ENICAR Seapearl 600 or Healthlands 100 Fathom – The Enigmatic Watch from the Un-loved Swiss Maker

[foxint@foxint.com.au]

To get the ball rolling – here is a post I have used a few times. It sometimes sparks some interest. The last time it failed but the times before it was good…but here goes.

I am embarrassed. I like dive watches, I make dive watches, I live 400km inland from the seas, I do not dive, and I have bugger all dive watches. I was planning to show you my Enicar Divette – but it was in a sorry state and I decided no.

Why not one of my favourites the Enciar Seapearl 600? I wrote this piece in 2016 (according the to file properties – but I thought it was earlier) … here it is with some revisions. I can be a little verbose, but please indulge me. I still think Enicar is as good as Omega and (dare I say it) Rolex but vary underrated.

Enigmatic Enicar, because, although Enicar is relatively unknown and unloved the Seapearl 600 or Healthlands 100 Fathom brings a surprisingly large amount of interest among collectors.

100 Fathoms is about 183m or 600 feet hence the name.

It has the humble AR1010 a 17-jewel manual winding movement, but later versions did have the AR1120 & 1140 an equally robust and unbreakable movement, but still manual wind. Enicar from the early 1960’s made the own movements designated by AR. The most famous the Ruby rotor autos AR1125/1145/165/167, that became the basis for the Chronoswiss movements.

Of all the Enicar watches, this is perhaps (aside from some complications) one of the most desirable. Why, I really do not know. You either like the overly complex dial, the bayonet closure and the lugs or you hate them.

I like it but deciding between the Seapearl and the Healthlands variant is difficult.

I understand Heathlands is a US based diving association. The watch was marketed in their diving publications. Little else is known about the watch, and I cannot find many references to its depth rating (aside from the name), or anything other than it exists and was marketed as a diving watch. Old marketing and advertising material is both scare and in my humble opinion under rates the watch.

Personally it looks unlike any diving watch and from its appearance, it looks rather useless. Perhaps a “desk diver”. It was (as I assume) good for 183m and that was good for the time, not having a movable bezel not ideal, but this was early days for diving watches.

Most examples came with the quarter turn bayonet styled case. Made by EPSA Ervin Gustave Piquerez until going bankrupt in the mid-1970’s. They sold their Compressor and Super Compressor cases to many high-end watch companies including Omega, Lemania. Hamilton, Droz, JLC

The Compressor and Compressor 2 Cases have snap-on backs and the Super Compressor has a screw-on. The former being found in dress and the later in diver watches.

The movement is good but understated. Enicar is like the famous Rally Winning Italian Marque, it is the motor equivalent of the Lancia Fulvia (1). Enicar are under rated and unloved. Most were made from stainless steel and you could not kill them.

Enicar suffered like most of the Swiss watch industry, from the Quartz movement and the Japanese. Mr Lange of Chronoswiss saw the opportunity in the early 1970’s to buy up machinery and movements, by the kilogram – yes they were selling movements by the kg. Lang bought the AR1125/45 and the AR165 (the sources are unclear), but he based his entire range on Enicar movements.

So I made my own ENICAR. I call it the Seapearl 900, using ETA 2824-2 and Rolex styled Explorer I case (36mm case) and Oyster bracelet. This is the only one in existence, and I did show this to Enicar execs, suggesting they should re-launch this model. No response. If I did make it seriously I would re-brand it OWC and make some minor changes.

But for me it holds a special attraction.


History of ENICAR:

The story of the Manufacture d'Horlogerie Enicar S.A. started in 1914, with the watchmaker Ariste Racine responsible for the foundation of the watch factory in La Chaux-de-Fonds. The business objective was the production of lever watches with a wide palette of movements ranging from 4 to 17 ligne.

But Racine did not stay long in the Jura uplands; by the mid-twenties the firm had its headquarters in Lengnau. Here Racine specialized in sports watches under his trademark, AR, framed in a pentagon. Finished movements without cases were also exported to the New World. In around 1962, Enicar took up the production of its own automatic movements. Calibres in the 112x (11 1/2"') and 114x (11 3/4"') series were called "Rubirotor".

The "Sherpa" name given to hard-wearing sports watches has a more precise connotation. In 1956, members of a Swiss Himalayan expedition relied on Enicar timepieces, and their expectations were fully met. From then on, the Enicar collection included such models as the "Sherpa Time", "Sherpa Ultradive", "Sherpa Star", "Sherpa Jet" and "Sherpa" chronographs in various executions. Although we know the Rolex Explorer went up Everest, we did not know about the Enicar – perhaps the marketing guys were asleep.


Other Interesting Bits:

Enicar is Racine spelt backwards. Jules Racine and Ariste Racine were cousins and were related to the Gallet watch makers. Their uncle was Gallet.

