The ABCS of Enicar’s “Graph” Chronographs
The ABCS of Enicar's "Graph" Chronographs
Enicar. A watchmaker with a rich history we don’t hear much about, yet has produced legendary watches. Among them, chronograph tools from the “Graph” family that are making a come-back in recent years.
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Back to the roots with the Racine Family
In the beginning of the adventure, there was the Racine Family, whose passion for new discoveries and engineering would encourage Ariste Racine and wife to their luck with watchmaking in 1913. As “Racine” already existed as a brand name, Ariste opted for the anagram version of their family name and “Enicar” was born.
From the end of WWII, Enicar became supporter in watches for exploration and extreme sports. In combining function and marketing, Enicar would release gems that were as comfortable on an expedition up Mount Everest or speeding on the race track.
The “Graph” Family of chronographs
THE SHERPA
Exploding onto the scene in 1960, thanks to star car racing drivers such as Stirling Moss and Jim Clark, the first “Mark I” model released had an internal bezel and real Sword hands which would disappear shortly after due to production difficulties. This is where Skeleton and Lollipop hands made their grand entrance.
Other versions would be produced, Mark II, III, and IV, showing variations in hands, logo, engraving, and tachymeter scale, but all with a Valjoux 72 movement, complete with column wheel and a special patented “Bayonnet” case, often with a deep-sea diver on the case back.
THE AQUA
In the mid-1960’s the “Aqua,” “Jet,” or “Super” Graphs appeared with a brand new external and rotating bezel. The Aqua Graph had the soul of the Sherpa Graph with square Lollipop hands and Arrow hands in the sub-counters. The main feature was their double bezel: a large one graduated for 60 minutes, then a very fine red one with an arrow indicator.
Enicar would produce several other variations of the model with different bezel graduations and hands. With time the presence of rectangular Lollipop hands would slowly wane.
THE JET
A model adored for its unique bezel, graduated for 24 hours of a GMT function, and above all for its other 24-hour hand. The watch remains a rare piece, but the most popular ones are with Baton hour hands and a triangular seconds hand. A Rallye hand pointed toward the bezel remains the most charming in our opinion, and is one of the hardest to come by.
The movement, as housed by the other members of the family, is a Valjoux, but this time the 724, slightly modifying the GMT function.
Beautiful proportions in the image of their bezels and superb movements, these are relatively rare pieces, authentic chronograph tools that express a genuine sense of identity. Quite honestly, we don’t see that every day.
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