Alain Delon’s Ultra Dive

[jbcollier]

They just keep coming

Alain Delon’s Ultradive

You remember the pics of Ed Sheeran (klick here) where we can see him wearing an Enicar Sherpa Ultradive on stage in 2019? Nothing against Ed, but there was an icon 50 years before him, who had a s…

enicar101.com

Thanks for all the research!

 

[Enicarfan]

Per JimJupiter's Instagram account, looks like Alain Delon's Ultradive was bequeathed to his son Anthony Delon and wasn't auctioned off with the rest of Alain Delon's watches in 2012!

Thanks again for all the research!

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

 

[JimJupiter]

Thats correct. I still try to get in contact with Anthony to find out more, fingers crossed. In one of his older statements, he also showed the bespoken watch. Ladies and Gents, thats the real Alain Delon Ultradive

 

[Hugger69]

Thats correct. I still try to get in contact with Anthony to find out more, fingers crossed. In one of his older statements, he also showed the bespoken watch. Ladies and Gents, thats the real Alain Delon Ultradive

View attachment 5627

So cool!
I do see something that differs from my own UD and thats the triangle pointer at 12 on the bezel, which in my case is lumed and on Alains UD it is black without any lumen at all!
Is this just another version of bezel that the UD could have come with or has the lumen disappeared on on just that spot on Alains watch?

 

[DubbelUIam]

A little bit of "sharp" four( 40) and " round three (30) for an Enicar UD? Does the Alain Delon has a replacement, not original bezel?

 

[Joe_A]

A little bit of "sharp" four( 40) and " round three (30) for an Enicar UD? Does the Alain Delon has a replacement, not original bezel?

Good eyes, DubbelUlam.

Taking a quick look on the Net, Hugger's UD has the expected font and the A-D watch does not. That and the lack of lume seems to suggest at least the possibility of a replacement or reprinted bezel on the A-D watch.

 

[Enicarfan]

I think there could be potentially multiple variations on the timing bezel ring? In Alain Delon's watch I think that simply the tritium may have fallen off during a servicing.

I have a Ultradive Mk 1 and it looks more similar to Hugger69's model, but the hands are different. The minutes hand doesn't have lume all the way down the middle and the seconds hand isn't a double lollipop and has a red lollipop. Also, the timing ring itself looks white on some models, but on my model its got more of a metallic look and seems to be made from an aluminum-like material.

I think the later timing bezel rings had neon orange colors which I'm personally not super keen on. I like the earlier Ultradives more for their classic, understated looks and I'm personally not much into 70's design as much as classic mid-century design which seemed to have ended by the late 1960's, but each to their own.

In any case JimJupiter, please let us know if you learn more to the story!

 

[Gopher]

The A-D watch looks remarkably clean given the amount of wear it appears to have received based on all the photos. Could very well have replaced parts.

 

[jbcollier]

Low-res photos but they do show the some with a black index mark on the bezel:

https://thespringbar.com/blogs/guides/enicar-sherpa-diver-2-crown-models/#SHERPA_ULTRADIVE

Not the different number font though...

 

[Hugger69]

Low-res photos but they do show the some with a black index mark on the bezel:

https://thespringbar.com/blogs/guides/enicar-sherpa-diver-2-crown-models/#SHERPA_ULTRADIVE

Not the different number font though...

I´ve seen that also and thats why I popped the question, could there be versions without lumen on the triangle?

 

[JimJupiter]

I´ve seen that also and thats why I poped the question, could there be versions without lumen on the triangle?

there could, but to me it doesnt make sense on a dive watch. Often the lume job on a service part was done at the sales or service point back in the 60/70s. So maybe these service parts were delivered blank, and lumed later. Allthough the round three still is a concern and I havnt found a similar one in my datebase.

Another one with black, unlumed triangle:

 

[Hugger69]

there could, but to me it doesnt make sense on a dive watch. Often the lume job on a service part was done at the sales or service point back in the 60/70s. So maybe these service parts were delivered blank, and lumed later. Allthough the round three still is a concern and I havnt found a similar one in my datebase.

Another one with black, unlumed triangle:

View attachment 5631

Sounds like a possible explanation!
Btw, the figure 1 in the “10” and the ”5” in ”50” has another font as well where my UD has a straight “I” and the A-D has a “1” and my “5” has a flat bottom and the other a round one!

 

[Joe_A]

I am focused on the font differences now as well.

The 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 on the A-D "bespoke" watch bezel are different from all the UD watches I've search for so far. The 1, 3 and 4 are the most obvious I would suppose. The flat topped 3 versus the rounded top 3 stands out.

I'm thinking the bezel on the "bespoke" A-D watch shown here has been reprinted or substituted from a later watch.

Sherpa watches uses the later font style as well.

The Enicar Sherps Ops uses the later font with the rounded 3 top.

 

[HorologyBiology]

I'm with Joe on this one, I think its a reprint as every detail is totally different to the original.

The typeface of the numbers, the triangle doesn't print all the way to the edge, the divider lines don't print all the way to the edge either. The triangle is also too thin and should be more stubby. The triangle also should not come to a sharp point either!!

Why would this one be unique so to speak, yet all the rest are the same as each other, minus the lume on the triangle which blatantly has come away as they all show micro amounts of evidence.

Reprint for sure and not a good one I'm sorry to say

 

[Hugger69]

I am focused on the font differences now as well.

The 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 on the A-D "bespoke" watch bezel are different from all the UD watches I've search for so far. The 1, 3 and 4 are the most obvious I would suppose. The flat topped 3 versus the rounded top 3 stands out.

I'm thinking the bezel on the "bespoke" A-D watch shown here has been reprinted or substituted from a later watch.

Sherpa watches uses the later font style as well.

The Enicar Sherps Ops uses the later font with the rounded 3 top.

The 4 is the same I guess on both versions but the 5 is very obvious different!

Bit my MKI OPS has the same fonts as my UD and has a flat top on the 3 as well so I think the differs MK has different fonts!?

 

[DubbelUIam]

Somewhere I read that the grail Paul Newman Rolex panda Daytona, wich was sold at at an auction for 17. Million $, has a replacement Singer dial. So, even with the replacement reprint bezel, it's still the one and only, one of a kind, Alain Delon "bezel" watch. Very curious which price this Enicar could reach at an auction?

 

[Enicarfan]

Hard to say. I wouldn't say Enicar is a well known brand (like Rolex for example) and is still pretty under-the-radar, so I don't know if it would fetch for a lot at the moment. That could very well change as people learn more about the brand and Enicar's offerings, but for now I don't know if it would be close to any celebrity-owned AP, Patek, Omega, Rolex etc.

Rolex's vintage sports models such as the Daytona were already becoming quite popular with watch collectors by the late 80's and 90's and the fact that Paul Newman wore one, only helped fuel demand for these models and vintage watches in general.

Outside of watch enthusiasts in the know, the average watch fan hasn't even heard of Enicar. All it would take though would be a Hodinkee 'Talking Watches' episode with Ed Sheeran (who owns an Ultradive) to turn much more attention to the brand. We'll see if that ever happens...