Reply With QuoteWhat a great collection
The Jet Graph MK III and Sherpa Ops are 2 that I have always liked when you post pictures of them.
Thanks for sharing.
Hi All,
I've been meaning and promising to do this for a while and have finally found the time!
A little back story on my collecting journey first though. I came here to TZ-UK when I first started collecting properly about 5 years ago. My initial interest like a lot of you were Rolexes which quickly moved on to limited edition Speedmasters then Seikos and then about 2 years ago on to Heuers. Heuers were great and I loved them (still do) but I was about 5 years late to the party and most of the interesting or great condition ones were already in other collectors collections or were far, far too expensive for me - just as a point of interest, I keep a record of every watch I've owned and sold and I'm up to 115 sold now. I am self diagnosed serial flipper but that has mostly changed lately...
About a year or so ago, I came across the Enicar kickstarter book and delved in to the Enicar brand a bit more and loved what I saw. Great quality watches, interesting and cool designs, most were 40mm plus and the prices weren't crazy - great! Little did I know how much I would love them, as you can see from my collection below. The Enicar community are also a great bunch, with most people knowing each other and the community was (and still is to an extent in comparison to Heuer etc) really at the beginning of their journey to start getting and sharing information on the brand.
One issue that has plagued us Enicar collectors is the lack of any official records. Apparently these were all destroyed when the brand was sold to a Hong Kong businessman in the late 80's. Enicar is still going today but is mainly focused around the Asian market and don't really have much of a connection to their old roots.
During the last 6 months or so I've written an article for magazine on vintage Enicar and also set up the Enicar Forums (http://www.enicarforums.com) which is slowly getting going but we're still a small community really.
A couple of resources to mention if you are interested in finding out more any of the models or anything else:-
http://enicar.org - run by Martijn van der Ven the author of the Enicar book (and where you can buy a copy). Lots of good articles and also publishes the value barometer (price guide) a few times a year.
http://www.enicar101.com - run by Nico Henke and is a great site for more info on the Sherpa Graphs and some of the variants
https://thespringbar.com/blogs/guides/category/enicar/ - The Spring Bar - possibly the best resource for a lot of the models and variants
So, to the watches currently residing in my collection:-
Enicar Jet Graph MKIII - Ref 072-02-02
Fittingly for the first one it was picked up here via a WTB. Valjoux 724 chrono movement with GMT hand and rotating bezel.
Enicar Aqua Graph MKIV
This one came in via Japan and a fellow Enicar collected gave me the heads up and sorted the sale for me. Valjoux 72 chrono movement with rotating bezel and independently rotating red ring which was patented by Enicar.
Enicar Sherpa Graph MKIII
Again picked up via a WTB on here. Valjoux 72 chrono movement with lollipop seconds counter. No external bezel on these, so I'm happier wearing it more regularly as I can't dent or ding anything!
Enicar Ocean Pearl 072-03-01 'Interlagos'
This was a bargain find on eBay. NOS including original NOS strap which by itself is worth around £500. Valjoux 726 chrono movement.
Enicar Ocean Pearl 072-03-01 'Flying Dutchman'
Yes, for the eagle eyed among you - it has the same reference as above. Don't ask me why! They are the same watch essentially just different dial and hands.
Enicar Graphomatic 134-01-02
Possibly one of my favourites and the only Enicar I have with a Lemania movement (1340).
Enicar Sherpa Guide Mark IV
NOS condition. These are generally very, very beaten up.They were very popular in the Asian markets as they were famously robust. Rotating city bezel, ESPA case with double crown (top crown moves the inner bezel). The first in this list that houses an in-house Enicar movement - AR166
Enicar Sherpa Ops
These had PVD cases and were of course very easily marked. Unusual to find a NOS one but they do pop up every now again. ESPA case again with crown guard for the double crowns. Enicar AR165c movement.
Enicar Sherpa Ultradive 144-35-03
Aimed at divers this one and has the same case as the Ops above. Enicar AR1145 movement in this.
Enicar Sherpa Super-Dive 33 Supercompressor Mark I
This is the one that started it all but it's not a great picture. This is a rare variant of the Mark I as it's a '33'. ESPA case and Enicar AR1125 inside.
Enicar Sherpa Dive
One of the first of the proper diving watches that Enicar produced. It's a recent addition and not one I've really bonded as yet for some reason. It's from 1967 and is the rarer 40mm version.
Enicar Mantagraph 219-02-01
This one needs some TLC on the dial but is in otherwise good condition. PVD cushion case and Seiko flyback movement 7016a.
Enicar Mantagraph 219-01-01
I sold one of these on the forums as I needed to raise cash for the Aqua Graph (above). Luckily an even better one came up a later date that was a full set including box and papers. Same Seiko movement as its brother above.
Enicar DDS 240
This one is very 70's! TV dial with big chunky 3d markers. I've never been able to get the caseback off to look at the movement as it's a bit of an odd one!
