Photo: nakata jun / Wikimedia Commons, public domain
Two things made Universal Genève's name: the Compax chronographs, and one of the first commercial automatic micro-rotors anybody put into production. Until the 1980s the firm ran as one of the great independent manufactures in Geneva. The five calibres below are the representative ones. Click a number to open the full page.
| Calibre | Type | Jewels | Frequency | Years | Key note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 218 | Automatic (micro-rotor) | 25 | 21,600 vph | From 1954 | Genta's micro-rotor, under the Polerouter |
| 72 | Hand-wound chronograph | 17 | 18,000 vph | Compax lineage | The column-wheel movement of the Compax |
| 69 | Hand-wound chronograph | 17 | 18,000 vph | Compax lineage | A smaller 72 |
| 215 | Hand-wound | 17 | 18,000 vph | Mid-20th century | Plain hand-wound dress calibre |
| 1389 | Automatic | 25 | 21,600 vph | Later years | From the brand's final period |
How to identify a vintage Universal Genève
The calibre number is engraved on the movement bridge. With the Compax chronographs it is worth checking the calibre against the case reference too, because the brand reused its commercial line names across successive generations of the same model.