
Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Enicar Ultrasonic, Gold Plated Alarm Watch, New-Old-Stock Condition, circa 1960s
- Maker / attribution
- Enicar (maker)
- Date
- c. 1960s
- Historical period
- Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Materials / technique
- gold
- Stock no.
- vws3344cs
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Vintage Watch Specialist (vws3344cs)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Enicar Ultrasonic - Gold Plated Alarm Watch - New-Old-Stock Condition - c.1960s (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Vintage Watch Specialist (dealer), United Kingdom (stock number vws3344cs), this is a wristwatch by Enicar, made in Switzerland, dated c. 1960s. The Atlas places it in the Modern Mechanical Horology period (1945 – 1969) of its Wristwatches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: gold. 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 — Vintage Watch Specialist
A Fantastic New-Old-Stock (NOS) Enicar Ultrasonic Manual Alarm Watch with a Beautiful Dial and Gold Capped Case, a Superb Purchase, c.1960s Enicar, a revered Swiss watch brand, traces its origins to 1913 when Ariste Racine founded it in La Chaux-de-Fonds. The brand name is a reverse anagram of Racine, symbolizing its familial roots. Enicar gained early acclaim for its precision and durability, especially noted during the 1950s and 1960s. One of Enicar's standout achievements was the Sherpa line, named after the Himalayan guides who assisted climbers. The Sherpa watches accompanied numerous expeditions, including the famed ascent of Mount Everest by a Swiss team in 1956. This association cemented Enicar's reputation for robustness under extreme conditions. What's on Offer How stunning is this new-old-stock Enicar Ultrasonic? The dial is beautiful and features gilt furniture with applied arrowhead hour markers and stylish Dauphine hands with subtle luminous inserts. The watch is powered by the manual AS 1475 movement which has an alarm function. There are two crowns. The crown at 2:00 winds the alarm. The crown at 4:00 winds the movement and sets the time. You also set the alarm hand with the crown at 4:00 by turning it counterclockwise. Then, to activate the alarm function, you pull the 2:00 crown out…pushing in to disable the alarm.
Historical context
Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
Tool watches for divers, pilots and astronauts; electric watches anticipate the electronic age.
The classic era of the mechanical wristwatch: dive watches, chronographs for motor racing and space flight, GMT watches for jet travel, slim dress watches, automatic calendars, and the rise of Japanese manufacturers alongside Swiss, American, German and Soviet industries.
Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking
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.
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