1950s Universal Geneve Monodatic made for Henrique Pfeffer Caracas

Universal Genève, the creator of legendary watches during the 20th century, was renowned for its elegance and technical expertise. Among the flagship models, such as the Compax, Aero-Compax, and Tri-Compax, stands the iconic Polerouter. Less known, but not less interesting is the Monodatic, a very nice automatic and date watch, made in a few variations.

This reference, bearing the number 200103-1, is probably the most interesting variation of the Monodatic line. It comes with a nice and silver-framed round date aperture and in a polerouter shaped steel case.

The particularity of this very piece, in addition to its rarity and incredibly beautiful dial with diamond and coffin markers, is the retailer signature, below the brand and model name. H.P.C. stands for Henrique Pfeffer Caracas. Henrique Pfeffer was a famous Venezuelan retailer in the 20th century.

By the 1950’s, the Universal Geneve brand was represented in over 40 countries, including Venezuela, where the present watch was retailed. Universal Geneve’s presence in South America started in the 1930’s, having been affiliated with motor sports including the Mille Miglia, which brought car racers from South American countries to the Italian event. Although Universal Geneve watches were advertised by their retailers, it is rare to find an example that is actually stamped on the dial with the retailer’s name.