White Shadow - early quartz with a Calibre 74

I took a gamble on this one on Ebay last month and I think it's sort of paid off. Listed as not working and with an unfortunate blemish on the dial, the auction topped out at $36.01 (I was hit with a modest customs bill so this wasn't the total cost). The original seller's photos completely missed the shimmer of the blue dial and, mercifully, the mark at 6 is not really noticeable to the naked eye as the glimmer of light off the batons is far more obvious. It went off to a chap on TZ-UK called keitht (otherwise known as the patron saint of lost early electrical causes) and the reason for it not working was the fact that the battery had been inserted the wrong way around and one end of the battery strap needed insulating. Keith has a theory that the combination of these two factors caused a short circuit and thus the mark on the dial - very lucky that it didn't fry the electronics as I'm not going to find too many loose spare movements.

The Calibre 74 is a bit of a mystery as well. Released in 1975 as the world's thinnest quartz this makes this watch a fitting brother to my Genta-designed Golden Shadow which was the world's thinnest auto for such a long time. While it has a lot of resemblance to a Bulova 242 it is, apparently, not the same movement in the same way the the Unisonics used just a better decorated Bulova calibre. This site has the most information on the Cal. 74 - it didn't even get a mention in passing in the Pieter Doensen early quartz book.
http://www.crazywatches.pl/universal-geneve-cal-74-white-shadow-quartz-1975

And some pictures




It's quite thin - I'll take a comparison shot with the Golden Shadow when I get the chance.

When I've got some spare cash in the New Year I'll get a blue alligator made by Peter Watch Acc - I'm not too happy with the alligator-grain leather strap that it's on at the moment but it'll do for now.

I'm a happy bunny.

Edit: I suppose a movement shot might be in order.

I've just had the blue alligator made by Peter Watch Acc.

Nice. I have just won a bid on one of these. Like you I'm taking a punt as listed as not working but the cosmetic conditioner looks good.

In any case there are, contrary to my earlier assertion, plenty of spare movements and potential donors out there. I was also able to locate a spare dial from Ebay since I posted this. The dowside is that batteries last a year if you are lucky.

There is someone on TZ (keitht) who is prepared (or was, at least) work on these which might save you a prayer to St Jude.

Ah cheers. Do you know if Keith is UK based?

Yes he is - he's in the west country somewhere.

He also appears to have a dormant account here.

https://omegaforums.net/members/keitht.32966/

Thanks mate. I am hoping I won't require his services. I'll keep my fingers

What a beautiful piece. Just arrived so yet to see whether the Watch Gods will smile upon me and let this be a simple case of a new battery!!!

So...these watches originally ran on a 388 battery. These are now obsolete so another battery with a converter piece will have to be bought.

Converter piece arrived. Battery in and.....no dice. The White Shadow has now been placed in the project box. Too pretty not to save though.

Mine says hello, i bought this for 20€ and didn't expect much due to its rough state.



Believe it or not - I put in a 329 cell and it is happily ticking away but stopping from time to time, so I will have it cleaned and re-lubricated at a specialist for old quartz watches. As long as the electronical parts are good I guess it is worth fixing.

Congrats. That's a real bargain! This case design with the raised ridge around the crystal is unique to the quartz line and IMO prettier than most of the automatic white shadow cases. Good luck with getting it fixed

Mine is still with my repairer. More of a mechanicals guy than quartz but I am going to see him next week to see how he's getting on. £20 is an absolute steal BTW. They are lovely looking watches.

Thanks, I will send it off for repair in a few days, when I get it back I will report how everything went.

Alas, no cheap fix for me. It sadly isn't a case of a replacement battery. Watch will be put on the back burner for the foreseeable in the box marked " Projects".

Sorry to hear. While my watch was running with a new battery the vintage quartz specialist I sent it to diagnosed several defects and suggested that it would be cheaper if he swapped the old movement with one of a few Cal 74 movements in NOS condition that he has in stock. He charged me a very fair sum for this service and the White Shadow is on its way back to me now. Every IC and other electrical component can of course fail over time due to aging, but with the newly serviced (cleaned and oiled) NOS movement I get the watch back with practically factory-new technical condition. I will post pictures when I have the watch in my hands again.

Sounds like a good solution. I think with me I am more into mechanical watches and I have enough repair bills with a few of them on the go at the moment. I'm going to sit on this one for a bit. Such a shame as it's in excess cosmetic condition and the blue dial is stunning.

Finally this marvel of a watch is back on my wrist. Just look at these crazy shades of colors the dial has depending on how the light hits it. It changes from a deep royal blue to light blue to purple with a reddish undertone.



Can you spot a similar behaviour on your models or is this a "special feature" due to the leaked battery on mine (look at all the corrosion on the dial)?

Anyway, I am really happy with it, with the freshly serviced NOS movement inside I guess it will be a fairly reliable companion.

Almost all sunburst blue dials that you will see from UG, be it quartz, manual or auto, all have this paint rot, or fading of the paint, very often around the hour markers. Finding one without it is a true mission impossible. Noticed this from the 70's Longines as well.