Reply With QuoteI hope it too. With such a heritage the brand absolutely deserves it. Beautiful watches, especially the chronographs from the 50s-60s.
Sent from my XQ-BQ52 using TZ-UK mobile app
Just seen this on WatchFred‘s IG account. I think with Fred involved that the heritage will finally be respected. Great news (I hope) !
Edit to add a link:
https://www.ablogtowatch.com/breakin...versal-geneve/
Last edited by HookedSeven; 12th December 2023 at 13:16.
I hope it too. With such a heritage the brand absolutely deserves it. Beautiful watches, especially the chronographs from the 50s-60s.
Sent from my XQ-BQ52 using TZ-UK mobile app
I’ve always had a soft spot for UG and still own 2 or 3.
Hope they find inspiration from their 50s-70s designs, and do better than the less successful ‘resurgence’ in the 90s
Very exciting
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
That sounds like great news - would be amazing if they reproduced the Space Compax or Nina Rindt.
Would this be the time to buy a nice vintage version? Or even a nineties one? I always thought they produced very elegant watches....
Sent from my SM-A346B using Tapatalk
Looking forward to a re-issue of the impossibly cool and elegant Big Eye Uni-Compax.
Perhaps we can all enjoy a well-deserved return to the original meanings of the Compax terminologies.
Perhaps I shouldn't open that can of worms.......
The article also mentions the fact that is is one of the few remaining names with horological heritage that hasn't been relaunched. Trying to think of others...Lemania maybe?
Sent from my SM-A346B using Tapatalk
Maybe like one of these?Originally Posted by kozza6
Interesting, I wonder if they'll be sticking to chronos or doing some 3 handers. A modern micro rotor movement would be nice to see.
Cyma and Solvil et Titus are owned by the seller; perhaps they’ll be divested too?
I do like that. Lovely proportions....Maybe like one of these?
Sent from my SM-A346B using Tapatalk
Very interesting news indeed.
I think most of us are looking forward to seeing what Breitling can bring to their customers. Universal Geneva have produced some great watches, especially their chronographs like the Compax and triple date models.
I’m late to the party here - only just heard the news. Fantastic decision to re-launch Universal Geneva. I had always wondered why it hadn’t had the same rebirth as many of the other brands and here we are! I had been looking to buy a vintage one for a while, but my hope like many of you is that now we see some lovely modern re-editions or re-interpretations with up to date movements.
It’ll be interesting to see how they place Universal Geneva in the market. The article suggests it may sit in a pretty premium bracket.
Sent from my iPhone using TZ-UK mobile app
Some commentators are suggesting that you will need to buy several Breitlings in order to be allowed to buy a new Universal Geneve.
An interesting watch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHL6TIYVkz4
I reckon they may be overestimating how insatiably people desire a new UG. Though there do seem to be a fair number of people who apparently take leave of their senses when it comes to jumping through hoops to obtain a desired watch.
It could also be that they’ve understood Breitling would never compete with Rolex and now (almost) Omega and decided that UG would be their vehicle for the segment. Initially it may not even matter how successful they are: they just need to «*do a Rolex*» and make fewer than what they believe the demand will be.
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
Doesn't make much sense to me - everything I saw about Breitling is that they were trying to drive down the average age of their buyers with many of the changes they made.
Buying a brand like this where anyone below say 55 is not going to care is a bit odd.
Last edited by Alansmithee; 14th January 2024 at 13:46.
I think handled correctly it could be a great move.
It's just a matter of time...
Again, addressing 2 different segments of the market. Breitling was for aviation enthusiasts but that market is at best anecdotal now. I am not sure that the Montbrillant range was successful in terms of marketing up the brand; despite acceptable sales, it coloured the brand even more with the term ‘bling’.
On the other hand we still need to see how much of the heritage of UG they will embrace and if they manage to appeal to the UG fanbase. I am not sure it will be their priority in the long term but maybe the first model(s). A ballsy move would be a tri compax. It would certainly be easy to make it in small enough quantities every year to reinforce its desirability.
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
That's the very rationale though isn't it (I mean, if there is one)? Chase the younger market with Breitling and chase / seek to retain their older market with UG.
I think they’ll probably struggle to get people to jump through those hoops for a just-revived brand (even with UG’s vintage prestige) unless they can really pull off the marketing coup of the decade and somehow catapult UG straight in to the cultural zeitgeist. It would need to be up there with Rolex, Patek, Audemars and Cartier in perception out of the gate if they want to start with artificial scarcity.
I do like that guy's suff, but partly because I can just listen without having to watch, and have something else on screen at the same time. I mean twenty minutes of a bald bloke sitting in a big chair isn't visually compelling, it's really a podcast delivered by means of YouTube.
Really excited by this news. Agree that if they get the marketing spot on will set them up to compete with Rolex omega etc. I think the market is craving something different.
Posting Permissions
