The Lip electronic watch....which I’d never heard of. French and apparently one of the first ‘electronic’ designs. The first went to DeGaulle in the fifties.
Anyway, this one, from the sixties is still in daily use.
Now, for serious car nerds, what’s the car the guy is driving?
A clue, just as the Lip majors on electronic drive, so can the car.....they go together quite well.
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Last edited by paskinner; 5th July 2019 at 15:35.
Now you're talking my language. I love the Nautic-Ski, strangely I've been outbid by a matter of a couple to a few pounds on ebay with these probably 20 + times over the past few years but have never actually won one, I always seem to be the second highest bidder(always the bridesmaid never the bride).
Will I ever own one now, who knows.
Yes, I can see now...it’s a super compressor cased dive watch with electro-mechanical innards. Introduced 1967. A rather handsome design. That dial surely needs re-issuing...lovely.
And good to see enthusiasts still wear them...the guy in the photo is a racing car buff. And being French, quite nationalistic.
Nice looking, and interesting, watch. Seems to be a decent size too for watches of that era?
Car......judging by the key ring, a Porsche of some description.
Le Spiderrrrrr
...
BUBI 0_0
They have been re-issued by the modern LIP company - as quartz or auto, with black, blue or silver dials. It's a pretty faithful reproduction 38mm vs 37mm case for the original.
Here's my original from 1968, made in Besançon. And yes, it's a daily wearer.
Last edited by SimonK; 5th July 2019 at 15:58.
These watches are such lovely looking things
I Love the super compressors , great looking watches . The Lip Nautic-Ski is a stunner .
If I may add my Super Nautic-Ski to the mix purchased from this very forum. This gets a lot of wear when I'm at home, thinking of trying it on a perlon strap soon
Variations on a theme....
Mine says hello. I blame Wolfie.
Always wanted one but never seemed to either have the funds at the right time, or missed out.
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I had a look on chrono24 recently and prices seem to vary wildly.Originally Posted by Tahiti
Oooh, that’s niceVariations on a theme....
Mine says hello. I blame Wolfie.
Simon
I had a Mk II as well as, also a daily wearer for a few years, but moved it on last year.
My one.
Second series type with the extra French colours. :) Which also came in brown shades like unclealec's later example.
The one in Paskinner's first post is the very first type from 67. You can tell because the rotating bezel is numbered 15/30/45, whereas if you look at SimonK's example it's 10/20/30/40/50 so his is the second edition of the first, a Ib as it were. The first examples also had LIP embossed on the crowns. After my type(circa 69/70) they went to the larger tonneau compressor case, then a couple of years after that they went even larger again. IIRC they were last produced in 74.
They tend to survive the years well as the case is pretty well sealed. Some members of Jaques Cousteau's team wore them, as did yachting types. French yachting legend Eric Tabarly was one. Here he is with Bardot and Delon wearing one.
He also owned the red white and blue type.
It was also worn by skiers, as the owner of Lip's daughter was a keen skier and requested a watch that could take the damp of skying, hence "Nuatic-Ski". There was a mechanical version that came before, but the electronic is really the one to go for, far superior movement and the first battery driven actual divers watch.
Price wise they're all over the place. The battery bit helps keep prices low, even though it was an expensive watch when new. The top of the LIP range(with the Himalaya with the same movement in a "dress watch"). The vintage price bubble has kinda deflated on these. Ten years ago they were around 200 quid, then a couple of years ago they were changing hands for over the 1000 mark. Now? Well avoid dealers as they've still deluded as usual and are usually looking for 1000 and more, ebay auctions make between 3-700 depending on model and condition. The most expensive being the very first of them, the later tonneau examples being cheapest. Still not bad for a "first" of the breed and a Cousteau connected watch. And no problem at all wearing one daily. I have found them very robust. They wear larger than 36mm too. Long enough lugs and very thick case and crystal.
Is there any really difference between the nautic-ski electronic and my super nautic-ski? I've had a look at a couple of my pics and it has the R184 movement in. Mine looks very similar to SimonK's one except mine doesn't have the additional marks in the seconds ring and of course the different name on face.
The level of knowledge about a relatively obscure watch...to me anyway....is rather impressive. TZ at it’s best. The original sixties/seventies Lip factory got caught-up in a ferocious, and very French row over trade union rights. Highly damaging.
Anyway, the owner of that Lip in the first post
was getting into this..
Rich people don’t always wear the expected watches.
Last edited by paskinner; 5th July 2019 at 21:22.
Or even Nautic Ski
Also, as the electic version was launched in 1968, the same year the Winter Olympics were held in Grenoble, there was a marketing tie-in with the French ski team. I've seen models with 'J.O.' on the reverse alongside the Besançon town crest normally found.
