A Look at My Favourite Watch Brands That No Longer Exist – At Least Not in Their Original Form
Universal Genève Tri-Compax ref. 522100/1 in 14k yellow gold / Credit: Christie’s
Many watch brands have come and gone over the centuries that watchmaking has been a popular commercial endeavour. Today I’d like to look back on some of my favourites that have gone, and for clarity I’m talking brands that have gone bust – even those that have been relaunched by new owners in more recent history.
Universal Genève History
Universal Genève Polerouter Date / Credit: Analog/Shift
First on the list is, of course, Universal Genève. Along with Enicar arguably the most renowned defunct vintage watch brand, and one whose pieces are highly sought after by collectors. Universal Genève was founded in 1894 by Numa-Emile Descombes and Ulysse Perret, when Descombes passed away in 1897, Louis Berthoud joined as a new partner. Universal Genève is famous for their chronographs, having produced the first wrist chronograph in 1917, which had a co-axial pusher. Interestingly, Universal Genève is also known for having produced the first reversible wristwatch, years before Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Reverso, in 1927. Other famous models include the Universal Genève Tri-Compax and the Polerouter, designed by Gerald Genta. Universal Genève is a classic and if I wasn’t so obsessed with Japanese wristwatches I would have one in my collection.
Enicar History
Enicar Sherpa Super Jet Mark II / Credit: Romain Rea
Enicar was founded in 1913 by Ariste Racine, in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. In the mid-20th century, when the brand especially popular, it became known for its Sherpa line of timepieces, sporty watches that were originally known as the Enicar Seapearl. The Seapearl is remembered for being part of the second expedition of Everest, that also included an ascent of Lhoste, in May 1956. This expedition was led by Albert Eggler. The Enicar Seapearl had only been released the year before and got a lot of publicity from being involved in Eggler’s expedition, just like the Rolex Explorer did before it. Thus, Enicar changed the name of their Seapearl to ‘Sherpa’, in honour of the 22 sherpas that were a part of the expedition, and banking on the new publicity. Over 100 models of the Sherpa were released over the next few decades, some of their most famous models, including dive watches, are a part of this series. This list includes: the Enicar Sherpa GMT, the Enicar Sherpa World Time, the Enicar Sherpa Super Jet, and the Enicar Sherpa-Graph (which notably shared the Valjoux 72 movement with the Rolex Daytona). Unfortunately, by the late 1980s, Enicar went under, only to be revived later on by its old Chinese distributors, albeit with different designs and models. Enicar to me is the embodiment of the mid-century sports watch, particularly the Super Compressor models.
Cortébert History
Cortébert Turkish railway watch marked “T.C. Devlet Demiryollari” / Credit: Heritage Auctions
Cortébert is not a particularly well-known brand today, but before it went out of business in the 1970s, it was a fairly popular premium Swiss brand. The brand itself goes back to 1790 when it was founded by Abraham-Louis Juillard, who opened a small shop in Cortébert, Switzerland. The trademark ‘Cortébert’ was only registered in 1855. Historically, it might be most remembered today for its connection to the Turkish railway system in the mid-20th century. These were pocket watches and wristwatches marked “T.C. Devlet Demiryollari”, which were issued for official use on the Turkish railways. Cortébert was also known for producing railroad watches for Italy under Mussolini in the 1930s, using the name ‘Perseo’ that still lives on today. Moreover, it was a manufacturer of jump hour watches since the late 19th century, using the same movement designed by Austrian engineer Josef Pallweber – the original inventor of the complication.
Today, however, collectors of Cortébert usually go after their chronographs from the mid-20th century. Beautiful chronographs at an affordable price.
Benrus History
Benrus MIL-W-46374 field watch / Credit: Benrus
Benrus is an old American brand that was relaunched only recently, in 2020 by a private investment group led by lawyer Michael Sweeney. This is a brand with a lot of history, however. It was founded in 1921 in New York City, with one of its earlier, popular watches known as the ‘Airman’, launched in the late 1920s. With the Airman proving popular amongst pilots, the model eventually evolved into the Sky Chief – the brand’s first chronograph. Despite its relative success, what the brand is really remembered for today is the Vietnam War, or rather the Benrus timepieces that were issued to the U.S. military at the time. Starting in 1964, Benrus won the military contract to produce the MIL-W-3818 spec watches for soldiers in Vietnam, producing them into the late 1960s and eventually upgrading to the plastic MIL-W-46374. These Benruses, along with the original Hamilton field watches, spec GG-W-113, are highly sought after by collectors today. Rugged wristwatches that have truly been tested.
Nivada Grenchen History
Nivada Grenchen Depthmaster 1000 ‘Pac Man’ / Credit: WannaBuyAWatch
Nivada Grenchen is another brand that was recently relaunched, whose roots go back to 1879¹¹, and is behind one of my favourite vintage dive watch models of all time: the Nivada Grenchen Depthmaster 1000! Nivada was also known by its American distribution name, ‘Croton’. Along with the Depthmaster, the Nivada Grenchen Antarctic is another well-known model that was released in 1950 and used by the U.S. Navy for Operation Deep Freeze in the South Pole (operations that took place between 1955 and 1998¹²). The Depthmaster 1000 was released the following decade and is known as the ‘Baby Panerai’ for its distinctive look. The Nivada Grenchen Depthmaster was evolved from the Nivada Grenchen Depthomatic, the first watch fitted with a depth gauge, released in 1964. With a depth rating of 1,000 meters, at the time the Depthmaster was advertised as “Probably the world’s most waterproof watch…”. Like many others, the brand did not survive the Quartz Attack of the 1970s and was acquired by a Mexican holding company, until it was relaunched by its current owners in 2020. My affinity for the Depthmaster is what drove me to include Nivada Grenchen on this list, but the brand overall has some remarkable vintage pieces.
By: Andres Ibarguen
Read more:
“History.” UniversalGeneve.info, https://universalgeneve.info/content/6-history.
Dennis. “ENICAR VINTAGE WATCHES: HISTORY & ICONIC MODELS.” Vintage Watch Inc., May 21st, 2021, https://vintagewatchinc.com/enicar/.
JonDev. “Enicar Sherpa Collectors Guide Part 1 (Single Crown models).” Spring Bar, September 1st, 2019, https://thespringbar.com/blogs/guides/enicar-sherpa-collectors-guide-part-1-single-crown-models/.
“Cortébert (watch manufacturer).” Academic Dictionaries and Encyclopedias, https://en-academic.com/dic.nsf/enwiki/10627907.
Richie, Rhonda. “Benrus Returns: An Inside Look At The Relaunch Of The American Watchmaker.” Watchonista, January 23rd, 2020, https://www.watchonista.com/articles/novelties/benrus-returns-inside-look-relaunch-american-watchmaker.
“History.” Benrus, https://www.benrus.com/pages/benrus-history.
Baines, Brandon. “A Brief History Of Time: Nivada Grenchen’s Complete Brand History.” Fratello Watches, July 2nd, 2021, https://www.fratellowatches.com/a-brief-history-of-time-nivada-grenchens-complete-brand-history/.
“United States Navy Antarctic Expeditions Operation Deep Freeze 1955-98.” Scott Polar Research Institute, June 15th, 2021, https://www.spri.cam.ac.uk/picturelibrary/catalogue/usnaeodf1955-98/.