Bring a Loupe: A Calabrese Baladin, A Royce Professional Marine, A Universal Genève Jump Hour Regulator, And A BWC Chronograph
This installment of 'Bring a Loupe' highlights several interesting vintage watches, including a unique Calabrese Baladin wandering-hour watch, a chrome-plated Royce Professional Marine diver, and a Universal Genève Jump Hour Regulator. The coverage delves into the design and historical context of each timepiece, offering insights for collectors and enthusiasts.
The Calabrese Baladin is a wandering-hour watch with a jump-hour complication, where the hour hand rotates around the dial and shifts for each new hour at the 12 o'clock position.
Letters replace numerals on the Baladin's dial every three hours, corresponding to French hour names: T for trois, S for six, N for neuf, and M for midi/minuit.
The use of letters instead of numerals on the Baladin addresses potential confusion with upside-down numbers (6 and 9) due to the rotating hour aperture, contributing to its unconventional character.
The Baladin design, which debuted in 1988, was also used in watches by Calabrese-badged versions and was released by the fashion brand Pinko around 1990.
The Pinko Baladin features a 39mm silver case plated with yellow gold, a glossy black dial, and aged gold printing.
The Royce Automatic Professional Marine is a 46mm wide, 62mm lug-to-lug chrome-plated diver's watch, purportedly designed for French Navy divers in the 1970s.
The Royce diver has a crown at the 12 o'clock position and hinged lugs, designed to be worn over a diving suit.