Sadly there isn't much detailed material out there to read, either online or in book form, about the beautiful series of watches Universal Geneve made in the 1960s. Instagram has plenty of nice, but ultimately repetitive pictures, yet is inevitably short on the details. The Sala book aims to cover the entire UG output and is a little short on the specifics of each reference. However the "UG Ten" book covers this period in detail, sharing dating features, production estimates and serial numbers, with the very best hi-res images of these watches available. This short blog covers an overview of the timeline of this special pair of Universal Geneve Compax.

First the nicknames. Watch collectors love a nickname, although personally I think sometimes it goes too far. Not every watch needs one, BUT of course when a certain watch is worn by a notable person in history or has a standout feature then I concede it makes sense. Here much like the Paul Newman Daytona we have a watch that was worn by Nina Rindt, the stylish wife of the Formula One world champion from the 1960s. She wore and often timed her husbands laps with the white dial version "Nina" and to simply note the difference between the two contrasting dials collectors called the black dial version the "Evil Nina", simply due to black being a more sinister colour...

The first examples of the Nina and Evil Nina Compax came to market circa 1964 and this first iteration featured a beautiful metallic UG logo applied to the dial. It also featured wide plain steel hour and minute hands, and thin "stick" sub register hands. The chrono sweep hand is either blue/black or red depending on the reference and is always the "short" version at this point. These Mk1 dials also feature a different text layout, script that is "finer" and has more serifs than the later Mk2 dial. Additionally the initial batches featured a thinner crown and smaller pushers which, as was often the case on vintage watches, grew in size later in the run for ease of use.

The next time we see a change to the initial set up is when we have some "transitional" features, namely the wider stick sub register hands (V2) with lume in and some longer red chrono hands mixed in with the more usual shorter version on the Evil Nina. Later in this period, we also see the introduction of the final type of sub register hand, the thicker "block" style (V3).

The final phase of the Universal Geneve 885103 Nina and Evil Nina Compax is the move to the Mk2 dial, which features a printed, less refined UG logo and a different script layout with less refined print. The Nina is then observed with black painted hour and minute hands as well as the chrono hand, and the Evil Nina continues with the same hands as before (silver and red). These Mk2 dials also see slightly larger sub registers, although it is minimal, and "Swiss T 25" at the bottom of the dial, as opposed to "Swiss T" on the Mk1 versions. This final batch sees a small run of official "Pulsation" Ninas, all within a tight serial range, as opposed to the usual Tachymetre bezel. This serial range also coincides with a batch where the sub registers could turn tropical.

As the information above shows, like all watchmakers Universal Geneve had a timeline of parts which were subject to subtle changes during model lifecycles. These changes were born out of the quest for improvements in legibility, usability and cost: black hour and minute hands instead of silver against a white dial on the Nina Rindt for legibility; large pushers and crowns for usability; and the Mk2 dials would have been cheaper to produce without the metal UG logo and with less refinement when printing text.

These differences sound complicated but, when viewed in the UG Ten book with the serial information and pictures, they are not too difficult to memorise so when you hunt for an example to add to your collection you know what to focus on. Click the button below to view the UG Ten book which is available to purchase exclusively via Blurb.