Vintage Enicar
enicar sherpa guide mkii
'THE sunburst DIALLED GMT'
The Enicar Sherpa Guide is a marvellous watch in its own right. Big, bold and functional.
A watch that in my opinion actually looks more like a divers watch given the size.
Its actual intention and purpose is that of a pilots watch hence the GMT complication within the movement and visually shown on the dial with the extra hand.
The bezel could be adjusted to match the GMT hand thus giving the watch 2 time zones at the same time.
The Guide came in four Marks starting in the 1960's and was produced in large numbers. It is still one of the easiest higher end Enicar watches to obtain on the market, but be warned as they do come in a mish match of quality.
The watches maintained the original long lug case all the way through to the Mark IV which in my opinion is more subtle than the other 3 Marks as it has a short lug cushion case and fits on the wrist with less bulk.
There were 3 different calibres within the Guides. The Mark I sported the AR1126 which was in fact a Super Test movement, this was Enicars own version of a so called chronometer. The rest of the Guides would sport either an AR1146 or an AR166
The Guides also came in a wash of different coloured dials, hands, and inner bezels. One tip that people should watch out for is that some times inner bezels from Sherpa Jets and have been married into certain Guides and this is not correct.
Crowns on the Guides also differed between Marks from thick waffles, short waffles and normal crowns. This being said they did all contain the Enicar logo.
Hands also ranged from dauphine, baton and the later white stick hands.
The GMT on the early Mark I was crescent moon shaped, the Mark II dropped this for a stick GMT hand with a yellow tip. Moving on to the Mark III and IV it became chequered in red and black.
The most common and easily obtained Guide dial is in black. There are however rarer golden sunburst dials as seen above. I have also seen dials in blue and white.
Overall the Enicar Sherpa Guide is a wonderful tool watch that should be held in any Enicar collectors arsenal.
Big and bold as previously mentioned and defiantly a conversation starter.
Enicar advertising of the Sherpa Guide
Enicar advertising of the Sherpa Guide
Enicar advertising of the Sherpa Guide
As mentioned above there were four main versions of the Sherpa Guide released. Below you will the 4 versions and their visual differences.
Which one do you prefer?
MKI
MKII
MKIII
MKIV
Stats:
Ref: 146-001
Baton hands // Single lolly pop seconds
43mm // EPSA Seapearl case
22mm // lugs
Waffle short crown // Enicar logo
World time bidirectional rotating bezel
enicar sherpa super graph
'THE unicorn'
Originally released in the mid to later 1960's the Super Graph has to be the rarest of all the Sherpa Graph models. Intended to be used for sports shooting or marksmen, this is the Graph that is more commonly referred to as the Grail or Unicorn. It simply is that rare.
The Super Graph shares the same reference 072-02-02 as the Aqua Graph. Considering this I personally believe it would be a logical assumption to make that Enicar used the same case as the Aqua Graph.
The main difference in question is the unique bezel with a mat finish and reversed counter. The few examples I have seen out there appear more shiny in appearance but this is due to aging.
I have also noticed 2 different types of Super Graph bezels. The minute markers on the one above do not go all the way to the inside of the bezel where as the other version differs slightly with the markers flowing all the way to the inside of the bezel as seen on the images below.
The Super Graph has an all black dial complete with traditional paddle hands with orange tips.
pencil style register hands and a red lolly pop sweeper.
Considering the intended use of this chronograph it still sports a waffle crown with Enicar logo. & a Sherpa 300 case back marked 072-02-02
Enicar advertising of the Super Graph
Enicar advertising of the Super Graph
Enicar advertising of the Super Graph
Another very special Super Graph can be seen below belonging to chronyves79 on Instagram.
This sports a totally unique bezel design and added lume dots to the dial itself!
Stats:
Ref: 072-02-02
Paddle hands // Single lolly pop seconds
40mm // EPSA Sherpa 300 case
20mm // lugs
Waffle crown // Enicar logo
Mat grey bidirectional rotating bezel
enicar sherpa ultradive mk1
'THE DOUBLE LOLLY POP'
Originally released in the 1960's, this is the most sought after of all of the Enicar divers watches.
The MK1 Ultradive featured the typical EPSA Supercompressor case delivered with an added crown guard in order for the user to not get snagged while in use.
Powered by the infamous Enicar AR 1145 caliber this automatic power house certainly packaged a punch
with a rotating inner bezel that would only operate once the top crown was pulled out
It could be easily set by the user without risk of it been moved during dives
Another unique feature to the Ultradive was the second hand which is now more commonly known as 'the double lolly pop'
Original 1960's Enicar advertising of the Ultradive
Enicar advertising of the Ultradive & Sherpa Ops
Another interesting fact about the Ultradive is that although it looks identical for a case prospective to the Sherpa Ops there are key differences inside.
The Ultradive (above left) movement holder is very different to that of the Sherpa Ops (above right).
The Sherpa Ops has a much thicker movement holder locking the movement into the case. The Ultradive is using a much thinner version also seen in the Sherpa Guide models.
The differences do not end there. The Sherpa Ops also sports 'the suspense' system (below middle).
This consisted of 3 small rubber solid tubes that were positioned between the movement holder and the case in order to provide a shock absorber for the watch. Considering the Ultradive and Sherpa Ops are very similar this is key feature that makes them difference.
Stats:
Ref: 145.35.03
Baton hands // double lolly pop seconds
40mm // EPSA Supercompressor case
20mm // lugs
Crown guard // cross haired doubles
Inner bidirectional rotating bezel
enicar sherpa graph mk3
'THE leone'
Released in the 1960's the Sherpa Graph Mark 3 was the third Graph marvel from Enicar
All of the elements contained are the same as any MK3 Graph apart from one very special addition
As you can see the Tachymetre is replaced with a very strange inner bezel.
