Albino Dial 5621H Rodania Geometer

Chances are, upon viewing this Rodania, you’re in one of three mindsets. You’re either thinking, ‘Huh, so there’s a vintage Speedmaster twin?’ or ‘Isn’t that Massena’s latest clone?’ Or, if you’re a true die-hard Hairspring reader, you’ll probably be aware this is no 70s Speed lookalike or reissue. If you don’t know, this isn’t a Speedmaster-derivative vintage chronograph. The Geometer predates the Speedmaster considerably. The Speedmaster is the Rodania Geometer lookalike. It’s also this incredible convergence of so many details that a select few find more desirable than the Omega. Isn’t it lovely?

Here are the basics: first, the real Geometer is 38mm. The bezel is smooth like an Explorer, note there’s no techymetre. There’s no 321 here, rather a good old fashioned Valjoux 72. The dial is, yes, made by Singer. It is not matte or metallic, but grained a bit like your favorite 6239. But the Geometer was here a few years before any 2915 or 6239. For that rather significant debut, the Geometer is something of a cult chronograph. The Valjoux 72 here was adjusted in 3 positions rather than the usual 2. Really only Rolex did that in the mid 50s. Total production is estimated at less than a thousand examples, starting around 1954, but very few survive today. They weren’t collected until this century and radium doesn’t always age this gracefully. More impressively, this is only the fifth white or albino dial to surface in the market.

Now, you might be asking, so did Omega rip this off? Not exactly, no. Watchmaking was more of a cottage industry in 1954, where there were dial makes, movement makers, and case makers. Singer likely designed this basic dial format and Rodania were first to order it, Omega second. The case is marked different, 38mm with flat tapering lugs and a sterile bezel. In that way alone, it’s even a tiny bit Milgauss in design. In some ways, it is one of the more beautiful and odd corners of vintage chronographs, completely unappreciated and yet very easily amongst the most beautiful chronographs of the late 50s. This one’s from the family of the original owner and one of the better preserved out there. Consider it the most attractive way to confuse most chronograph enthusiasts.

This is really an honest and strong example. The radium is all present and quite original. Its dial shows no signs of damage or intervention. The hands are ‘big lume’, which you see in only one other white dial. The case is harder worn but not polished over aggressively, just a small rounding in edges. It from a well-regarded collector who is well known to love these.