A stainless steel Universal Genève. This is a very unusual, and amazing looking piece of watch making history. These watches deserve a note in the evolution of watch making. These watches were the luxury Swiss watch manufacturer's response to the influx of Japanese made quartz watches that were flooding the Western markets and driving their business close to, or in many cases, into bankruptcy. It also created this reaction from some brands, such as Universal, to ditch classic watch case design, and dial design, and to become a lot more dating. This is exactly what we see here. Bold, outlandish almost, case design and vibrant colourful and playful dial design. Team that with this amazing movement, and the outcome is this stunning, playful and utterly eye catching watch of its time. The story of this watch begins in the late 1960s, after Universal Genève came under Bulova’s ownership. Bulova had already established the Accutron as the benchmark for electronic timekeeping, and the Unisonic became Universal’s expression of that technology. It is important to clarify what the Unisonic is, and what it is not. This is not a quartz watch in the later, mass-market sense. Instead, it is a transistor-controlled, tuning-fork watch: a hybrid of traditional case and dial craft with an electronically regulated oscillator at its core. In practical terms, that means the seconds hand often appears to glide with a smooth, continuous motion rather than ticking in one-second steps, and the watch was positioned as a high-precision alternative to a conventional balance-wheel calibre. Mechanically, the Unisonic is built around Bulova’s Accutron 218 architecture, with Universal-signed calibres that correspond to Accutron variants depending on date configuration and execution. The tuning fork vibrates at a very high frequency, and that vibration is translated through an indexing system to drive the gear train. This was sophisticated, expensive technology for the time, and it required a level of specialised understanding to service properly. In period terms, it offered a compelling proposition: a modern, electronically regulated watch in a well-finished Swiss case, with the quality of work Universal was known for. Universal did not abandon its identity, it translated it. You get the proportions and finishing you expect from Universal, with the added intrigue of a movement type that captures an entire transitional era in one object. This watch is fitted with Universal Genève calibre 1-52, which is Universal’s signed version of the Bulova Accutron 2181. This matters for two reasons. First, it places the movement in the core 218 family, the platform that defined tuning-fork wristwatches at the end of the 1960s. Second, it means the watch sits at a true intersection of identities: Universal’s case and dial design language on top, Bulova-led electronic engineering underneath. The case is in superb condition throughout. There is some light wear, but it is not polished, which is key to these bold case designs. The screw-back case still has all the original model and case serial number engraved into the back. This is.very lightly done, so any polishing would completely remove this original information. The dial, which is one of the most beautiful elements to this watch, is all original and perfect. It is stamped "Swiss T" at the base, which pertains to the use of Tritium luminous material. All of which is original and toned into a gorgeous coffee colour. The colouration is a deep purple in the center, with slightly faded metallic purple edging on the outer edge. Overall, the dial is perfect on the eye, and beautifully designed. It is presented on its original UNiversal leather band, which highlights that this watch saw very little original wear. There is no original box or paperwork presented with the watch. The watch has recently been serviced and is keeping good time.
