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Yema "Northern Star"-the first analog quartz Worldtime watch

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cybr

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Yema "Northern Star"-the first analog quartz Worldtime watch

Post03 Oct 2016, 22:51

Hi all,
It is a very rare occasion when a watch (hi)story like the following one may be told to the collectors ring - The rarest Yema's "Northern Star" Worldtime Quartz story and also my latest acquisition: :)
Note:this is not a photo of my watch - it is from the only private auction site that have sold such a watch in the last years! I will post real photos as soon as posible...
yema_northern_star.jpg

"1. Everything has started in 1876 when the Legend told us that Sir Sandford Fleming after missing a train in Ireland began to look for a way to standardize time. Speaking before the Royal Canadian Institute in Toronto in 1879, he proposed to divide the Earth into 24 time zones of 15° one hour apart with a universal time for each individual zone.
2. Fleming’s contribution to the creation of the World Time watch does not stop with the creation of the world’s first system of standardized time. Sir Sandford Fleming went further than that. In 1880, Fleming commissioned a watch manufacturer in London to construct a unique pocket watch that would accurately reflect his proposal, and so was born the “Cosmic Time” pocket watch.
3.World Time watches were invented, as is the case with most innovation, out of necessity. With the advent of the industrial age came the means necessary to facilitate global trade and travel and, as a direct result, there was a need for timekeeping devices capable of tracking time in multiple locations."
4. Vacheron Constantin and Louis Cottier

The history between Vacheron Constantin and the Cottier family is a long one. The father Emmanuel, also a watchmaker, had set up his workshop in Carouge just outside of Geneva and had been creating automatons and clocks for Vacheron Constantin since the early 20th Century and upon his passing his son Louis continued his work.
The relationship between the Cottier family and Vacheron Constantin was so strong that in a letter dated March 3, 1930 Louis Cottier wrote to Charles Constantin “I would like to enter your manufacture before undertaking other steps elsewhere…” The world was in the midst of the 1929 crash and business was not good, Vacheron Constantin could not hire Cottier but this did not stop the two parties from working together closely.
It is around that period in 1930/1931 that Cottier designed a movement featuring a local time with hour and minute hands at center, linked to a rotating 24hour ring, and bordered by a fixed outer dial ring with the names of different cities inscribed on it. The city of choice (local time zone) was placed at the 12 o'clock position with the hours/minutes hand set at local time, the watch would then display the correct time in both hours and minutes, night and day, for every time zone in the world simultaneously, all the while allowing easy and accurate reading of local time, and all on a single dial."
One may read more - beyond the above excerpt - on this fascinating history of early Worldtime watches on:
http://www.thehourlounge.com/en/vachero ... rld-timers[/color][/b]

5.The Agassiz - Louis Cottier 1946 Worldtime- the first Wristwatch with World time in history:
"Louis Cottier, the celebrated watchmaker from Geneva, invented and patented this design. He made world time watches for Geneva's most famous firms including Patek Philippe, Rolex, Vacheron & Constantin, and Agassiz. His production totaled only 455 movements for world time pocket watches, wristwatches, and clocks, produced at an average rate of 13 pieces per year. His work is easily recognizable by the distinctive shape of the hour hand.
At the request of a group of citizens of Geneva who wanted to express their thanks to the Allies at the end of the Second World War, Louis Cottier produced four world time dress watches for Agassiz in 1946 with gold and enamel-decorated cases.They were presented to Winston Churcill, President Harry Truman, Joseph Stalin and General De Gaulle"
Please read more at:
http://www.bogoff.com/wrist/6238.html
agassiz_1946_6238A.jpg


6. After this Agassiz -the first wristwatch with WorldTime in the world :), designed by Louis Cottier, a man which was a bold designer of other also unique watches
http://www.chronomania.net/forum/forum_ ... _KzeMkpoht
some other big watchmakers produced in early 50's, limited numbers of Worldtime wristwaches: e.g Breitling Unitime, Tissot Navigator World Time etc etc
http://www.matthewbaininc.com/watch-details/1424
http://hodinkee.squarespace.com/blog/20 ... world.html
In the 1960-1970, some other watchmakers - and this time not only the most expensive ones - produced similar watches: e.g Edox Geoscope, Enicar Sherpa 600 etc etc
http://largevintagewatches.blogspot.ro/ ... timer.html

7. In 1969, the Yema watch company, produced an outstanding piece of watchmaking, the Yema WorldGraf (Patent Pend), with a design somehow different from all other Worldtime watches:
https://sites.google.com/site/yemaniase ... annee-1969
worldg10.jpg


8. Some years after the Yema Worldgraf, the rarest Yema "Northern Star" Quartz appeared as an unique (anniversary?) Yema's tribute to the early Worldtime Agassiz (e.g. please see a comparison from the above photos between the Agassiz and Yema day-night inner disk and the external world towns dial), Breitling Unitime etc and early Yema WORLDGRAF watches, but for the first time with a quartz movement!
One of the the main Yema experts from Yema saga blog online claimed that this Yema Worldtime Quartz watch is from 1973 - a year that I really doubt to be accurate, but for sure it is the first Quartz watch with Hands, having also a World Time Dial!.
Its chronology, according to the Yema Saga blog may be seen on the below URL:

