Hey WatchEx!

For sale is this vintage CYMA by Synchron "Chambord", Swiss-made in c.1970s.

CYMA SA is a Swiss manufacturer of luxury wristwatches, founded by brothers Joseph and Theodore Schwob in 1862. In 1892, the brothers partnered with Frédéric Henri Sandoz, and under Sandoz's leadership, the company became the Cyma Watch Company and built the Cyma factory in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, near Le Locle. Cyma watches from the 1950s retailed between approximately $600 and $37,000 (figures adjusted to 2010 inflation). In 1969, the newly formed Synchron group also had Doxa and Ernest Borel under ownership and produced watches until 1978, when it was liquidated due to the quartz crisis. Doxa, (Auréole) and Ernest Borel were taken over by Marcel Aubry, who ran Fabrique Ciny, and CYMA was bought by Claude Guilgot (Fabrique Delivna in Geneva).

This watch, reference number 36.004.53, was one of the Swiss-made CYMA watches that was produced under the brief ownership of Synchron which makes it an interesting piece of history. The design is very clearly influenced by the Patek Philippe Ellipse (which was arguably inspired by Gerald Genta's design for the Universal Genève Ellipse "White Shadow" just 2 years prior to the PP release), that was popular in the '70s, especially with the blue dial and stainless steel case. The oval elliptical design was made (on the original) with the golden ratio in mind (height to width ratio) as a cohesive harmony.

"Chambord" refers to both a village in the Loire Valley, central France, and a premium French black raspberry liqueur named after the village. The name "Chambord" is derived from the château, which was a royal hunting lodge and later a favourite residence of King Louis XIV. According to legend, a raspberry liqueur similar to the modern "Chambord" was served to Louis XIV during his visits to the château in the 17th century. This makes it a very fitting name for such a flamboyant yet elegant dress watch.

It houses the (Fabrique d'ébauches de) Peseux calibre 7001 (signed), which is a legendary movement at this point, and even featured as a base movement in big names like Girard Perregaux, Omega, Blancpain, Nomos, Mido and Universal Genève. It was introduced in 1971/72 and was produced all throughout the quartz crisis until 2004 without any significant modification after production had been taken over by ETA in 1985, then rebranded to the ETA 7001 in 2011 when manufacturing resumed. This is a testament to how good this movement still is. 42-hour power reserve, time-only with the choice to eliminate the seconds hand to show to others that the wearer is in no hurry.

Comes on the original integrated Milanese adjustable mesh bracelet with a signed clasp that can accommodate a wrist size of up to roughly 20cm. It has a matching signed crown with the Synchron logo.

The watch is in great condition considering it was made over 50 years ago with a lovely speckled patina dial. There is some slight damage to the dial around the edge but it isn't too noticeable. The crystal is clean with only a couple of small scratches and the case has minor general wear as expected from this age. The watch keeps good time over a 24h period. The watch wears larger than its dimensions might suggest, more like a 33/34mm dress watch due to the visual length of the dial.

Looking for $230 net (buyer pays Paypal or Wise fee) + shipping

Dimensions are:
28.2mm x 33.4mm x 6.3mm
18mm band width
(according to my callipers)

Bought in Japan.

*Returns accepted but all return postage costs are the buyer's responsibility in all circumstances and any re-import fees that I have to pay will be deducted from the refund amount.