1965 Universal Genève Tri-Compax Ref. 88110101 ‘Eric Clapton’ MK2 Panda dial

$21,500.00

The Universal Genève Tri-Compax is one of the great postwar chronographs — a triple-register layout offering hours, minutes, and seconds across a dial architecture that balanced technical legibility with visual elegance in a way that few contemporaries matched. The ‘Eric Clapton’ nickname derives from one of the most famous wrist shots in rock history: Clapton photographed wearing a Tri-Compax during the Cream era, an image that attached the model permanently to a moment of cultural electricity and introduced it to an entirely new generation of collectors decades after it was made. The reference 881101/01 belongs to the mid-1960s chapter of Tri-Compax production, featuring the Gerald Genta-designed bombée lug case that gives the watch its characteristic organic tension — lugs that curve outward and downward with a sculptural confidence that flat-lug contemporaries simply cannot match. The later and rarer MK2 dial configuration introduces the red center chronograph hand, a detail that cuts through the panda layout with vivid precision and elevates the whole composition.

The matte white dial of this 1965 example has aged to a warm, even ‘panna’ — clean throughout, light aging visible that adds warmth rather than distraction. The black subdials are very well preserved, their contrast against the cream main dial still sharp. The lume plots have lost most of their tritium mass over six decades, but their print remains on all of them, the surviving remnants aged to a dark yellow that reads as entirely honest and untouched. All hands are original to the watch, the MK2 red chronograph hand vivid against the cream ground, the subdial hands showing gentle age in great overall condition. The original tachymetre bezel carries normal signs of wear consistent with its age — present, legible, and unrestored. The original acrylic crystal shows minor marks — the inevitable record of six decades of genuine use. The stainless steel bombée lug case is unpolished, edges sharp, wear visible and consistent with its age, original UG-signed crown and pump pushers all present and correct. The case back is in matching condition, reference and serial numbers still legible. Recently serviced, all functions working correctly. On a black leather strap.

An Eric Clapton Tri-Compax, unpolished and honest — the real thing, worn exactly as it should be.

Brand: Universal Genève

Model: Tri-Compax

Reference: 881101/01

Serial: 2437xxx

Year: 1965

Case material: Stainless steel

Case dimensions: 36mm excluding crown

Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, chronograph, triple calendar and moon phase

Caliber: Universal Geneve cal. 281 Manual Wind

Strap: Black leather strap with stainless steel buckle

Crystal: Acrylic