For sale we have a beautiful Universal Geneve Polerouter from 1957/58, designed by the legend of watch design, Gerald Genta. It is the reference 20363/2 which is very similar to that of Bruce Lees personal watch. This is a gold capped over Stainless Steel example, with a twisted lug design. The case measures 35mm in diameter. It has a clean silver tone cross hair dial with gold tone chapter ring around the exterior. The luminous Dauphine hands are original, and the signing is good with applied universal logo. The screw case back has the Polerouter symbol and signing and is signed HF inside. The calibre 215 micro rotor movement has been serviced and is keeping good time. 
 
The crystal is original with Universal etching to centre, whilst the crown is a replacement. The serial number is 1931719 which dates it to 1957/58.
 
The Polerouter debuted in 1954. The watch was designed by Gerald Genta, who at the time was just 23. He is now known as the finest Swiss born designer, who was responsible 20 years later, for some of the most iconic watches, such as the Royal Oak and Nautilus. 
 
Developed in the early 1950s as an antimagnetic timepiece for the pilots of Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), the watch was issued to the pilots for the inaugural SAS flight from Copenhagen to Los Angeles and New York. The flight passed over the strong magnetic field of the North pole, which was the reason for the antimagnetic design. This was hailed as “the first new commercial route in a thousand years”. It cut the travel time from 36 hours, down to 22.
It was initially named the Polarouter and was given to SAS pilots and management with the SAS logo on the dial. It originally had a bumper automatic calibre before the calibre 215 micro-rotor movement was fitted. 
 
This reference appears to be the same as Bruce Lees model which sold at Phillips, lot 860 in their Phillips & Blackbird SPORTS auction, Hong Kong, on May 27th 2019. It sold for approximately £22,500.
 
The movement has been recently serviced and is running well. It has detached manual wind and was the worlds first micro-rotor automatic. It was designed to be very slim, with a depth of just 4.1mm.
 
Full condition report below. Please see the images as these compliment and aid the description provided below.
 
Dial: 
The silver dial is original and is in good condition with patination. The colour has aged and presents closer to a champagne tone. There is an even speckled patina across the dial. It also has a circular concentric marking to the dial. The radium lume plots are original and good with an aged pumpkin tone. The cross hair and signing are all good and clear, whilst the gold tone chapter ring is free of corrosion, as is the applied Universal logo.
 
Hands: 
The hands are original of luminous Dauphine design, in a gold tone. They are in good condition with slight corrosion. The lume in-fill is original and has aged in tone.
 
Glass: 
The acrylic crystal is original with etched Universal logo to the centre, which is very uncommon. It has been polished and has no major marks.
 
Crown: 
The crown is a well-matched replacement. The original would have been signed. It is in very good condition.
 
Case:
The case is formed of Stainless Steel and is gold capped/plated on top. It is in good condition with no wear to the gold capping and only light surface scratching. The case is unpolished. 
 
Caseback:
The case is formed of Stainless Steel and is in decent condition with light surface scratching and some deeper scratches from poor opening. The Polerouter symbol and signing is still visible, but it faint. Wear of the case backs is common. 
 
Strap: 
The watch comes on a new 18mm leather strap. 
 
Movement: 
The movement is a Universal Geneve cal 215. It is a micro-rotor automatic with sweep second hand, a jewel count of 28 and a frequency of 18,000 BPH. It has a 57-hour power reserve. 
 
The movement has been serviced. It’s keeping time to within +25 seconds a day, with an amplitude of 260 degrees and a beat error of 0.1m/s.
 
Case dimensions: 
Case width: 35mm
Case width with crown: 37.5mm 
Case length: 35mm 
Case length lug to lug: 45.25mm
Case Depth: 9mm
Lug width: 18.5mm