The biggest problem today is that the correct battery is no longer produced; if you go to a regular watchmaker he will look in his book of equivalent references and fit what should be a good modern button cell but the plot will be slightly the wrong size and the battery life will be very short. Watchmakers who know what they are doing (like La Chance Electrique in Paris, where I go) will fit a plastic adaptor ring and you're good for a couple of years at least. Said watchmaker told me to pull the crown out - stopping the movement - when it is not worn for a while, as this will prolong battery life. No quickset date though!
The owner of the Lip in the first post seems to know how to keep the watch running well, he’s worn it for years. But parts, including batteries, must become a real challenge. That’s my main reservation with vintage watches.
Last edited by paskinner; 5th July 2019 at 21:45.
Now then - time to admit that I always thought these were “HP” and it was just a cool font that made it look like lIP. Lol!
Interesting watch!
And how come the nationalistic Frenchman has British plates on his motor?
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Long story, but it resides in central London most of the time...this outing was to Goodwood. The 918 was produced for about one year, around 2014, hence the ‘64’ plate.
I have one of the early ones- a keeper- and a couple of the more colourful and larger later ones (one Waltham branded) which will probably be shed as part of my collection-reducing programme. Very cool watches indeed.
So it turns out that all these TZ guys have been wearing a watch I’d never heard of, from a company I’d never heard of.
Must do a bit of reading about these more left-field products.
I mean, how often does Lip get mentioned here?
I've a few LIP's(which sounds odd to type :D). They're a brand that always appealed to me, as French watches have. My very first watch was bought for me when I was 8 while on a family holiday in France in the late 70's by my mum and dad was a Mortima. LIP has an interesting history and very much followed the various turning points in French history too. Like you said the industrial unrest stuff in the 70's is a fascinating chapter. There is a documentary in French about the period. Most French folks of a certain age would be very aware of it.
I particularly like the electronic and their inhouse quartz efforts, especially when they brought in outside designers like Roger Tallon(who did bits of Concorde and the French high speed train among other things) to breathe new life into the company and watch design itself.
The one in the middle being one of the Tallon examples and one worn by the French president at the time. And a watch that gets far more attention and comment from "civilians" than any watch I've ever owned.
Doh! yep... #embarrassed :)Or even Nautic Ski
Good info there S. Interestingly or not I've seen adverts from French magazines dated 67 with the electronic Nautic - ski(got it right that time.Also, as the electic version was launched in 1968, the same year the Winter Olympics were held in Grenoble, there was a marketing tie-in with the French ski team. I've seen models with 'J.O.' on the reverse alongside the Besançon town crest normally found.). Maybe they were a "coming soon" thing?
The lack of quickset date is a major pain in the *ahem* alright. Interesting info re the battery S. Makes sense as sizes and voltages have changed. The shape of batteries has changed too. The original batteries have a more pronounced nipple on the negative side which can lead to bad contact with new batteries with some movements designed for that. I've certainly had that problem with some early(pre 72) quartz movements alright. On voltage some tolerate the new batteries, others not so much. Never had much of an issue with the LIP movements funny enough S. I slap in a Renata(can't recall the code) that fits and I'd get just over a year between replacements. Maybe if I did the adaptor thing I'd get more?The biggest problem today is that the correct battery is no longer produced; if you go to a regular watchmaker he will look in his book of equivalent references and fit what should be a good modern button cell but the plot will be slightly the wrong size and the battery life will be very short. Watchmakers who know what they are doing (like La Chance Electrique in Paris, where I go) will fit a plastic adaptor ring and you're good for a couple of years at least. Said watchmaker told me to pull the crown out - stopping the movement - when it is not worn for a while, as this will prolong battery life. No quickset date though!
As for spares for these, I'd not be too concerned. A lot of these movements were produced and an ebay search will find a working donor any day of the week. Early quartz of any type are much more of an issue. So for the above LIP Tallon I have two of them just in case. And cos I'm mad...
The one on the right was for the German market sold through Dugena outlets. The one on the left is the only one I've seen with the silvered chapter ring.
I would have guessed a Porsche 918 due to that big carbon tub you only ever see in super / race cars, have clambered over them in show rooms, not easy! The doors are not overhead opening though so maybe a Porsche 918 spyder... not been into cars for a year or two so bit of a guess.
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Lip have a website where you can by the quartz and automatic version.
I have seen the remakes on uk ebay as well but at a higher price.
Tempted but never ppulled the trigger as yet.
Not to mention the fact that it was one of the watches used by Jacques Cousteau and his team.
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