Vintage Universal Geneve Caliber 262 Movement

Founded in 1894 by Numa Descombes and Ulysse Peret, the Universal Watch company began production in LeLocle, Switzerland.  After the untimely passing of Descombes, the company moved to Geneva under the direction of Peret and his new partner, Louis Berthold.  In 1936, the company changed branding to Universal Geneve, with a new shielded logo and several new and historic models, such as the PoleRouter and the Tri-Compax models.

This Universal Geneve Cal 262 movement piece features a stainless steel gold-plated 34.5mm case with a highly domed acrylic crystal and a gold-plated fixed bezel. The cream-colored dial features art deco-style numerals, a raised inner minute track, the Universal Geneve text at the 12 o’clock position, a small sub-seconds dial at the 6 o’clock position, and sword-style hour and minutehands. This timepiece is powered by the manual wind Caliber 262 movement with sub-second functionality.  

The stainless steel case on this timepiece is gold-plated and appears unpolished, with sharp case lines and some wear present, consistent with a timepiece of this age.  The dial on this timepiece has developed a patina, with the center raised dial turning a rose color.