Finally, we can combine chocolate and watches in one article! Introduced in 1955 Universal Geneve's "Cioccolatone" is one of the most eye-catching references of the last Century. Expressive bezels, intricate case finishing and understated dial real estate define these pieces... All features that makes these pieces resembling a UG icon, a Genta designed classic - Could the Cioccolatone be a "Square Polerouter"?
September 04, 2024
A Square Polerouter?! - The Universal Geneve Cioccolatone
Marcus Siems @siemswatches
Collector, Author, Data Analyst
Do you know what a Schogette is? It is one of Germany's leading chocolate manufacturers and their bars is what has been on my mind writing this article non-stop... I'm actually not sure how familiar my dear international readership is with this German specialty but each individual piece of chocolate is shaped like a square, a square with rounded edges...
And the Italian collector community first drew the connection between the chocolate - "Cioccolatone" - and the shape that you can find on quite a few watches from the middle of the last Century. It does not describe a single reference but rather a loose family of watches and designs from various manufacturers like Omega, Vacheron Constantin, Rolex and many many more.
The watch and origins to the (Italian) nickname. Photos Courtesy of Schogetten Germany & Goldammer Archives.
And here we go, it is Universal Geneve's mid-1950s interpretation that particularly caught my attention. Produced over a 7 year span there exists a small group of 'Cioccolatone' time-only watches that - I must say - feel remarkably like "out-of-shape" Polerouters*.
Hear me out, there are basically two very central design features that overlap with the Genta flagship. First, the rounded-square cases might put you off at first but you'll still find the same round reeded bezels. Second, these pieces all come with automatic movements - the first references with cal. 138SS bumpers and the later executions with cal. 215 Microtors. And another factor is the production period: All of this started in 1955 - just one year after the first Polarouter ref. 20217 were handed out to SAS pilots and crew.
A rare Universal Geneve Cioccolatone (ref. 10240) with narrow smooth bezel and hobnail finish in yellow gold. Photo Goldammer Archive.
1) Case, Dial & Design
Case. But what exactly defines these pieces? The "standard" execution is a 30mm x 30mm case with attached lugs made by UG's go-to case maker of the time - Jung & Fils (hammerhead hallmark #128). Most of the pieces come in yellow gold, some in rose or white gold, too. Women's references in a smaller (26mm x 26mm) case were made as well (examples/references not shown).
Case finishing. Most of the case fronts you'll find are mirror polished but some of the rarer references can display immaculate types of finishing like hobnail/guilloche structures or even frosted surfaces.
Four different surface finishing techniques: smooth/mirror (left), hobnail rectangular (middle left), hobnail circular (middle right), frosted (right). You can further make out the two distinct bezel styles: broad and reeded with smooth hour marker (left & right) as well as narrow and smooth with reeded hour markers (middle). Photos Courtesy of Goldammer, Rarebirds, & Vintage Gold Watches London.
Bezel. Secondly, there are two easily dissociable bezel styles (compare also above). One is broad and reeded with smooth surfaces at every full hour. The other is narrow and smooth with reeded "hour markers".
Dial. You will find an attached "U-in-shield" logo at 12o'clock with the text "Universal / Geneve" (two lines) below it. At 6o'clock the pieces are signed "Automatic" (for Bumper) or "Automatic Microtor" (for Microtor movements). The hands are always Dauphine shaped. The dials are mostly monochrome with respect to the case material or black. White dialed examples appear to exist as well (also [here]).
2) Movement Generations
We can generally identify two generations of UG Cioccolatone references, the first with the bumper-style caliber 138SS and the second generation with the original Microtor caliber 215:
The two movement styles - the bumper cal. 138SS (left) and the Microtor cal. 215 (right). Photos Courtesy of Goldammer Archives.
Caliber 138SS. It was introduced 1948 as the brands first "automatic" movement featuring the spring-loaded uni-directional hammer mechanism[1-2], measures 28.2mm and beats with 18,000Vph. These bumper-style Cioccolatone are pretty rare and have only been in production from about 1955-56 (serial range 1,723,xxx to 1,810,xxx).
Caliber 215. The UG caliber 215 - introduced in 1955 after several years of development - followed a drastically new interpretation of the automatic winding mechanism. At the heart of these movements is an off-central small rotor that is fully rotational (360 degrees). At only 4.1mm height (28.mm diameter) these movements wear extremely close to the wrist and beat away in most of the identified Cioccolatone UGs out there (serial ranges between 1,865,xxx to 2,243,xxx; 1956/57-62[2-3]). However, there is a sole exceptional reference - ref. 10356 - that comes with a Microtor and shares some of the earliest serial numbers (1,723,xxx) with the (Bumper) ref. 10240.
