoux 72, an upgrade from the Venus 178s used thereafter.
Condition-wise, this is about as good as you’re going to find. The dial retains a very original gloss finish, which is quite uncommon, especially considering the presence of radium lume, and the seller describes the case as unpolished. Speaking of that radium lume, it has aged to a pleasing tone in my view. The seller also notes the presence of an at least period-correct but possibly original to the watch strap and buckle, completing the time capsule appeal. All around, this is the ultimate version of a vintage Navitimer.
The seller, Justin of Watch Steez, is offering this vintage Navtimer for $28,000. You can see all of the photos and contact him right here via his Instagram.
1960s Universal Genève Space-Compax Ref. 885104/01
There’s nothing like seeing a rare, sought-after vintage watch on eBay in seemingly as-found condition. Cases like these are especially intriguing when the seller offers the watch via auction and resists the urge to accept one of those “Would you take $10,000 right now” offers in their direct message inbox. Then, we can all sit back and enjoy the market speaking for a watch you typically might only find offered by a dealer, where pricing can be a bit more arbitrary.
The Space-Compax was Universal Genève at its most confident, funky, functional, and just a little weird. This is a Mk 1, the earliest execution, with white (some may say silvered) sub-registers and a large 12 o’clock numeral that sets the tone for the overall funk of the watch. The subsequent execution, Mk 2, features an all-black dial and does away with this expressive numeral. Within the Mk 1 range, there are two lume styles: the one we have here, where luminous material fills the hour markers and the bottom edge of the block at 12, and a second iteration where lume pips are applied on the minute track. All this to say, there are a few Space-Compaxes to collect, this being the most desirable and most attractive in my eyes.
These don’t show up for sale often and are known to be a bit of a minefield in the world of vintage UG. For some reason, nefarious figures who like to put together watches from old parts or print altogether fake dials have always liked the Space-Compax. I don’t have any authenticity concerns with this one—it looks to be good. What it does need is some TLC. Namely, a buyer will have to face the challenge of finding new pusher caps. But the bones of the watch are there and look to be in untouched, original condition. It even comes fitted on a correct, UG-signed Gay Frères bracelet.
An eBay seller in Manchester, Tennessee, has put this Space-Compax up for auction, ending next Saturday, May 24th, at 8 PM ET. At the time of publication, bidding had reached $4,550. Check it out in full right here.
1940s Gallet MultiChron 30M ‘Clamshell’ Chronograph
From a vintage Breitling to one Breitling-acquired brand, and now to another, this “Clamshell” is among the most lauded designs from Gallet’s vintage era and one we will probably see referenced in the modern revival. I say that only guessing, to be clear. In the images that Breitling distributed to announce its acquisition back in March, the “Clamshell” case was heavily emphasized.
This is a Gallet MultiChron 30M, marketed in the 1940s as “the first timing instrument of its kind in America,” with optional tachometer and/or telemeter scales; this example features both. Gallet geeks will quickly tell you this is considered one of, if not the first, waterproof chronographs ever. The design was patented by Schmitz Frères & Co in 1936 and acquired by Gallet just one year later. The caseback is shaped more like a deep dish pizza, holding the movement while four angled screws are threaded into the rear of the lugs to keep pressure on that inner portion. It’s a great design, for the time, but it’s worth noting that it would be far from “waterproof” by today’s standards.
This particular dial variant is among the more common, but one I’ve personally always found very attractive. While they tend to yellow with age, as this example has, the red accents in the tachometer and telemeter tracks typically remain vibrant. This one is similar to the UG above in that it looks to be listed on eBay in as-found condition. I would bet that it would present much better after polishing the crystal or even a crystal replacement.
An eBay seller in Tualatin, Oregon, has put this Gallet up for auction ending next Sunday, May 18th, at 6 PM ET. At time of publication, bidding had reached $810. Click here for the full listing.
1990s Hublot MDM Geneve Super B Chronograph
Ok, this probably isn’t what most collectors envision when picturing a vintage chronograph, but hear me out. I find these pre-Jean-Claude Biver Hublot MDM Geneve watches really appealing, almost like a guilty pleasure. That said, I wouldn’t feel very much guilt wearing this. The Super B Chronograph is one of the oddest Hublots made during this era, and that’s saying something. It’s 42.5mm in diameter by 13mm thick, but it makes a strong case for the ever-pressing category of “summer watch that no one else will have.” With a light brown tone to the dial that some sellers will describe as “chestnut” and bright green lume, it’s out there but in a good way!
The seller, Wes of Collector’s Corner NY, is offering this Hublot Super B for $2,900. You can check it out in full via the pushers.io platform right here.
Hodinkee