Universal Genève

Universal Genève began as Universal Watch, founded in Le Locle in 1894 by Numa-Emile Descombes and Ulysse Georges Perret; the company moved to Geneva in 1919 and later took the city into its name. It is remembered above all for its chronographs: the Compax of the mid-1930s and the Tri-Compax of 1944, with its triple calendar and moon phase, are the references collectors associate most closely with the house.

In 1954 a young Gérald Genta designed the Polerouter, produced first for Scandinavian Airlines pilots and fitted from 1955 with the calibre 215, one of the earliest series-produced microrotor automatics. The Shadow line, introduced in 1965, used the same principle in very thin cases. After the quartz crisis the brand passed to the Hong Kong group Stelux in 1989. In December 2023 it was acquired by Partners Group, the majority owner of Breitling, and the relaunch under Breitling's management was announced in 2024 with new interpretations of the Polerouter.