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Para-Geneve, Automatic, Super Compressor, Dive Watch, Calibre ETA 2472, circa 1965 — view 1 of 6
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Wristwatches · Wristwatch

Para-Geneve, Automatic, Super Compressor, Dive Watch, Calibre ETA 2472, circa 1965

DocumentedDocumented from a dealer's listing; attribution and date as stated by the dealer.
Maker / attribution
Unrecorded in source
Date
c. 1965
Country of origin
Switzerland
Object type
Wristwatch
Dimensions
Case 42 mm
Stock no.
vws3333
Credit line
Dealer listing, Vintage Watch Specialist (vws3333)
Catalogue title (original)
Para-Geneve - Automatic - Super Compressor - Vintage Dive Watch - Calibre ETA 2472 - c.1965 (English)

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

Record summary

Catalogued by Vintage Watch Specialist (dealer), United Kingdom (stock number vws3333), this is a wristwatch, made in Switzerland, dated c. 1965. The Atlas places it in the Modern Mechanical Horology period (1945 – 1969) of its Wristwatches collection. Recorded dimensions: Case 42 mm. 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 Superb Para (Paul Raff) Automatic Vintage Dive Watch with a Super Compressor Case in Fantastic Condition with Original Lume and Date Function - Very Rare, c.1965 Since 1910, the name Raff has stood for comprehensive expertise in the development, manufacture and distribution of watches for a wide variety of occasions and target groups. The implementation of customer ideas is a particular strength. At its headquarters in Pforzheim, the company’s team of experienced watchmakers guarantees high-quality development and production of private-label watches. To this day, the traditional brand Para – after the initials of the company’s founder Paul Raff – is a trademark of the company. What's on Offer This is a superb example of a vintage Para watch with an incredibly attractive and striking dial! Just look at the red white and blue colourway - this watch certainly isn't a wallflower and at a meaty 42mm it has a real presence on the wrist. The central navy dial is the perfect platform to make the nicely aged lume on the hour plots pop! Just look at that beautiful vanilla hue which is also still present on the chunky stick hands! The dial is encapsulated underneath a shatterproof Plexiglas crystal and encased in a brushed stainless steel Super Compressor case. The watch is powered by The ETA 2472 which is a mechanical watch movement with automatic winding, a date display with semi-quickset feature, and a power reserve of 42 hours. The date changes instantly at midnight. To set the date, the time is moved forward from 20 30 to 24 00, then back to 20 30 and forward again. The ETA 2472 is capable of chronometer-grade performance thanks to precise regulation using a moveable hairspring stud and long regulator arm. This watch is in superb shape, running well and keeping good time. A rare and collectable piece with a charismatic design, don't sleep on this one!

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

Dive and water-resistant watches

Keeping water and dust out of a wristwatch was a long-standing challenge. Rolex's screw-down Oyster case (1926) and Omega's Marine (1932) were landmarks; in the early 1950s Blancpain's Fifty Fathoms and Rolex's Submariner defined the professional dive watch with rotating bezels for timing dives, luminous dials and high water resistance. The ISO 6425 standard (1982) later codified what a 'diver's watch' must do.

Dive watches became icons of post-war design and exploration, and their evolution — helium escape valves, ceramic bezels, saturation-diving depth ratings — records the history of underwater work.

What to look for

  • Unidirectional or bidirectional rotating bezel with minute markings.
  • Screw-down crown and case back; depth rating printed on the dial.
  • Luminous hands and markers (radium before c. 1960, tritium c. 1960–1998, then Super-LumiNova).
  • Reference numbers on the case between the lugs or inside the back.

Dating clues

  • Screw-down Oyster cases: from 1926.
  • Professional dive watches: from 1953.
  • Tritium 'T' marks on dials: c. 1960–1998.

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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