There was some falling out with Uncle Gallet and Ariste went and started ENICAR and Jules became the USA distributor for Gallet watches. He also made watches under his own brand “Jules Racine”, all the examples I have found have Gallet movements (plus some AS), but I suspect Gallet made the watches for Racine.

The history of ENICAR is very scarce. I have gained most of my knowledge from buying and selling Enicar, Jules Racine and some Gallet watches. Like anyone who has been hit hard by the collecting illness, I never sell my Enicar/Racine/Gallet.

Out of this I have found a friend of the CEO of Gallet Watches, who even sends me a Christmas card. Mr Enicar, is a little harder to befriend, now being Chinese owned, but he does return some of my emails.

Met vriendelijke groeten / With best regards
Dan
ORANGE.


(1): Lancia motor car (pre-Fiat takeover). Lancia were, overly engineered, had quirky utilitarian looks, but made Rally history between 1965 and 1975. They were world class rally winner 3 years in a row – even beating the larger engine Porsche 911. The styling: you like it, or you hate it. But as a piece of motoring engineering to die for.

[Ni8rider]

Excellent read. Thanks!

[Tanukjaju]

It is individuals like you and enthusiasm for a brand like this that makes the difference between a brand disappearing having a small but strong cult following. I remember when you first shared your knowledge about enicar. I was blown away and even bought a project to restore. It was a tropical dial / movement in a case that had 2 missing lugs (conversion to a nurses watch).

[foxint@foxint.com.au]

Thanks - We must keep the passion alive....love them or hate them there is always something to love in old watches....like one's kinder - we love them "unconditionally"....

[Mellons]

super post many thanks!

[Alou]

Good and very truthful post .Enicar was well know to those who were after tool watches back then ,specially the Sherpa models used by many Mountaineers that's why it was called Sherpa.I still own a couple of them and fined them extremely well built for their time.
I believe they were the among if not the first to use a supercompressor type case.
I had a snall Enicar 38mm from 1970's that i gave it to my girlfriend to wear and still ticks with out a service!
Dont ask me about accuracy but it never went backwards or forwards enough to be noticed!

As far as Lancia was unknown to most of the world but was very famous and popular in Europe,specially in the south,
being a Lancia Collector and owner for many yeas i can confirm as you say......way beyond its time. Specially the pre Fiat years.
Once they were Elite premium cars before the Fiat takover (before 1970),Grace Kelly drove an Aurelia cabrio in the film to " catch a thief" ,they even had mechanical injection in 1950!!
At modern years the famed Delta HF was a masterpiece of engineering that has not being surpassed even today for small displacements engines.
Keep in mind also that rally cars back then were not pro-types or specially made cars that are today ,They had to come straight out of the regular production line with retail serial numbers and then converted to rallye specs ,all this process was verified by FIA.
And then the New general manager of FIAT without any reason decide to close Lancia at the peak of tits fame or re-fame ,it took almost 15 year to rebuilt its old fame.

Same goes for allot of watches ,specially from the older years!!Many companies built so many quality movements and watches not all to expensive and almost all closed and what survived was what was advertising like crazy with mediocre quality.
Imagine is watch competencies from the old Swiss (not only) school exited today with the machinery available today would have produced!


Lovely dial by the way ,perhaps you could fit it in a modern built!

[foxint@foxint.com.au]

WOW

Quality always stands the test of time. I thought this post was dead. ENICAR/LANCIA rules OK!!!!

Here is my Seapearl 900 I made many years ago. Not quite up to 2020 quality, but a good start.

[Tanukjaju]

WOW

Quality always stands the test of time. I thought this post was dead. ENICAR/LANCIA rules OK!!!!

Here is my Seapearl 900 I made many years ago. Not quite up to 2020 quality, but a good start.

I’ve said this more than once before.... I wish there was a market for you to pursue making this.

This was a picture I took long ago of a watch I would love to see made..... no quite up to 1950s standard

[Alou]

I really love the dials,well is not a bad idea to mix old with new,modern cases with artful true vintage dials.
You can even restore them and add new lume! I don't know if this would violate an copyrights but since the company is obsolete .
Then again you could do it for yourself or for the forum!
That 900 dial is superb like an art deco building!

[foxint@foxint.com.au]

Beautiful.

Enircar still exists owned by Geoffrey GAO in Hong Kong. As I understand his Dad or Grandfather was the Asian distributor of Enicar until they folded under the quartz crisis.

If…if…and I really want to make the dial without Enicar and replace that with OWC. Enicar never made a Seapearl 900 only the Seapearl 600 and the Healthway 100 (600 feet and 100 fathoms – I think).

Eterna (and Zodiac) also made a similar dial: Kontiki for the Eterna and not sure the Zodiac.

IF…. I did it I think (like Tanukjaju) I would put it in an OWC no cround guard and brand it an OWC.

The dial will need some development and the hands are also up in the air as the Enicar had some cool/strange hands.

Please let me know…. if I get some reasonable response, I will make……