While researching for the Enicar book MkIII, I spent a lot of time on Japanese auction sites. Nowadays, you don’t have to be an expert in the Japanese language to find or understand these websites. I can recommend www.buyee.jp to anyone who wants to discover and acquire Swiss-made vintage watches that were often exclusively made for the Japanese market. I not only scored some very nice and affordable Enicars (watch out for the fake ones), but also a few catalogs from 1966 and a remarkable advertisement.
Let’s start with the 1957 advertisement. The agent for Enicar in Japan in 1957 was a company named NITTO Co, LTD. According to the Enicar advertisement from April 25, 1957, NITTO received the newest Enicar collection of watches on the very first intercontinental flight from Geneva to Tokyo by Swissair. You have to admire the creativity here: Enicar always made something special out of something common.
The mid and late 1950s seemed to be quite challenging for Enicar’s management. Mr. Ariste O. Racine, the CEO at that time, reported in 1959 about the rapidly changing Eastern market, with a particular focus on Japanese import and export figures. Apparently, Japan was improving and expanding its own watch industry, producing timepieces that were offered to consumers at a 60% lower price compared to Swiss products. This, of course, was impacting Enicar’s business, as was the heavy counterfeiting (‘Offizielle japanische Fabrikation mit gefälschten schweizerischen Uhrenmarken’). As is often the case in such situations, creating brand awareness, building brand preference, and offering exclusive watch models that catered to the tastes of a specific audience could make a difference.
Fast forward to 1966. The catalogues I managed to catch on the Japanese auction site, feature many Sherpa Star models, as can be expected because this model line had just been introduced. Compared to brochures from France and Sweden from the same period, the watches with fluted bezels stand out. You can find these in German catalogues from 1969 too, three years later. The square case Enicars seem to pre-echo 1970s style, especially the ones with the heavy metal bumpers. These were categorized as mens models, mind you.
Now, these pages look great and I fancy the Japanese fonts and graphic design. Surprisingly, the most interesting page may be the leaflet that was inserted in the brochure. With the help of Google Translate, I figured out the message that goes with the cute illustrations. Not only was a customer entitled to full service and repair in case of malfunction or damage, but he was fully insured too if the watch got stolen of destroyed in a fire!
If you want to see more Enicar catalogues from the golden age of watches, make sure to (pre)order a copy of the Enicar book MkIII.