Enicar Jump Hour
These jump hours are pretty unusual and quite a few brands in the 70's appear to have got in on the act of having these in their lineup. This is a rare one due to the case and integrated bracelet.
Pair of Enicar Ultrasonics from the 50's
One of the great things about collecting Enicar is that you can still pick up beauties like these two for around £100. As I've been typing this post, they've both just been delivered back to me after a service from Brendan
Enicar Sherpa Super Jet MKII - 148-35-03
And last but least is my most recent addition. A super condition Super Jet from the 60's. GMT hand with rotating inner bezel, ESPA case and two crowns. Enicar AR 1146b movement inside.
So there you go! That's most of the collection. I have a couple of project watches that I'm hoping to finish up in the next month or so. One is a Big Eye valjoux 234 and the other is the smaller brother of the Super Jet, a standard Jet. I'll be sure to add these to the thread once they're done.
Hope you enjoyed reading!
Steve
Last edited by SteveHarris; 26th May 2020 at 13:04.
What a great collection
The Jet Graph MK III and Sherpa Ops are 2 that I have always liked when you post pictures of them.
Thanks for sharing.
Last edited by Sinnlover; 21st April 2020 at 13:37.
Great collection Steve
Always liked Enicar. What a fantastic collection.
Some belters in there.
Thanks for posting such a brilliant assortment of watches,
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
What an interesting collection of watches. I enjoyed looking at your various models. I must confess I never heard of them before.
I think from what you say, you're going to stay with the Swiss made vintage models? You mentioned that Enicar is now running again, mostly selling to Asia, are they watches that stick to the design elements of the originals? Would you delve into the modern models?
Thanks guys
No, they're definitely not for me and don't really embrace their heritage. You can see a line up of their current models here: http://www.enicar.com/Originally Posted by 2012
In my opinion, they're missing a trick but they must be doing OK having lasted so long. A lot of the original Enicar watches were sold in around Asia as they were good quality and robust enough to withstand some use and challenging climates. This meant they've built up a loyal following out there and don't really sell their watches within Europe or America.
I went to Baselworld a few years ago as a watch tourist and Enicar had a stand tucked away upstairs somewhere in the corner...I spent ages looking at the display cases and had a nice chat with the (I assume Chinese) owners on the stand. One of the handful of interactions I had all day. It certainly fired up an interest but I think for me price-wise the boat had sailed.
Anyway, very envious of a lovely collection. I would spend ages admiring these were they mine!
Ian
Cheers Ian
They weren't there when I was there last which is a shame. Doesn't look like Baselworld will go ahead any more either although there will be another similar exhibition, so hopefully I'll catch them there.
This is the link to the magazine article I wrote with a very rubbish (fat) picture of me! https://axaxl.com/-/media/axaxl/file...perts_2020.pdf
It's the final article near the bottom. Gives much more of a background on Enicar.
What a handsome collection Steve!
Always nice to see a focused collection on something a bit out of the ordinary.
Love those chronographs!
Cheers,
Neil.
I think this is one of my favourite TZ collections. Lovely!
really interesting collection and back story; a brand I have absolutely no knowledge of prior to reading your post.
lovely looking watches too.
Wonderful collection, off to google some of those!
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Absolutely splendid stuff. Love the Flying Dutchman.
Don't just do something, sit there. - TNH
I completely agree. These are just great.
Youve had a varied track record as a collector I think, Steve. Didnt you have a spell of investing in a series of Kickstarter watches at one point, as well?
Simon
A fantastic collection of some wonderful looking Enicar watches , thanks for posting .
An excellent collection - looking at the variety, I can see the attraction
One of the most interesting collections that I have seen.
Great collection of watches, my favourite is the Sherpa Graph.
Thanks guys. Pleased you all enjoyed it.
You've got a cracking memory Simon! Yep - I think I bought 4 or 5 and none of them lasted longer than a few weeks!
Great collection, Steve
Great collection, Steve
Thought you might recognise a couple Bob
Ive not had one but couple of years ago I saw one had started to look into them ,great stuff ,maybe one day Ill divulge .
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The reason I remember is that you and I (along with snowman) all invested in the ill-fated CJR Airspeed Pilot Racer, I believe...
Simon
Ah yes, I remember now. It looked very cool but felt quite plastic which was a real shame. I seem to remember I sold it on here for around the same price as my backing amount and the buyer put it up on an eBay auction a few weeks later. I think it sold for around £15!
Steve
Great collection, as you know I have always liked your taste in watches and these are no exception, just need to do a SOTC of all the Heuer's now
Absolutely incredible collection! Any one of those would take pride of place in my collection, all of them together though
Thanks guys. There's still a few more I'd like to add to the collection. One of the great things about Enicar is how prolific they were with the various models. Lots to collect
All the Heuers have gone! Had to raise the funds to pickup some of these. The only two I really regret and miss are the GMT 11630 and the PVD Pasadena I had.Great collection, as you know I have always liked your taste in watches and these are no exception, just need to do a SOTC of all the Heuer's now
Beautiful collection Steve!