"1973 A l'occasion de son 25ème anniversaire, Yema produit la Worldtime à quartz. Elle est dotée d'un disque pour les fuseaux horaires et les grandes villes du monde."
https://sites.google.com/site/yemaniach ... -horlogere

Best regards,
:dwf:
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Every watch should have its own story...consequently, a watch collector has to be a good storyteller :)
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Kasper

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Re: Yema "Northern Star"-the first analog quartz Worldtime w

Post10 Oct 2016, 20:37

I'm impressed...great historical info..thx. These stories keep feeding my mind and make me happy :-D
Indeed the Yema Worldgraf is super nice.

I always have to find the time to read it all but i'm never disappointed..thx for the contribution.
:dwf:
Hey you all...this board is FREE and without ADS, so at least post something every now and then to show your appreciation.


Get the latest active topics of the board here.
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- Kasper -
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SASM

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Re: Yema "Northern Star"-the first analog quartz Worldtime w

Post14 Oct 2016, 07:50

This posting made me search yema watches - a brand name I haven´t heard before. Personally I think they had bad watch designers. What I really like are the 24 Windows of the WorldGraf. It looks so strange that the design is good again :o
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cybr

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Re: Yema "Northern Star"-the first analog quartz Worldtime w

Post15 Oct 2016, 23:27

Thank You both for the replies,

@SASM: As You know: "De gustibus et coloribus non disputandum est", but I dare to say that Yema had some very interesting watches with some particular/unique design and functions (e.g. first watch designed to determine directions at the North Pole - where a magnetic compass won't work properly, based on the Sun's position - Yema Polaire line!), some of them closely related to the French North/South Pole Expeditions (Yema Polaire), French Space Exploration (famous Yema Astronaut series) or older major French Globetrotters Expeditions (Yema Superman - 1963). One may have a look at their major lines of watches design during time at this Yema Saga excellent website:
https://sites.google.com/site/yemaniasaga/

Anyway, Yema has its very active ring of fans/collectors (it's true that many of them are from France), ready to pay - for example - about 1000 Euro for a mint Yema Superman Automatic, with a FE (French Ebauches) 4611 (not Valjoux! :grin1: ) movement :o
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Yema-Superman-2 ... 2353051613
OR ready to battle on Ebay and to bid up to 640 Euro (29 bids) for a quite common Yema Superman II Quartz etc etc :grin1:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SUPERBE-YEMA-SU ... 2171011103
thus, how many not very famous Watch Brands (like Yema or maybe Meister Anker, for example) do You know to reach such high prices for their quite common/not very rare watches? :-D
It seems there are quite many people that really like the design/functions/history of those Yema watches, so again: "De gustibus et coloribus non disputandum est"!
Regards,
:dwf:
Every watch should have its own story...consequently, a watch collector has to be a good storyteller :)
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cybr

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Re: Yema "Northern Star"-the first analog quartz Worldtime w

Post09 Oct 2021, 22:12

After I bought with a lot of luck an ultrarare Yema Northern Star - practically the first Quartz Worldtime(r) Analog watch in history (mid 70s), I would have imagined that I will go after next best, for example the Hamilton 8984 Worldtimer, that is trying hard to resemble the The Agassiz - Louis Cottier 1946 Worldtime watch - presented above in the posts, or at least something similar :-D
Image from https://watchcharts.com/listing/565373/hamilton-8984-worldtimer-38mm-swiss-vintage-rare-world-time-quartz-watch
Image
But instead I bought what I consider now as being one of the most "seductive" present day watches in the Quartz Worldtime(r) side, the Swiss Military Hanowa WorldTimer.
Image from horlogeloods.nl:
Image
It has a full 24H Swiss Made/NOT Swiss Parts!!! Quartz Ronda 505.24H movement - by the way, a not very elitist but a very reliable 24H quartz movement :), but the watch has an All Stainless Steel (316L?) case, an extra 24H HOUR HAND!, a Sapphire Crystal glass, 2 CROWNS at 2 and 4 o"clock, black leather strap, dedicated box and papers AND A BEAUTIFUL DIAL!!! etc etc :mega:
And I bought it brand new, with 2 years seller's warranty and all the papers at a very competitive price :-D - after a serious price reduction from the online seller :mega:
Here it is an Youtube video of the watch (it is not my video):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdSargBZIHY
...and a panoramic image from facebook.com: :eek:
Image
What is Your opinion about this watch?...may You present similar Quartz WorldTime(r)/GMT -with a second Hour hand etc watches from the past 40 years, e.g. the ones like the 70s Yema presented above?
Thanks in advance for your kind sharing of opinions and Worldtimer(s) watch presentations...
:dwf:
Every watch should have its own story...consequently, a watch collector has to be a good storyteller :)

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