Serviced 1960 Vintage Enicar Big Eye Chronograph Watch Tropical Valjoux 23 Date

Having a love for complications and complicated watches, makes me love Chronograph watches. At first two register chronograph for simplicity of the dial and providing chronograph functionality for the most. Then the three-register chronograph for the complication of movement and the history of the movements, like of the iconic Omega Ref. 321, Ref. 861 (used in famous moon landing), Zenith El Primero, Venus mostly used in Breitlings, Landeron, and one of the most well-known movement makers Valjoux. With their famous Valjoux 72 put in the vintage Rolex Pre Daytona’s and of course the big dog Patek Philippe reference 2499 using Valjoux 88 my favorite which sold in auction for $3.30 Million in 2018.  I also love the Heuer Caliber 11 first micro automatic chronograph movement with date.

A Chronograph is simply a watch that combines the function of a stopwatch with a timekeeping display watch, by utilizing an independent sweep second hand. Chronographs often have complications on the face of the watch which can be used to record different time measurements, moon cycles, heart rate and more. Chronographs have usually have a separate buttons to stop, start, and reset (unless it is an monopusher) the stopwatch complication, with the start button typically at the two and four o’clock position.

The name Chronograph is derived from the Greek words ‘Chronos’ – the personification of time – and ‘graph’, meaning to write. The first modern Chronograph was created in 1816 by French watchmaker, Louis Moinet. Invented solely for use in union with astrological equipment, Moinet’s Chronograph could measure time accurate to 1/60th of a second – an unrivaled degree of precision at the time of its creation.

"poor man's" Heu-ers represent an interesting facet of Heu-er's history and also provide a sensible way for individuals to collect these chronographs on a more reasonable budget. The term "Poor Man's Heu-er" only to refer to chronographs manufactured by Heu-er for other brands one of which is Zodiac & Clebar, which is one of my favorite brands. Please note on ebay there are few brands that are not made by Heu-er and still refer to as Poor man which is not true.

Enicar was founded in Switzerland in 1914 by Ariste Racine. He reversed the spelling of his last name to come up with the name of the company. Enicar is one of those brands that was around for a long time, but it went through financial troubles in the 1970s due to the Quartz Crisis, ultimately going out of business in 1987. The brand was eventually purchased by another company and is still around today, but it is not the same Enicar S.A. that was started by Ariste Racine.

Enicar's catalog of watch styles was quite vast, and the company had numerous chronograph designs. The one we have here has an interesting tonneau-shaped case with a "Big Eye" minute register at three o'clock, a constant seconds sub-dial at nine o'clock, and a date window at six o'clock. The oversize "Big Eye" minutes register was intended for tracking elapsed time in an easy-to-read way when racing. The dark blue dial has some nice details, like engine-turned registers and bright orange accents. The case is also noteworthy on this Enicar; it looks like a typical tonneau style but is slightly different near all four corners – there is a slight edge to it that is unique. This sold at hodinkee for $3,900 and you can get this here for fraction of the cost. Also 

This is a beauty. It is very rare to find a watch this old in this condition. Defiantly a collector watch. Please look at all the pictures, as they are part of the description. The watch is working and Serviced by the previous owner. This is a highly collectible watch. Very few left with this rare movement. Sure, to increase in value overtime, and a great addition to your collection. The condition of the watch is the same as it appears in the photos.   The watch is working and is part of our new Certified Pre-Owned CPO.  Contact me if you have any questions first.