Universal Genève Polerouter Collection Watch Review
Finally, after much anticipation, the Universal Genève Polerouter is reborn. The brand every horophile of a certain age recalls and gets misty-eyed about is back with a vengeance. Mark McArthur-Christie, a confessed watch obsessive, delves into UG history before sharing details of the latest generation Polerouter.
Image – Universal Genève advert (circa 1946)
Universal Genève – the brand beloved by horophiles
Whenever it gets late, glasses are half-full and watch people start reminiscing about makers they’d love to return, one name always surfaces – Universal Genève. If you’re among the Faithful, the conversation very soon turns to exactly which of the firm’s extensive lineup they’d like to see in the dealers’ windows again. It’s always the Polerouter. If Escapement had a TikTok channel (how about it, Boss?) we’d say, ‘Which favourite watch from Universal would you pick and why is it the Polerouter?’
Image – vintage Universal Genève Polerouter-SAS Ref. 20217-6 (circa 1954)
If you’ve been following the watch news, you’ll know that not only has Universal Genève been brought back from its slumber by a peck on the cheek from none other than Georges Kern, Breitling’s boss since 2017, but the Polerouter is back too. And it’s not just the Polerouter; UG Mk2 is re-making the Compax chronograph, a new take on the Disco Volante (the ‘Disco Mini’) and a couture range of jewellery watches.
Image above – Universal Genève The Compax White Ref. UGC001
Image above – Universal Genève Disco Mini Mother of Pearl Ref. UGMD001
Image above – Universal Genève Dioramic Couture Imperial Jade Ref. UGCC002
Universal Genève – a spot of history
Universal Genève’s history reads like a family tree of the Jura’s great and good. There are appearances by Berthoud, two Perrets, Pellaton, Kocher (Buren’s technical director) and, of course, Genta himself, before the firm was hit by cheap imports and limped along, finally becoming little more than a name on a dial. The quartz crisis has a lot to answer for.
Back in the early-mid 1950s when the Polerouter was conceived, things were very different, both in Watchworld and aviation. Looking back, it’s hard to understand the breadth of the gulf between air travel and aircraft in 1954 and flying today.
The Scandinavian Airlines Douglas DC-6B that flew over the North Pole – a shorter route designed to cut the travel time between Europe and the USA – was basically a WW2 military transport plane in a civilian party frock. Controlling four Pratt & Whitney 18-cylinder radial piston engines, the cockpit looked more like a clock shop than a modern flight deck. And pilots and navigators still relied on their watches – hence SAS approached Universal Genève to make a unique watch for the new flight.
UG turned, famously, to the young Gerald Genta to design their new timepiece. The watch needed to be clear (remember, at the time the RAF was still setting the standard with the King of Clarity, IWC’s Mark XI 6B/346), antimagnetic, reliable (including obviating the need to hand-wind) and robust.
Genta’s design, originally called the Polarouter, was on the wrists of the aircrew on November 15, 1954, when Scandinavian Airlines flight left Copenhagen for Los Angeles on the first transatlantic route flying over the North Pole. ‘No pressure’, as they say, with not just a covey of journalists on board but the prime ministers of Denmark, Norway and Sweden.
The design was classic early Genta – simple, clear, completely fuss-free elegance. The young designer – he was only 23 – relied on an almost plain dial, dauphine hands, centre seconds (no subdial to mess up the visual balance), a curved dial and a patented textured tension ring that overlapped the dial edge to hold it securely, to carry the watch. And it worked. There aren’t many other watches that achieve the status of an icon with so little.
Image – Universal Genève 1960s Polerouter Date Ref. 869115/01 T.P
The movement behind the casebacks of the early models was the 12.5 ligne cal.138SS. Like the watch it powered, it was clean, efficient and stripped back with only a rhodium finish to gussy it up a bit. A bumper automatic, it had 36 hours of power reserve with 17 jewels (even a thoughtful jewel to minimise wear on the rotor weight axle) and was simple to strip and service – essential for an aviation tool. After all, the RAF was still sending those Mk XIs back every year for a stripdown and rebuild.
In 1958, UG began fitting the Polerouter with its more advanced cal. 215 micro-rotor movements. This meant a slimmer case, a longer power reserve and – later – a date. The other upgrade was the crosshair compass dial, something that’s become ‘the’ trademark feature of the Polerouter. From the mid-1950s, UG produced more variants with different case materials, sizes, movements and dial colours than most collectors can keep up with.
Universal Genève – the Polerouter is reborn
The revived Universal Genève Polerouter incorporates the trademarks of the original – a slim case, a micro-rotor movement, a stripped back dial with crosshairs, a textured tension ring and delightful dauphine hands. The creative types based at the modern-day brand have been able to peruse an extensive back catalogue and, no doubt finding much inspiration, have created an extensive portfolio of contemporary Polerouters.
