Lot 108

Universal Genève

Luftwaffe

An extremely rare Geneva vintage wrist chronograph "Flieger-Navigationsuhr" (pilot's navigation watch) of the Deutsche Luftwaffe

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Universal Genève launched their "Compur" model in 1934, which was the same year Breitling introduced their chronograph with two pushers in the market. Breitling’s novel design was a benchmark for chronographs and many other brands - such Universal Genève - followed suit.
Universal Genève produced the Compur until the compax range was introduced in the mid 1930s, which drew the interest of air forces all over Europe and resulted in a declining interest in the Compur. This is why only relatively few examples of this model in good condition are around today.
In the 1930s the Ministry of Aviation purchased Swiss watches and provided some of the test pilots of the Rechlin testing grounds with them. This watch is one of these rare pieces.
Source: Konrad Knirim, "Militäruhren" Bottrop 2002, p. 359.
The timepiece features a beautiful 38 mm steel case with a wide bezel and downward-sloping bevelled lugs, which make the case appear even larger. The luminous mass in the Arabic numerals and the sword hands on the matte black dial has slightly darkened. The watch was produced for the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (ministry of aviation), as proved by the RLM engraving on the case back. The clean condition of the case and the sharp edges indicate that the watch has only spent very little actual time on a pilot’s wrist.