I am offering for sale a rare tuning fork watch from around 1969 that has been sitting too long in my drawer without any efforts on my side to restore it so it’s now time for someone else to give it a well-deserved second life.

This Universal Genève (UG) diver (ref. 852105) is a massive and heavy tool watch with a diameter of approx. 43mm without the screwed crown (still working) and a lug-to-lug distance of 49mm. As you can see from the pictures the case has been worn with pride and has numerous, yet not too deep traces of wear. The mineral crystal is scratched, and the dark blue dial suffers from some loss of paint here and there, most visible around the indices. Nonetheless, the handset is perfectly preserved, and all original luminous material (Tritium) is still in place and glows strong after direct UV light exposure (see last picture). The painted white minute track is damaged, whereas the azure blue acrylic bezel remains in decent condition.

The original UG-signed tuning fork movement (Universal cal. 1-52 which actually was no other but a Bulova Accutron 218D) has been replaced by a Bulova-signed 2182F that runs once a battery has been put in (battery has been removed before taking the pictures, accuracy has not been tested). That is sad on the one hand side but consequent on the other as parts are interchangeable with those from the Bulova 218x family and Bulova was the inventor of this movement anyway.

The watch comes on its original Gay Frères stainless steel bracelet with wet suit extension and safety buckle mechanism. It’s sufficiently long (without even making use of the diver extension) for a wrist circumference of approx. 21cm.

Finding the right price for this project watch is a bit difficult and I orientate myself according to the realized prices of similarly worn specimens. Hence, I am asking for EUR 590,- or the best reasonable offer for the watch, international insured shipping included. Let's not forget that with the right skills, this piece could be brought back to great glory that would do justice to its historical significance. Eventually, you might also want to take a closer look at the other watches I put up for sale recently and save costs by combined shipping.

Pictures:

The watch is located in Austria (EU) and so am I. I do have plenty of international references from various watch enthusiasts (also known here), so please feel free to ask for them.

Just for the records: I am a private collector and, therefore, the watch comes without any personal guarantee given by me, especially as it is sold as “for spares or repair”.

Thanks for reading and thanks to the Chronotrader platform and its host!

Kind regards,
F.Antl