Enicar Day-Date - Prismatic Crystal - The House That Wore Saturn - Circa 1970

On a July night in 1969, six hundred million people sat in the blue glow of their televisions and watched a man climb down a ladder onto the moon. The future everyone had grown up being promised was suddenly real, and the world came out of that summer dressed for it. Kitchens went harvest gold, airliners went wide-body, and color ran into everything, including the sober Swiss watch.

Enicar began in 1913, when Ariste Racine and his wife Emma Blatt opened a small watchmaking shop in La Chaux-de-Fonds. The family name was already registered to another watchmaker, so Emma, a watch technician herself, solved it by spelling Racine backwards. The company that grew from that flip of a name built its factory in Lengnau and stayed in the family. It did what few houses at its price did and made its own movements, from the mainplate up. For an emblem it reached past the earth entirely and took Saturn, and when the factory expanded in the fifties the Racines mounted a great rotating Saturn globe on the roof.

The Enicar here comes from circa 1969 to 1972, the years the world finally caught up with the house's emblem. The first thing anyone sees is the crystal. It is cut prismatic, a dome of flat facets like a gemstone, and every facet takes the dial at its own angle. Tilt the wrist and the hands double, the colors slide across the planes, and the whole face reassembles itself.

Under it the dial runs two-tone, burgundy at the flanks and a warm champagne patina down the center, with a 24-hour scale in small numerals riding the outer band. Saturn floats above the Enicar name. The day and date sit stepped in black frames at three, and a slim gold sweep hand counts the seconds. The face has stayed sharp, its printing crisp.

Behind the dial sits Enicar's own caliber 167, a 21-jewel automatic built in the Lengnau factory and guarded by Incabloc shock protection.

The case is brushed stainless steel in the cushion shape of its day, polished along the bevels and sides. The caseback is engraved with a shark leaping up to take a bite out of Saturn. The steel shows scratches and honest wear from its decades. It rides on a chocolate brown leather strap with cream stitching. All of it is in the photographs.

This vintage Enicar runs and keeps time. Service history is unknown. The two-tone burgundy and warm patina dial has stayed sharp, its printing crisp. The dial has a couple scratches, there is some touchup around the edges. The brushed stainless steel case shows scratches and honest wear from its decades. Please review all photos carefully, as they are a part of the listing. As with all vintage watches, accuracy, power reserve, and water resistance are not guaranteed, and periodic service may be required. All sales final.

Terms: Please review all photos carefully as they are a part of the listing. This is a vintage timepiece. Accuracy, power reserve, and water resistance are not guaranteed. Vintage watches may require periodic service. Performance can vary with wear, temperature, and position.

All sales final.