Elgé Super Compressor Diver

Elgé was a French manufacturer based in Annecy: a town very close to the Swiss border and Geneva. Elgé produced mechanical wristwatches between the 1940s and 1970s. Here is a remarkable diver's watch from 1966 with a Tropical dial and Super Compressor case.

The dial of this diving watch has an enchanting tropical patina. The originally black surface developed over the years the beautiful chocolate color that we can admire today. The triangular hour markers and the numerals 6, 9 and 12 are filled with original tritium lume and show an absolutely even and authentic patina. The tritium in the hands is also original. The second hand has a nice lollipop shape. Another highlight of this watch is the trapezoidal date window at 3 o'clock with a roulette date disc. Even and odd numbers are black and red, respectively. The Elgé features an internal diver's bezel that can be rotated using the crown at 10 o'clock.

A special feature of this watch is the Super Compressor case. "Super Compressor" is a case design specially developed for diving watches by the manufacturer EPSA (Ervin Piquerez S.A.). With increasing diving depth and thus increasing pressure, the case became more watertight. The deeper the watch dived, the harder the case back was pressed against the case gasket.

The condition of the case makes this watch even more special and rare. We assume that the case was never polished. This is proven by the sharp case lugs and the intact engravings on the case back. Of course, there are some scratches on the back. But for a discerning collector, the intact engravings including scratches are always worth more than a shiny case on which the engravings can no longer be seen because they have been polished away. Next to the beautiful diving helmet at the center, all the radial engravings are clearly legible: SUPER COMPRESSOR WATERPROOF 20 ATM STAINLESS STEEL and the serial number 2003. Such engravings are extremely rare on a watch from the 1960s. Because in most cases the watches have been polished several times, which means that the engravings simply disappear. This makes the exceptional condition of this watch obvious. The case back is stamped 12-66 (December 1966).

The stainless-steel case has a diameter of 36.5mm. The watch looks relatively large on the wrist thanks to the missing outer bezel. The double crowns bear the cross-hatching pattern, which is typical to a Super Compressor diver's watch. The inner bezel can be rotated with the upper crown. The time is set with the lower crown. The caliber A Schild AS 1700/01 automatic movement with 25 jewels operates perfectly.

This Elge diver's watch proves that an exceptional, extremely rare and collectible vintage watch doesn't have to cost a fortune.

Serial number: 2003

Int.Exe.: 54942