As different as two Cioccolatone can be... smooth vs. hobnail finish, broad vs. narrow bezel, monochrome vs. black dial, Microtor vs. Bumper, white vs. yellow gold... Photos Goldammer.
3) References & Production
All in all, I was able to identify seven**** distinct Cioccolatone references - four Bumper-movement and two with Microtor. The references generally distinguish based on movement and bezel-style (see above for details) as well as case material (yellow/rose gold vs. white gold).
In the Universal Geneve referencing system the first digit stands for the material (1 = YG/RG; 7 = WG), the second for the complication (0 = time-only), the third for the movement (2 = bumper; 3 = Microtor) and the fourth and fifth indicates the case style:
| Ref. | Finish | Bezel | Year | Batches | Production** |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10237 | frosted | broad reeded | 1956 | 1,795,xxx & 1,810,xxx | 20-50 |
| 10239 | smooth | narrow smooth | 1955-56 | 1,737,xxx & 1,799,xxx | 40-50 |
| 10240 | hobnail | narrow smooth | 1955-56 | 1,723,xxx; 1,737,xxx; 1,808,xxx & 1,810,xxx | 100-150 |
| 10246 | frosted | narrow smooth | 1956 | 1,810,xxx | 50-70 |
| 10356 | hobnail | narrow smooth | 1955-56 | 1,723,xxx & 1,810,xxx | 20-50 |
| 10359 | smooth | narrow smooth | 1956/57-62 | 1,865,xxx; 1,940,xxx; 2,064,xxx; 2,116,xxx; 2,130,xxx & 2,243,xxx | 200-350 |
| 70305 | smooth | broad reeded | 1959 | 1,971,xxx | ??? |
Table 1. Reference Guide for the Universal Geneve Cioccolatone between 1955-62. Above and below the thick line are Bumper- and Microtor-powered references, respectively.
Based on the available serial number ranges, the identified examples and simple statistics** we can even estimate the approximate production volume on these pieces. And even though this is only a very rough estimate the numbers indicate that probably only between 500-1,000 of these pieces have been produced - in total! And most of which stem from the mid- to late-50s as I've found only two references with serial numbers above 1,810,xxx and only one beyond 2,000,000.
Comparing all six well established references of the Universal Geneve Cioccolatone family - from top left to bottom right: refs. 10237, 10239, 10240, 10246 (all bumper); 10359, & 70305 (both Microtor). Photos Courtesy of Goldammer, Bulang & Sons, Auctionet, & Vintage Gold Watches London.
4) Conclusion
What a collectible! The Cioccolatone are sweet sweet vintage candy. All in all, we got a very rare family of references with (very likely) not more than 1,000 produced and sold timepieces over a mere 7 year span. All of them in precious metal, most in yellow gold, and very few in rose gold or white gold. Put on top that Universal utilized their most forward-thinking technology at the time - their automatic movements.
If you haven't decided yet if you like these oddly-shaped rarely-seen pieces there's an emotional connection within the design as well. I'll be on the record nicknaming this the "Square Polerouter"***. The Polerouter is potentially one of the few 20th Century gems that almost all vintage lovers can agree on. The first stroke of the genius Gerald Genta that is making our ears ring and our eyes shine. and...
Not only the Italians can decide on nicknames.
Two watches with metallic hour markers outside an otherwise relatively understated dial. Is this a square Polerouter? Photo Goldammer.
Of course, we don't know how involved Gerald Genta was with designing the Cioccolatone (Square Polerouter). And the dials aren't signed "Polerouter". But still I see serious overlap not only in their production periods but between their vibe and design language - Dauphine hands, expressive reeded/smooth hour marker surfaces around an otherwise blank dial. One case is flowing the other is grounding you - but both are univocally extraordinary. Two designs, two different stories yet spiritual brothers (or coussins?). - and now finally back to that chocolate...
* I do not propose that Gerald Genta himself was drawing up the UG Cioccolatone or any of the related references - I do not have any evidence for that. I'm only pointing out the common design language.
** Production volume estimates are based on identified serial number ranges and the "German Tank Problem" method.
*** Well, we of course also have to look closer at the purpose of the Polerouter/Polarouter design ... considering it was conceived to celebrate Transatlantic flights over the north pole having a round (dial) design - representing the earth - with an outer ring - representing the flight route - inside the glass the classic Polerouter still got more metaphorical strength (imho).
Thanks to friend of the site and formidable collector @IlanWatches I was able to confirm beyond reasonable doubt the existence of both the ref. 10356 (Microtor, narrow bezel, hobnail finish) as well as the white dial configuration - see [here].
References
[1] The Polerouter Reference Website; Hamblar [Link]
[2] The Polerouter; Willis & Mazzucchi, Time Honoured Limited (2024)
[3] Universal Watch Geneve; Pietro Giuliano Sala (2nd Edition, 2024)
All rights on text and graphics reserved to the Author.