The intent was for film editors to be able to correctly edit their reels with the use of their watch
I only know of 2 other Graphs accompanied with the same Tachy although I believe they were intended for the Asian market as the numbers increased in 48 (24 frames)
This Graph runs in increments of 50 (25 frames) which I assume is more for Western intent
This truly is a grail of a watch and fully deserves its added nickname 'The Leone' taken after the late director Sergio Leone
Below is an example of one of the other known examples
featuring the 24 frames inner bezel
Below is an extract of information regarding the other known Sherpa Graph also featuring the 24 frame Tachy
Film 35 mm wide with four perforations per frame (4-perf) became accepted as the international standard gauge in 1909, and remained the dominant film gauge for image capture and projection until the advent of digital photography and cinematography, despite challenges from smaller and larger gauges.
2-perf or Techniscope is a 35mm motion picture camera film format introduced by Technicolor Italia in 1960. The Techniscope format used a two film-perforation negative pulldown per frame, instead of the standard four-perforation frame. It had several advantages and was attractive for several reasons, mostly as 2-perf doubles the number of minutes per 1000ft can of film.
2-perf was used with great effect by James Cameron to shoot the actual Titanic wreck for the movie Titanic in 1997. (It was later digitally converted to 4-perf Super-35). The advantage was the longer running time possible on the camera loads while submerged for such a long time diving down to the wreck.
During its period of heavy use, between 1960–1980, more than 350 films were photographed in Techniscope, the first of which was The Pharaoh’s Woman, released in December 1960. Given the considerable savings in production cost, but lesser image quality, Techniscope was primarily an alternative format used by low-budget horror and western filmmakers. Since the format originated in Italy, most Techniscope format films were European productions, including the so called spaghetti westerns, A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965) and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
So the cinematographer using this Enicar Sherpa Graph stopwatch (vintage about 1961) could easily see how many frames he had shot at 24 frames per second, and how many feet of film he had used at 45.0 feet per minute.
Stats:
Ref: 2342
Paddle hands // Lolly pop seconds
40mm case // EPSA caseback
20mm // lugs
Valjoux 72 hand wound movement
unique inner film editing tachy
enicar sherpa DIVER 600
RED LOLLY POP
Originally released in the 1950's the first line of Sherpa 600's were tested by the US Navy
The model in question is a later edition to the line released in the 1960's
This model also included an EPSA waterproof case with the special bayonet feature which was designed that the deeper you go the more water tight the watch would become
With a bidirectional rotating bezel complete with 2 lume dots this was a marvel of the time
The watch was also released in a 40mm version
The crown came in at over 6mm which I assume was designed this way to make it easier to adjust
Another wonderful feature of this watch was the single red lolly pop hand which has become highly sought after with collectors
This later version was also released with tritium unlike its radium predecessor
I guess at the time they felt is was a safer option, oh how times have changed
Below are some advertisements of the early Diver 600 models
Stats:
Diver 600 Tritium
Baton hands // Single Lolly pop seconds
36mm case // EPSA caseback
19mm // lugs
AR 1145 Automatic movement
Bidirectional bezel with red pointer
enicar sherpa star DIVER pvd
The Star Diver was introduced in the late 1960's and in my opinion was the cream of the crop of the entire Sherpa Star line
With a larger 42mm case the Star Diver came in 2 versions, the stainless-steel model and the more sought after PVD coated case
My main reason for owning this particular model is due to its originality, let me explain...
Most Enicar watches share similar features, for example you will find the same hands on a Sherpa Graph and Aqua Graph, a Sherpa Guide inner bezel can be the same as a Jet bezel and so on
The Star Diver however is quite unique in this department & contained the following original features only seen on this watch
An original unidirectional bezel, short arrow style hands, a sapphire domed crystal & a screw down crown
I totally adore this watch and could not recommend it enough. I have actually known of collectors selling theirs only to buy it again at a later date
Original 1960's advertising
A rare orange dial addition, one that I have never seen in person
My only gripe with the Star Diver is that it came with a screw case back instead of an EPSA bayonet style,
I would love to know the reasons for this design choice considering the other Enicar diver range of watches all come armed with an EPSA caseback
Stats:
Ref: 147.05.02
Arrow hands // Single Lolly pop seconds
42mm case
20mm // lugs
AR 167 Automatic movement
Unidirectional bezel // screw crown
enicar grapho-matic
The Graphomatic was one of the few Enicar watches released without an in-house movement
Enicar sported the Lemania 1340 automatic chronograph for this early 1970's model. The movement is a true workhorse used by many other Swiss brands of the time including Tissot & Omega.
The example to the left is NOS and still includes the wax seal on the back which I have never wanted to remove
The Graphomatic comes with a very busy dial which I find very fitted to the era although some find the dial too much to take in. With a wash of colours this is one watch that demands serious wrist presence.
I actually do not know a massive amount about the purpose of this watch so certainly won't claim to but from an atmospheric prospective it certainly is an eye opener
The Graphomatic came with a choice of 3 different chronograph arrow hands.
Yellow, white and red
A 1970's advertisement of the Graphomatic
Copyright Time For A Change, Discovering Vintage Enicar
Stats:
Ref: 134.01.02
Busy dial // Orange & Yellow chrono hands
39mm case // screw caseback
20mm // lugs
Lemania 1340 Automatic movement
Inner Tachymetre // 12 hour chronograph