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Universal Genève Medico Compax
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Renowned for expertise in luxury watch retail, Watches of Switzerland embodies the highest standards of craftsmanship and service. With a history dating back to the 1700s, the company offers a curated selection of premier timepieces and commits to excellence in customer experience grounded in a legacy of trust and industry proficiency.
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Our commitment to you does not end at delivery. We offer the following return services to make your experience as pleasant as possible.
10-Day Returns For Timepieces:
Timepieces purchased online can be returned or exchanged within 10 days from when they are shipped or collected.
30-Day Returns For All Other Purchases:
All other online purchases can be returned or exchanged within 30 days from when they are shipped or collected.
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Universal Genève Medico Compax - (Ref. 22517) Product Details
Overall Condition: Excellent condition overall. Case appears to be unpolished and only shows light signs of wear associated with its age. Dial is exceptional, showing light and even patina throughout.
Universal Genève built its reputation on the chronograph. During the 1930s and ’40s, the manufacture developed an extraordinary assortment of purpose-built wrist chronographs, creating watches for pilots, motorists, athletes—and, in the case of the Medico-Compax, the medical profession.
Dating to the 1940s, this Medico-Compax Reference 22517 is a particularly beautiful example. Its 37mm stainless steel case is generously sized for the period, with pump pushers and sharply defined lugs framing a wonderfully elaborate silver dial. Two snailed registers sit at 3:00 and 9:00, while applied Arabic numerals and elegant blued hands provide an appealing mixture of refinement and legibility.
The defining feature, however, is the pulsations scale encircling the dial. Rather than a conventional tachymeter, the Medico-Compax was calibrated to allow a doctor to determine a patient’s heart rate quickly. Start the chronograph, count 15 heartbeats, stop it, and the central chronograph hand indicates the corresponding pulse rate directly on the scale. “GRADUÉ POUR 15 PULSATIONS” printed prominently along the perimeter makes the watch’s intended purpose delightfully explicit.
Inside is a manually wound Universal Genève chronograph movement, continuing the manufacture’s celebrated tradition of producing sophisticated chronographs during one of its most important periods.
With box and signed steel pin buckle, there is something especially appealing about complications created to solve highly specific problems, and the Medico-Compax may be one of the best examples. Its medical functionality is fascinating, but even removed from its original professional context, this is simply an exceptionally handsome vintage chronograph.
At 36mm in steel, with its beautifully balanced two-register dial, blued hands, and wonderfully specialized pulsometer scale, this Reference 22517 represents Universal Genève doing what it did best: turning a serious instrument into an extraordinarily elegant wristwatch.
General
Condition
Pre-owned
Brand
Universal Genève
Reference
22517
Year
1940s
Family
Medico-Compax
Product Code
40993337
Watch Display
Analog
Case
Case Size
36 mm
Case Material
Stainless Steel
Lug Width
18 mm
Dial
Dial Color
Silver
Movement
Type
Manual-winding
Bracelet
Bracelet Material
Leather
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4.7 Average Star Rating
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Kevin Phillips was really helpful
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Easy transaction, fast shipping. . Literally got my item less than 24hrs from ordering.
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Customer service was spectacular. They upgraded my shipping to overnight so that my son's birthday gift would make it to us in time. Super responsive...
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