The Enicar Sherpa Ultradive Reference 144/35/03

I’m obsessed with dual-crown watches. This interest began with Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox alarm watches, and the aesthetic has remained a fixture in my collection since I started. I may be one of the only people in history to look at the 1960s Rolex Submariner and think “That’s great, but just imagine if it had a second crown!” My list of favorite watches consists of several dual-crown models such as the legendary LeCoultre Deep Sea Alarm reference E 857, my Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox reference E 850 and the iconic Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox reference E 855. This genre is not exclusively alarm watches. One of these less obvious dive watches that has remained on my mind over the years is none other than the Enicar Sherpa Ultradive reference 144/35/03.

My introduction to this watch came leading up the release of an awesome book, Time for a Change, Discovering Vintage Enicar by passionate Enicar collector Martijn van der Ven (@vandervenus). The book was self published in December 2019 and is a unique publication retracing the history of the forgotten watch manufacturer. For those interested in learning about vintage Enicar, or vintage watches in general, it is certainly a must read! The standout watches within the book for me were the divers - the king of which is the 144/35/03! I’ve kept an eye out for them over the years, but was never was able to score one.

When searching for intel on the Enicar Ultradive, two notable individuals are centered around the model. The Ultradive was famously identified on the wrist of French actor Alain Delon who was coined the “French King of Cool” by Nico (@_jimjupiter) of Enicar101. Delon was an early adopter of the Enicar Ultradive wearing it during the 1966 filming of ‘Les Aventuriers’ (a year after the models’ introduction in circa 1965). In an awesome fashion, his co-star Lino Ventura also wore one! While I’ve skimmed scenes throughout the 1960s film, I cannot give you a clear summary of the plot having only found a French version and a dubbed German version online. If anyone knows where to stream the film with English subtitles, I welcome the guidance. Within the tribute video below, there are various scenes with the Sherpa Ultradive and I must admit the presence of this obscure dive watch is nothing shy of awesome.

You can also see various photos of Alain Delon’s Enicar Sherpa Ultradive worn while on a vacation in Venice with Nathalie Delon in 1968 in the links below.

https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/nathalie-et-alain-delon-dans-une-gondole-à-venise-en-news-photo/1404870465

https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/nathalie-et-alain-delon-dans-une-gondole-à-venise-en-news-photo/1404870433

https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/alain-delon-et-son-épouse-nathalie-delon-en-vacances-en-news-photo/956627544

Another notable wearer of the Enicar Ultradive is Ed Sheeran who appears to have worn the reference 144/35/03 during his performance in Iceland at the Laugardalsvöllur stadium during 2019. He wore the humble Enicar Ultradive in between enjoying his Patek Philippe perpetual calendar chronograph reference 1518 on a bund strap (I believe the only time in human history where a bund has been paired with a 1518). An interesting fact behind the Sheeran Enicar is that it was originally in Eric Wind’s collection. Eric had given to a collector who later gave the watch to Sheeran.

While Sheeran has the effect of bumping the watch on his wrist into mainstream watch conversations, this one is among his more subtle watches. Sheeran and Delon may have put the Ultradive on the “mainstream” map, yet I rarely hear or see collectors discussing the Ultradive. Maybe that is a good thing, because these watches are very hard to find!

These watches are powered by the Enicar calibre 1145, an automatic calendar model. This movement is found in several Enicar models throughout the 1960s-1970s.

The Ultradive and broader collection of Enicar dive watches are characterized by their Super Compressor cases produced by Erivin Piquerez (EPSA). You can recognize EPSA cases by the cross-hatched crowns. Also, many of the cases feature the EPSA filed patents engraved into their case backs. Piquerez would file 200 patents and register 8,000 designs over the course of his career. Just about every manufacturer would commission EPSA throughout 1960s-1970s to compete with the offerings from Rolex. Incredibly, one of the greatest case manufacturer would achieve this with a staff of only 160 employees by the early 1970s. Piquerez was integrally involved in many highly-coveted vintage sports watches including the Breitling Cosmonaute, the Vulcain Nautical Cricket, Heuer’s Carrera and Monaco, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris and more!

The Ultradive features the cool internal rotating bezel - famously found in EPSA dive watches such as the Polaris reference E 859 and Universal Genève Polerouter Sub Super Compressor. While an awesome detail, collectors should honestly avoid fiddling with the bezel as they can get stuck or damaged with few watchmakers able to replace the bezel and/or adjust. Just take my advice, it is not as easy of a fix as a chronograph. Whatever you do, take care of these crystals if you land an Ultradive. The crystals on these models are near impossible to find.

