LNOS Enicar Sherpa Guide MK1 'Riveted bracelet' Pilot's watch

The Racine family was already well-known in the watchmaking hub of Jura as early as the 1700s, and in 1870 Jules Racine manufactured pocket watches under the family name. By the time young Ariste Racine entered the family business and wanted to start his own brand, the name "Racine" was already trademarked. So he decided to turned it back wise and call his brand “Enicar”. Drawing from the needs of mountaineers and explorers, Enicar launched their Sherpa line, developing various sports models through the 1960s. Seapearl watches by Enicar were strapped to the wrists of the members of a Swiss expedition to the summit of Mt. Everest in 1956. Taking the name from the rugged, heroic Sherpa guides who escorted (and in many instances carried) European explorers to the summit, Enicar renamed their Seapearl line to Sherpa. During the 1960s, over 100 different models of Sherpa were released, for every conceivable sport. 1958 saw the launch of the Sherpa dive watches. Enicar adopted the Super Compressor case design manufactured by Ervin Piquerez S.A. (EPSA) from the 1950s to the 1970s. The case design was used by many brands from Girard-Perregaux and Bulova to (perhaps most famously) Longines and Jaeger-LeCoultre. The SuperCompressor cases came in two sizes, 36mm (the Super-Divette, featured here) and 41mm. In 1964, Enicar introduced the new two-crown models based on the automatic caliber AR1145 movement.

 

Enicar’s Sherpa Guide started off as a single crown watch, culminating in the two models with bezels, the Sherpa GMT and Sherpa World Time of the early 1960’s. The AR1126 caliber allowed two crown functionality and restyling of these watches. At about this time, Enicar changed the Saturn logo, from ENICAR embedded within Saturn to Saturn above ENICAR, and one of the first two crown models produced was the Guide.

 

The new Sherpa Guide with two crowns was a larger watch with Supertest calibre AR 1126, with 30 jewels. Enicar registered the name Guide on 2 May 1960.  At 44mm diameter, but again with Dauphine hands, this model has different indexes, a crescent moon 24h hand, and both the old embedded ENICAR logo (on early production models like this MK1) and the new Saturn above ENICAR logo on the watch.

 

The first Guide models came to the market in the early 1960s. They came in a dark and a cream dial version. This example here presents a cream-silver sunburst dial. The Guide was probably the top model of an entire Pilot watch or Fliegeruhr model range (initially Stewardess, Steward, GMT, Guide, and later Jet, Super Jet, Jet Graph / Pilote). Essential features of these early versions were: Dauphine hands, crescent moon 24h pointer shape, stepped index markers, and thin crowns. All correct within this example presented here.

SuperCompressor cases are notable for their spring-loaded case backs, with bayonet closing, which actually tighten when exposed to higher pressures underwater. The dual crowns at 2 and 4 o'clock (one to set the time and the other to control the inner diver's rotating bezel) are another of its most noticeable features. The case backs of Super Compressor divers often bore EPSA's dive helmet logo, as this one also does in the inside. This one shows clearly all of the printings, as the whole case remains unpolished, something quite difficult on these as they tend to fade away or be polished out.

 

The tritium hour plots on the dial and the striped tritium dauphine hands have an even patina.

 

The red crescent-moon hand preserves a bright red original color.

 

The inner rotating bezel is in perfect condition and contrasts beautifully with the mint silver sunburst dial.

 

It comes on a very rare original riveted Enicar bracelet in stainless steel that is very tight with no stretch at all.

 

The watch has been fully serviced by our professional watchmaker for the first time in its life, showing unworn pinions through the AR1126 automatic Enicar caliber, running smoothly and accurately.

 

 In our honest opinion, this is the best and most beautiful example of an Enicar Sherpa Guide MK1 out there, so don’t let it go.

 

A true pilot’s watch.