From a historical perspective, Universal Genève is one of the most compelling brands in all of vintage watchmaking. From its rich brand heritage to its unfortunate demise, UG has been creating some of the best Swiss watches and has truly pushed the boundaries of the watch world. Particularly in the manufacture of chronographs, from the 1930’s to the 1960’s, few brands have been so innovative at the mass production level. In the last decade, Universal’s catalog of chronographs is, in my opinion, almost unmatched. Probably only TAG Heuer could match the lineup that included the “Nina Rindt” Compax, the “Big Eye” Uni-Compax, and, of course, the “Clapton” Tri-Compax. A decade or so later, UG had been crushed by the Quartz Crisis and forced to sell – the brand peaked near the end.

Of the three Universals nicknamed 1960s, “Clapton” is the one to which my allegiance lies (and not just because we have one here). Eric Clapton was, of course, one of the greatest guitarists of all time, but in our world, he was notorious for being a watch collector of great taste, owning some of the most important Patek Philippe watches ever made, such as the platinum 2499. what I think is special about the “Clapton” UG is that the musician owned and wore this model during this period, not like the 2499P or some of his 1463s that he owned years after they were produced. That’s important to me. The “Clapton” UG predates his time as a watch collector by almost as much as it foreshadows the guitarist’s interest in replica tag heuer watches decades before his fascination with Patek Philippe and Rolex.

As a watch, the UG Tri-Compax – and the “Clapton” collection in particular – combines complications and movement better than any other watch. The four subdials are elegantly laid out, with the date and month windows cleverly framing the 12 o’clock position. While Eric chose to wear the white dial Ref. 881101/01 when he ranted to photographers with Jimi Hendrix in 1967, I personally prefer a black dial watch. Hence, the “Evil Clapton” is my choice.

The example we have here is in true collector-grade condition. This watch comes from the original owner’s family and, in our opinion, has a real uncut vibe to the metal as the case is unpolished, and the dial has a full flow to it with a warm, inviting shine. It will be hard to let go of this watch, but that’s the cross I bear. I know, phew, this must suck for me. Get all the details at the HODINKEE store.

I’ve said before that if I were forced to pick a watch as my only watch, I’d pick a hand-wound TAG Heuer Carrera. Having said that, surprisingly, I don’t own a TAG Heuer watch. I have a LeJour branded chronograph, most likely made by TAG Heuer, but it doesn’t say TAG Heuer on the dial. For a while, I used to excuse myself by saying I just wasn’t ready to spend TAG Heuer money. Recent purchases prove I’m ready to get into that range, so why haven’t I picked up the TAG Heuer I’ve been so keen on? My answer is that I can’t find the right example, which is always an easy answer. But really, I don’t think I’ve decided what I really want in a manual-winding Carrera (or “Pre-Carrera”). Do I want a silver dial, a black dial, a two-tone, or even a panda dial? Do I prefer a simple two-dial layout, or a slightly more functional three-dial counter? Do I want to struggle with the date complication on a manually wound buy replica watches? I developed choice paralysis in the case of the Carrera.

That is until this watch came along. It’s a funny thing; watches or any other physical object can live and die by seeing them in person. Countless times, I have lost interest in watches after seeing what we often call “metal”. This was not the case when this particular 2447T showed up on my desk, complete with sunburst and light red tachymeter scale that made me immediately reach for the magnifying glass. I wanted to get closer; I wanted to live in that dial, I wanted the dial furniture to be a set in my living room. I couldn’t get enough of it. When Rich handed me the watch fresh out of the FedEx box, it was “head only” or strapless, and I couldn’t resist putting the NATO-style strap on it and taking it for a test drive. I can confirm that it was great, and even better with our red strap-on. However, as much as I fell in love with it at first sight, no amount of arguing with my bank account is going to make that number go up, so go get this perfect mid-century timepiece, right here.