THE ESSENTIALS

MAKE: UNIVERSAL GENEVE
MODEL: 20368-1
YEAR: 1962
BOX/PAPERS: NO/NO
CASE DIAMETER: 34MM
CASE MATERIAL: STAINLESS STEEL
BRACELET MATERIAL: STAINLESS STEEL
MOVEMENT: AUTOMATIC

For many vintage watch lovers, myself included, Universal Genève Polerouters hold a special place in our hearts. The elegant design, robust movements, and sheer variety of references within the line-up make the Polerouter one of the most rewarding watches to collect. It also helps that, for many years, these watches were readily available on the market and remarkably affordable (sadly, those glorious days are now behind us...).

In the early 1950s, commercial aviation was rewriting the map. Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) pioneered a bold new route, charting a course over the magnetic North Pole to connect Los Angeles and Copenhagen faster than ever before.

To mark the occasion, SAS turned to Universal Genève to create a watch worthy of this milestone in modern exploration. The result was a design by a young Gérald Genta, who would later go on to create some of the most iconic watches in horological history. At just 24 years old, he conceived the Polarouter (as it was initially named), issued to SAS pilots and crew, and built to perform in extreme conditions with both precision and style. It wasn’t long before its reputation extended far beyond the cockpit. The watch was soon renamed Polerouter, and the rest is history.

Early Polerouters featured "bumper" automatic movements (such as the calibre 138SS), which we absolutely love—partly because of the satisfying bump you feel as the rotor reaches the end of its travel. In the mid-1950s, however, Universal Genève filed patent no. 329805, describing a revolutionary micro-rotor movement in which the winding rotor was integrated into the movement rather than mounted above it. This allowed the manufacture to produce some of the thinnest automatic movements of the era, including the calibre 218-9 found in this lovely ref. 20368-1.

All the technicalities aside, a crosshair-dial, time-only Polerouter is simply gorgeous. This example has survived in wonderful condition over the years. The black dial with its silver rehaut is striking; the original dauphine hands, applied UG logo, and all of the original lume remain intact. The case is especially full on this one, and the engravings on the caseback are still beautifully crisp. We've paired the watch with these period stainless steel bracelet.

The movement came to us running beautifully at +5 s/d, with 265° amplitude and a 0.7 ms beat error. Putting a Polerouter on has never failed to put a smile on my face, and I hope this one brings as much joy to its next owner as it has brought us.