Universal Genève Unveil Tribute to Compax Nina Special Editions

The revival of the Universal Genève brand is one of the most anticipated, first announced in 2023 when it was brought under the oversight of Breitling’s CEO Georges Kern and set for a 2026 relaunch date. However, one of the promises made around the time of the acquisition was that we wouldn’t be left starving in the intervening years and would be given glimpses of what is to come with the occasional special edition and preview timepiece ahead of the full relaunch. That’s what we have today with the new Tribute to Compax Nina special editions.

There are six watches in this limited series, making each effectively a unique piece due to their differing dials and case materials. They are based on the 1960s Universal Genève Compax, a heritage racing chronograph with tricompax layout that was presented on a metal bracelet. However, much as the most famous expression of the Rolex Daytona is the ‘Paul Newman’, the most famous expression of the Compax is the ‘Nina’. Specifically, Nina Rindt.

Nina Rindt was a Finnish model married to F1 champion Jochen Rindt and she was totally committed to the world of motorsport. She was trackside at his races constantly and was even involved in helping him prepare and improve by timing his laps. Spotting his wife’s interest in the sport, Jochen bought her a Universal Genève Compax with which to time said laps. However, Nina wasn’t happy with the watch out of the box and made some personalisation touches to it. An unsubstantiated story says the chronograph seconds hand was swapped from black to red for visibility but most famously she swapped the bracelet for a leather bund strap.

As the story goes, she discovered the strap in a Parisian atelier and preferred it over the hard, metallic bracelet. The fact that it was leather made it soft, supple and stylish while the bund design (originally designed for pilot’s watches) with its cuff preserved the sporty energy that makes a chronograph special. The combination of the Compax with a bund strap became affectionately known as the Nina.

Jumping forwards to 2025 the Nina style is back thanks to the Tribute to Compax. The six watches each measure 36mm in diameter with a thickness 12.67mm in either white gold or rose gold, split three and three. There’s your classic panda and reverse panda displays in black and white across each metal accounting for four of the watches. Then the extra rose gold edition is brown and black while the final white gold is blue and black. To add to the prestige, the dials are made from Grand Feu enamel.

Naturally a major part of this tribute is the signature bund straps and so Universal Genève decided to work with a specialist leather atelier from Paris – bringing the story of Nina’s strap choice full circle. They chose the workshop of Satoru Hosoi, a Japanese artisan who now works in France after receiving the Meilleur Ouvrier de France in 2015 and who has previously worked for Maisons like Hermès and Moynat, though this is his first watch strap commission.

Given Nina’s work as a model and taste in straps, Hosoi chose a fashion forward approach to the straps. Choosing complimentary colours for each piece, so brown or black paired with the white gold and taupe or olive paired with rose. They’re made from three pieces of calf leather sewn together, giving them a modern feel as opposed to the detachable pieces on historic bund straps.

Powering the Tribute to Compax Nina special editions are vintage movements from the 60s, the Universal Genève 281. Each lovingly and faithfully restored. As they are vintage their specs are a little lower than we would expect today, supplying a 36-hour power reserve and operating at a 2.5 Hz frequency, but the romance and nostalgia carries them a long way. They’re equipped with hour, minutes, small seconds, chronograph seconds, 30-minute counter, 12-hour counter.

These pre-relaunch special editions they are being sold in two sets of three for CHF 135,000 (approx. £127,600) so let’s hope that turning a tool watch brand into a haute horology house doesn’t rub collectors up the wrong way too much. However, Universal Genève state: “The Tribute to Compax is a signpost of where Universal Genève is heading. The full relaunch awaits in 2026, but already these watches herald the revival of a house where past and future, watchmaking and art, meet in perfect harmony.” So I think we can safely expect to see the Compax, and maybe even the Nina, as part of the core relaunch collection alongside models like the Polerouter, which has already been teased as well.

More details at Universal Genève.