Undoubtedly, the cases make for the collectibility of these models. Think of wearing a Double Red Sea-Dweller, but on steroids. The Ultradive is an oversized dive case at 43mm in diameter (including the crown guard) and 49mm lug to lug. These dimensions sound extreme for a vintage watch. The downward angled lugs and asymmetrical crown guard design make for a more wearable sports watch. The case is distinguished amongst Enicar dual-crown divers by the crown guard design. This is proprietarily Enicar and no other case design features crown guard design during the 1960s/1970s, and it makes for an incredibly appealing watch on the wrist. Speaking with Eric, we are both of the opinion that it is one of the nicest vintage dive watches from any manufacturers!

There are a number of iterations within Enicar Sherpa Ultradive making it quite fun to admire. The consistent attributes are the applied hour markers and that each model features the red calendar/date wheel. The tritium lume is applied in an interesting format (the interior or each hour marker with exception to 6, 9 and 12 o’clock. Most models feature the matte black dial - however there are rare silver soleil (sunburst) dials. Certain rotating bezels feature an orange or yellow track for the 45 minute zone, while others are non-luminous bezels void of either color. This accent is for determining the elapsed time while diving. There are orange triangle sweep second hands, as well as steel lollipop hands - and even double lollipop second hands (an earlier variant worn by Alain Delon). There are different handsets, the tilted Saturn logo is printed on earlier models then later applied logos, T (tritium) demarcations above 6 o’clock vs “T SWISS MADE T”. Whether this was an erratic experimentation or searching for the right details that landed with their clientele, it is clear that there were a lot of design cues Enicar were figuring out within the model.

There’s quite a good amount of variation which is fun, but I am not convinced I can give concrete guidance on which dial and handset came by which year. Speaking with Nico, I was assured the dial/hand variants was somewhat of an ambiguous evolution - as he had researched these for 5 years and did not have a definitive pattern for the variants. “It seems the cases were built initially and then Enicar assembled movements and dial variants in the Ultradive when ready for distribution. Although it’s not as though they built 1,000 watches from serial 1-1,000 in 1965, 2,000 to 3,000 in 1966 and so on. The case numbers are almost random. There is a pattern of evolving dials, but it doesn’t match with the chronological order of the cases. The double lollipop second hand would come first, followed by the lollipop, then triangles. This is coherent with the other Enicar models, so this is a fair assessment in the Ultradive”

Nico would share his admiration for the Enicar Ultradive stating ‘It’s the ultimate dive watch of Enicar, all their knowledge and research cumulated more or less in this model. I love the unique crownguard and the double lollipop. A true workhorse thats also elegant. A watch, that often also appeals to not watch people”

While most Ultradives are best suited on a large leather strap or Tropic strap, there are incredibly rare Enicar bracelets out there. Enicars do have some great beads-of-rice sports bracelets with 20mm end links. There are far more anonymous bracelets out there that are also compatible, so it may not be necessary to find a signed clasp. These were also sold on rivet bracelets that resemble the C&I bracelets made by Rolex (anonymously signed). The grail bracelet is the “snake” bracelet with the center links which somewhat resembles the “Lobster” bracelet design by Ponti Gennari for the Patek Philippe reference 2526. Good luck finding the bracelet, but in the event you do score one without end links, give the Rolex 280 end links a shot. Yes, I did replace an Enicar bracelet with a Rolex part. Thank me later.

As far as alternative Enicar models, there are some options that fit the dual-crown theme. You can opt for the Sherpa Ops reference 144/35/03A (Essentially, the sibling model to the Ultradive featuring a PVD coated case). There is also the Enicar Ocean Pearl Alarm. While a bit smaller of a substitute diver, you can also go for the Sherpa Super Dive or the Sherpa Super Jet. Additionally, the time-only Sherpa reference 144-59-01 is a large case model similar to the Ultradive.

If I were to infer on the production dates based on advertisements, it appears this watch was first marketed in 1966. The watch seems to have been produced for a few years, fading from catalogs into the 1970s. The marketing material for this model is slim to say the least (perhaps due to it not having an expansive production run). However, die-hard Enicar enthusiasts have done a tremendous gesture for curious collectors like myself desperate for details by providing their discoveries online. Some great areas are certainly enicar101.com, enicar.org, enicarforums.com. These feature the tropic straps which indicate the style they were sold on (along with the ultra rare bracelet).

The Enicar Ultradive reference 144/35/03 is certainly one of the coolest deviations within vintage dive watches. Enicar’s catalog of dive watches is relatively wide for a smaller manufacturer and the manufacturer enlisted one of the best case makers to create these killer watches. To me the Ultradive is the pinnacle dive and overall model from the manufacturer (although I wouldn’t argue with those who prefer the chronographs or OPs). It is not completely esoteric, but it is not as readily accessible compared to other dive watches of the 1960s. For those looking for large sports watches from the mid-1960s, these are some of the most exciting models that does not resemble anything from the period. Keep your eyes peeled for a one, because it has taken a few years for me to score a great example and they do not surface frequently!