The how and why of Universal Genève’s revival, or the ramblings of a UG romantic

Borna Bošnjak

Now that Georges Kern and Gregory Bruttin have sent Universal Genève’s first post-revival models down the runways of our Instagram feeds, we can take a more in-depth look at the brand’s revised strategy, and how their approaches towards their most dedicated fans and the hopefully Uni-curious luxury wristwatch buyers differ. Despite a rich history dating back more than 130 years, this was never going to be an easy job. There are the expecting fans that need to be pacified, especially with a look that is different than what it was – or at least different from the perception that they had. Then, there is the competition, both from within the group, and then in the wider, ever more competitive landscape. Breitling has been trying to establish itself in a new, hip clad in leather and riveted aluminium aesthetic, and Gallet is poised to sit beneath it as a retro throwback, meaning the only way for Universal Genève was up.

From the runway to the wrist

Before delving into the minutiae of why Universal Genève chose this approach, let’s talk a little more about the strategy itself. Universal is really leaning into one of their taglines of the past – “le couturier de la montre.” This is something the brand hasn’t been shy about even before unveiling the watches, though a complete 180 from what I would assume collectors of Polerouter Supers and Uni-Compaxes would have expected. Outside of the model lines themselves, the brand is taking literal cues from the world of haute couture, separating its offering into four categories, indicating the watches’ availability and rarity.

There are the Prêt-à-Porter models, French for ready-to-wear, which will form the core collection for Universal as standard-production offerings. At the moment, this will be composed of five Polerouters, three Compaxes, four Cabriolets, and four Disco Mini models. The 16 permanent references are joined by Capsule, Couture, and Signature models, all of which are more rare or limited in some way. The Capsule collections are seasonal additions to the Prêt-à-Porter lines, Couture will see métiers d’art watches developed alongside carefully selected artisans, and Signature will be the place for time-limited reinterpretations of watches from Univeral’s past – in this case, the Dioramic and Disco Volante Uni-Compax.

Revive, but also elevate

So, how do these precious metal, gem-set Polerouters and the jewellery Dioramics and Cabriolets fit the mould? They still feature the right movement with some very decent specs, but with a reduced focus on performance, engineering, and even finishing, how do you make sure it still matters? Universal is centring itself around design, which allows it to flexibly talk about shape and art period influence as well as the Geneva striping and power reserves, as it’s the central tenet that informs whether a watch is objectively good or not. As the “watch couturiers”, their watches need to meet both aesthetic and technical requirements, which helps them speak to a wider audience. This helps raise the brand’s perception from that of a vintage value proposition to something greater, and justifies the costs needed to develop movements worthy of the name.

More importantly, Universal’s new leadership recognised that the mere existence of the brand’s back catalogue already captured the history buffs and movement nerds, with the tribute Polerouter and Compax watches powered by vintage movements, the brand re-launched previously merely paving the way for this transition. The Signature collection is for those same people, tugging at their patinated heartstrings and making sure there’s something even for those who spend their time on the Polerouter reference website. With everything else, they’re going for the crowd that gravitates towards watches with strong pop culture relevance. The press releases talk about Bruce Lee and Alain Delon, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the new watches on some celebrity wrists to further strengthen this correlation – think the direction the Urban Jürgensen and Gérald Genta revivals are going in, and the world dominated by the likes of Cartier.

Next in fashion or horological faux-pas?

Before I tell you what I think, I have to acknowledge my inherent biases. I’ve been a lover of Universal Genève as long as I have been into watches and started to collect their vintage examples as soon as I could afford them, and part of the charm of collecting them was the fact that the brand was no longer around. It felt like being in on something that few others knew about, a small club that would never become bigger, but somehow didn’t feel like it was gatekeeping its secrets. With the brand now clearly positioned for rapid expansion, that feeling has waned a little, and I can’t help but be sad about it, though I can’t say that I hoped the brand would never come back.

Do I think Universal is right in their new approach? Well, it’s kind of irrelevant because this was always going to be the way, because it’s the only way to ensure the brand stays true to what is most important. For the new-and-improved Universal Genève to be successful, it needs to be commercially viable, which means it can’t just pander to those who know it for the unique vintage proposition, whether at the value-first end of the spectrum or its complete opposite. From what we’ve seen so far, I think they’ve done what they could to respect the brand’s mechanical tenets, and actually expanded on it, as the micro-rotor has been adopted across all of their mechanical calibres, though I do have to say I’m not a fan of the slightly larger case diameters, and especially so in the Polerouter which I feel would be better suited at 37mm and 35mm. I’d also love to see more transparency about the new manufacture and its capabilities. I really believe it could be a great learning opportunity for those who still believe in-house is the only right way, and avoid conversations similar to those surrounding the Martel-era movements.

We also have to be honest with ourselves – there was never going to be a new Polerouter with a brand-new, micro-rotor movement for the same price as a Rolex Datejust, nor a Compax with an in-house chronograph movement for less than a Speedy. It’s a new playing field compared to the one that Universal conquered with affordable, undecorated, tooltastic movements in its heyday, and the same approach nowadays just wouldn’t pass the sniff test. Some enthusiasts might be on board, but try explaining it to any layperson, be it a finance bro looking to spend their yearly bonus or someone’s dad just wanting “a nice watch” why that’s better than whatever Breitling could offer at a similar price.

For any of you who are fans of Tolkien’s world of The Lord of the Rings, I look at this situation similarly. The movie trilogy has the crowd-pleasing hits – Polerouter, Nina, Clapton; the many books take you beneath the surface where white whales like the A. Cairelli and Film-Compax dwell; and the Hobbit movies are equivalent to the awkward attempts of the 1990s, having since regained some campy charm. These will now be even easier to swoon over nostalgically, though surely increasingly difficult to obtain in good nick. Finally, we could equate the current situation to Amazon’s Rings of Power series, but spurred by a healthy dose of cautious optimism, I think Universal Genève’s leadership has taken the right steps to go in a much more successful direction.