Universal Geneve Tri Compax Moonphase Chronograph. REF.00752

Wikipedia: Universal Genève  is a Swiss luxury watch company founded in 1894. Along with neighbouring Geneva companies Audemars Piguet, Girard-Perregaux, Patek Philippe and Rolex, Universal is internationally regarded for its style of craftsmanship and manufacture. In addition, the brand also makes historical claim for creating the first-ever chronographic wristwatch in 1917.

After the pocket watch started to lose usefulness in favor of the more convenient wristwatch during the first world war, Universal seized the opportunity by creating the Compur in 1933 and the Aero Compax ("Aviator's Compact Chronograph") in 1936, shortly before the start of World War II. In addition to its automatic "smooth sweep" timekeeping, the Compax was also equipped with a built-in stopwatch which made it a suitable device for soldiers during training exercises and full-fledged combat operations. The Compax was produced in many variations including the Moon Phase, Medico, Tri-, Uni-, and Master Vortex.

Hermès' Paris would act as a sales hub for all Universal brand in Europe until the 1950s, while the Henri Stern Watch Agency, the U.S. distributor of Patek Philippe, would be an official Universal  dealer in North America.

Universal's popularity with the chronographs caught the attention of high-ranking government officials throughout Europe, including the Dutch Royal Family, who granted the Swiss brand a Royal Warrant in 1939 to issue a military watch for the nation's army, with then-Queen Wilhelmina's initials embossed on the dial. The Dutch army utilized this watch up until Nazi Germany sacked Rotterdam in May of the same year and occupied the Netherlands until 1944.

Note: as of 2011, Universal is an active member of the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, maintains three offices in Switzerland and oversees La Chaux-de-Fonds-based watchmaker Cyma.

Many celebrities, writers, business executives and diplomats from around the globe have owned both contemporary and vintage Universal Genève watches:

Athletes

The 1997 and 1998 Universal Ayrton Senna sports chronograph watches were named after late Formula One race car driver Ayrton Senna. As the limited edition watch bears Senna's name, proceeds from sales were to endow Instituto Ayrton Senna, an anti-poverty charity started by his sister, Vivianne.

Business and media

In the late 1990s, Playboy illustrator LeRoy Neiman appeared in a print campaign promoting Universal Genève, with Neiman pictured wearing a Universal Genève and his oil paintings displayed in the foreground.

In his book, Marking Time: Collecting Watches and Thinking about Time, Simon & Schuster editor-in-chief Michael Korda recalled receiving a pink gold Universal Genève Tri-Compax from his uncle while attending Le Rosey boarding school in Switzerland, and cited the brand as piquing his interest in watches.

Diplomats and politicians

29th and 41st Argentine President Juan Perón was a wearer of a Universal Tri-Compax, as was 33rd U.S. President Harry S. Truman, who donned the popular model at the Potsdam Conference. 45th U.S. President Donald Trump owned a Universal Genève Senna watch before donating the timepiece to Antiquorum for charity.  Because of Swiss neutrality during World War II, Swiss made goods had been exported to international buyers with no basis on their country's alliance, reputation or political standing in the world. Although Hermann Göring owned many different brands of watches, the Reichsmarschall had given his Universal Genève Compax to Nuremberg Trials guard Lt. Jack Wheelis the night before his scheduled execution. While Wheelis' family maintained that the gift was a friendly gesture, historians have long attributed the wristwatch as being a bribe for the cyanide pill Göring ingested to escape the hangman.

Fernando Aubel, a former Chilean Air Force General (1978–1990) under Augusto Pinochet's military dictatorship, recalled receiving a Universal Genève chronometer wristwatch as a young man and still wearing it at the present, according to a personal memoir.

Film

French writer, filmmaker and one-time Cannes Film Festival president Jean Cocteau was a fan of Universal Genève's style of manufacture, and a limited line of Universal tourbillons had etched verses of Cocteau's poetry.

Jon Voight owned a personalized Compax and Joan Rivers owned a Golden Shadow before both actors donated their watches to Antiquorum.

Musicians

Eric Clapton donned a panda dial Tri-Compax during his years with the rock band Cream in the mid to late 1960's, leading to this particular model being nicknamed the "Eric Clapton"

Universal Genève's 'A. Cairelli Rattrapante', an aviator's chronograph, consists of a 24-hour dial with a 16-minute register. Manufactured in Rome, the wristwatch was produced only sporadically between 1939 and 1945 and was originally meant for the Royal Italian Air Force (Regia Aeronautica Italiana). At private dealers and auction houses such as Sotheby's and Christie's, these pieces have closed between an estimated $90,000 and $130,000.