I was late to the party, but Ive been lucky enough to pick up a couple of Sherpa Graphs, heres my MK3.
Correction MK2
Superb
I've been after one of these, so if you ever want to let it go...
Glorious collection Steve.. 👍
Thanks mate
Why Enicar dont release a 40mm reverse panda chrono is beyond me. It would do very well I think.
Agree! They've got some absolute winners they could do re-editions of.
A bit bored earlier so I compiled a list of my WTBs:-
Enicar Sherpa Graph Mark II or III - White dial
Enicar Ultrasonic 50's Diver
Enicar Sherpa Graph MKIII - black dial
Enicar 'Big Eye' Albino
Enicar 'Mitter'
A few more to hunt for!
Steve
Excellent collection. I have a Sherpa graph which gets more positive comments when I post on Instagram than anything else. Also had a Sherpa guide for a while which was of the battered variety you describe. That Sherpa Jet is a great. Have you had any issues with parts? Whenever I've needed work on one there's a lot of furrowed brows and talk of having to improvise.
Lovely Enicars👍👌
The jet graph is absolutely amazing!
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I`m liking the Sherpa Guide, it reminds me of a watch i had when i must of been about 13/14, swapped it for something or other off a friend at school, i`m sure it was a worldtimer of some sort, or i might be imagining what i thought it looked like with the cities around the bezel. It was a long time ago. I killed it in the end by attempting to remove the caseback with a compass resulting in the inevitable spearing of the movement..
Tell me, without sounding like i`m disparaging of your fine collection, having never handled an Enicar what is the quality like, do they have a certain heft about them for instance (solid SS cases), reasonably accurate movements, ie: do they feel `right`.
The only watch i have owned which seems of similar vintage and market placement to the Enicars was a Lanco chrono which looked great with it`s 70`s vibe but one which i flipped sharpish because it just didn`t sit well with the other pieces in my collection.
I`m not in the market for any more watches but i could make an exception for a worldtimer..
How do the Enicar compare to Omega or Rolex of the time in terms of quality? How is service / parts availability today?
That's a beautiful collection!
The chrono s of the time used v72 movements. So the same as the Daytona. Dials and bracelets were made from the same suppliers I believe so quality wise they are up there with the best!
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Yes exactly. The quality is really excellent, easily comparable to a Heuer for instance. The heft is good and everything just feels solid and right. Some of the Guides that come to market for instance haven't been serviced for 40 years and still run.
Parts on some models can be slow to find but I haven't had an unfixable problem yet. Some watchmakers aren't familiar with the brand so I'm not surprised some would furrow their brows.
One of the interesting thing about Enicars is that they were made to be modular, so lots of parts from different models can be used on others. This makes it interesting sometimes as you get some unusual combinations of dials, hand, bezels etc on some frankens!
These two for instance are lovely but very wrong: https://www.instagram.com/p/B4dGdNcn..._web_copy_link
The first one has Star Diver hands (with I think an Ultradive seconds hand), a Super Divette dial and Ultradive bezel and case. Difficult to know what that one was originally! Probably an Ultradive. The second one is an Ops all the way through but with an Ultradive dial.
Out of all those parts you could make a nice Ultradive.
That first chronograph is amazing!
What an amazing collection Steve. I have to agree about the modern Enicars - such a shame.
I still have two 60s Sherpa Guides and I love them both - they're big watches even by today's standards. They must have seemed bloody huge 50 years ago!
I do love a Guide
You're right though. Huge for the time and some weird and wonderful colour schemes!
I thought I'd update the thread with 3 new editions that have recently landed...
I took a bit of a punt on a 37mm Big Eye as I'd always liked them and the price was good but thought it would be too small for me and I could move it on after trying it without losing too much money on it. Turns out I love the 37mm cases and they wear more akin to a 39mm case due to the dial going right up the edge of the case and the small lugs on it.
One month after the first one landed I now have 3 of them. The Big Eyes pack a Valjoux 234 and the 3 sub-dial Mitter (so-called as this was the watch worn by the racing driver Gerhard Mitter who died at the Nürburgring in 1969) has a Valjoux 72 tucked away inside.
Now I've tried them, I have to say that these models are probably the most under-valued Enicar watches on the market. Most collectors (like me) probably think they're too small. I can happily say they wear bigger than the specs suggest
This is very nice, are you finding them on ebay or is there a specialist source?
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
We buy Enicar...This is very nice, are you finding them on ebay or is there a specialist source?
That one and the Mitter were from Chrono24. A bit of haggling and a few questions and the deals were easy enough. The blue dial was from Instagram from a dealer
I try to keep an eye on most places where watches are listed which is easier to do when you're just focused on one brand that's not too common.
Steve
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