Image – Universal Genève collections structure
First, there are three 39 mm ‘Pret a Porter’ models, with stainless steel cases for the blue and black dials and rose gold for the brown dial. Then there are the three 39 mm ‘Capsule’ stone dial variants with a stainless steel case for the bullseye dial and rose gold for the lapis lazuli and tiger’s eye variants.
Image – Universal Genève Polerouter 39 Ref. UGPO002
If you’re looking for a smaller watch, the 37 mm Pret a Porter models might work, one in trad stainless steel and one with a full-on bling rose gold case and 66 diamonds – nearly a carat – around the bezel. If those two aren’t your thing, then there are three more 37 mm models from the ‘Camaïeu’ range – stainless steel or rose gold with a diamond bezel, and for a full-on Amsterdam jeweller’s window experience there’s a rose gold variant where the case is set with 110 diamonds totalling 1.28 carats.
Image – Universal Genève Polerouter Camaïeu Toffee Ref. UGP0010
Although the concept and key features are still firmly there, the new Polerouter has quite a few differences from the original. For a start, that dial tension ring retains its sunray texture, but it’s much more pronounced, and the hour markers are heavier. The lugs are still bombé, but they’ve been smoothed off and flattened on their top surface. The crown has got a little chunkier and the hands it controls are now lumed with slightly rounded tips. The original bracelet has been upgraded from the Gay Frères version too and is, thankfully, easier to change and adjust.
Image – Universal Genève Polerouter Camaïeu Aqua Mint Ref. UGP0011
All this choice and updating means you can go from the plain simplicity of a 39 mm stainless case, black leather strap and a black and silver dial, through more ornate stone-set dials to a full-on diamond-encrusted case. There’s something for almost everyone, perhaps with a bias to a more modern, ornate approach.
Image – Universal Genève Polerouter Hardstone models – Bull’s Eye Ref. UGO004 (left), Tiger’s Eye Ref. UGP0006 (centre) and Lapis Lazuli Ref. UGP005 (right)
Unsurprisingly, the price tags have modernised too. They’ve very much positioned the new Polerouters upmarket and well away from their toolwatch heritage. The most classic of the new offerings, the stainless steel watches in 37 mm and 39 mm references with leather straps, come in at CHF 14,000 (CHF 2,000 more if you prefer a bracelet). The diamond-set rose gold case and ‘berry’ dial are CHF 40,320.
Image – Universal Genève Polerouter Camaïeu Berry Ref. UGP0012
Universal Genève Manufacture Calibre UG-110
A good chunk of the increase must be down to a new proprietary movement, common to both the 37 mm and 39 mm watches – the Universal Genève Manufacture Calibre UG-110. It’s an interesting movement too. The bridge design feels almost vintage, tying back to the classic UG, mid-century design language, but the materials, technology and finishing are very much up to date. The rotor isn’t so micro anymore, more of a three-quarter-rotor. That means you get improved winding inertia from a larger mass, but still retain a slim movement profile (32 mm diameter and just shy of 4 mm deep). There’s also the heritage aspect and the sense that Universal Genève has designed the movement with the rotor at its heart. The rotor is a long way from those early bumpers and springs, winding unidirectionally on minute ball bearings. Fully wound, the movement has a power reserve of 72 hours. Moreover, the free-sprung balance beats at 28,800 vph (4 Hz) under its dual-anchored, and thus more stable, bridge.
There’s plenty to keep finishing fans happy, too. The bridges feature Côtes de Genève and anglage, while the mainplate is adorned with perlage. Even the screwheads are mirror-polished and sit within polished sinks. There’s even brushing and graining on the automatic device bridge, positioned beneath the rotor.
Closing remarks
Perhaps the best way to sum up the new Polerouter is ‘inspired by’ the original; more of a modern reinterpretation than a reincarnation. This isn’t a bad thing – the world has moved on and pilots now rely on their instruments synchronising with GPS time signals. It’s rather less romantic than a mechanical watch, but a great deal more accurate. That frees the new Polerouter to be a little more flamboyant.
Image – Universal Genève Polerouter 39 Ref. UGPO002
Just as watch technology has changed in parallel with aviation, so too has the experience of flying. Raoul Perret, the man whose father founded Universal Genève and who ran the firm for nearly forty years, said of air travel, “It leaves me marbled, I find it the least poetic of all forms of transport”. That was in its glory days during the 1950s. One has to wonder what on earth he’d make of it today. At least he’d have his Polerouter to time the queues and flight delays.
Image – Universal Genève Polerouter Hardstone Bull’s Eye Ref. UGP0004