Universal Genève Compax 1950

Universal Genève is a very special brand, and one that most of us here at Analog:Shift — as well as vintage watch enthusiasts around the world — feel very strongly about. While probably best known for the Polerouter, the line of chronographs known as the 'Compax' is just as notable. For us, it ranks as one of the most desired models of vintage chronographs, full stop. Ever since its debut in the 1940s, the Polerouter has seen numerous iterations ranging from elegant dress pieces to sporty racing chronographs with more substantial cases. This example, a Reference 884.480, exists somewhere in the middle. There’s an undoubted elegance to the layout of the dial, but the steel case lends itself to more of a utilitarian timepiece — an exercise in design balance that resides in every Universal Genève. Dating to the early 1990s, it features a 35.5mm stainless steel case with a silver-over-black tachymeter insert, barrel chronograph pushers, and a signed, screw-down crown. Light dances on its s