Skip to content
Clebar Supercompressor, 1970s — view 1 of 6
View 1 of 6 · Image: S.Song Watches · original image source (opens another website in a new tab)

Wristwatches · Wristwatch

Clebar Supercompressor, 1970s

DocumentedDocumented from a dealer's listing; attribution and date as stated by the dealer.
Maker / attribution
Clebar (maker)
Date
1970s
Country of origin
Unrecorded in source
Object type
Wristwatch
Stock no.
Product 1375330074711
Credit line
Dealer listing, S.Song Watches (product 1375330074711)
Catalogue title (original)
Clebar Supercompressor (English)

View the source record (dealer listing) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction

Record summary

Catalogued by S.Song Watches (dealer), Seattle (stock number Product 1375330074711), this is a wristwatch by Clebar, dated 1970s. The Atlas places it in the Quartz Revolution period (1969 – 1990) of its Wristwatches collection. The record is illustrated with 6 photographs.

Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.

Catalogue description

Dealer description — S.Song Watches

The supercompressor case. Most recognisable through the use of double crowns at 2 and 4 o’clock, these are quintessentially 60’s/70’s in its design. Produced by a single company, Ervin Piquerez EPSA, compressor cases used a new technology at the time where it used pressure to guarantee a watch’s water resistance. As you go deeper, the pressure gets higher, in theory, creating a tighter seal. Many brands from Jaeger-LeCoultre, Universal Geneve, Longines all made supercompressor watches. Because of the iconic design and overall wearability, there is a real cult following for supercompressor watches as many brands used EPSA cases. As a result, you are able to find a whole variety of supercompressor watches with many different dial and hand designs. This Clebar is one of my favourite supercompressors with perhaps the best dial design out there. With elongated hour lume markers and long minute markers, these really draws your eyes to the dial. With no date function, it maintains a nice symmetry and not to mention, this one is unique with a stunning dark tropical dial.

Historical context

Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)

Seiko's Astron begins mass quartz timekeeping; traditional industries contract sharply.

Quartz and digital watches transformed the market after 1969. Swiss employment collapsed, Japanese and Hong Kong production soared, and the Swatch (1983) helped the Swiss industry recover; mechanical watches survived as luxury goods.

Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Modern Mechanical Horology

Atlas type guide

Wristwatches

Bracelet watches were worn by women from the early nineteenth century — Breguet made one for Caroline Murat, Queen of Naples, in 1810–12 — but the wristwatch only became a man's instrument with military use and aviation in the early twentieth century. Between the World Wars it overtook the pocket watch; the 1920s and 1930s brought rectangular Art Deco cases, water-resistant cases and the first automatic winding systems.

After 1945 the wristwatch became a carrier of identity — dress watches, sports and dive watches, chronographs, calendars — produced by Swiss, American, Japanese, German, Soviet and Chinese industries. The quartz revolution after 1969 and the mechanical renaissance since the 1990s, including the rise of independent watchmakers, complete the story.

What to look for

  • The reference number (between the lugs or inside the case back) and serial number, the starting point for dating.
  • The calibre: its maker and number are often stamped under the dial or on the bridge.
  • Originality of dial, hands and crown — refinished ('redial') dials are common.
  • Case material marks: 18K/750, 14K/585, stainless steel, gold-filled, plated.

Dating clues

  • Wire-lug cases: before c. 1925.
  • Water-resistant screw-down cases: from 1926.
  • Quartz movements: from 1969; sapphire crystals widespread after c. 1980.

General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.

Read next:Detached lever escapementIdentification Centre

Related records