Amongst the list of watchmakers who weren’t lucky enough to make it out of the Quartz Crisis lies the name of perhaps one of watchmaking's most important companies, Universal Geneve. While they were revived and currently produce watches, their vintage pre-Quartz Crisis offerings are by far their most valuable and sought-after, and we are lucky enough to have one of those watches, the Tri-Compax "Evil Calpton" ref. 88101/2. Named after Eric Clapton, who became known for wearing the silver panda dial version of the TriCompax, the 'Evil' variant is distinguishable thanks to its black reverse panda dial. Featuring a 37mm case with twisted lyre lugs like those on the Speedmaster, the Tri-Compax is comfortable on the wrist, with its silhouette making a familiar profile on the wrist for any vintage chronograph aficionado. Featuring a black bezel to match its dial, this chronograph is an intensely stylish ensemble. Powered by the manual wind cal. 281 movement, the Tri-Compax features a running seconds subdial at 9 o'clock, a 12-hour chronograph subdial at 6 o'clock, a 30-minute chronograph subdial at 3 o'clock, and most interestingly a pointer date subdial complete with a moonphase indicator at 12 o’clock, which combines with the model’s three other subdials to create a wonderfully balanced display that caps off this iconic watch with a unique presence on the wrist thanks to its abundance of information and stylish design.

An elusive variant and an iconic model in general, the Evil Clapton ref. 88101/2 is an icon amongst Universal Geneve chronographs.