Zurex Pola-Spot Automatic · Daguerre Portrait Dial · Limited 34/125 · NOS · Swiss Made c.1980
CHF 90.00
This is not an ordinary vintage watch. It is a signed, limited-edition Swiss timepiece paying tribute to one of the most important figures in the history of photography — and it does so with a mechanism that borders on the poetic.
The Pola-Spot Effect
The dial carries a finely engraved portrait of Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre (1787–1851), inventor of the daguerreotype. But look closely: as the seconds hand sweeps across the dial, the portrait rhythmically fades and reappears — vanishing at the 6 o'clock position, emerging again as the hand approaches 12. Every thirty seconds, Daguerre's face dissolves and returns. The effect is produced by a patented stationary polarising filter mounted beneath the crystal, over which the seconds hand rotates. It is, quite deliberately, a mechanical echo of the daguerreotype itself — an image that appears and disappears depending on how the light falls.
The Artist
The portrait was drawn and signed by J. Holliday, an American artist resident in Switzerland during the 1970s and 1980s. Her signature appears on the dial alongside Daguerre's own facsimile. This is a rare instance of a named artist's work appearing on a Swiss production watch dial.
The Watch
Movement: Zurex Pola-Spot Automatic, 21 jewels
Case: Stainless steel with gold-plated fluted bezel
Bracelet: Two-tone Oyster-style, steel and gold plate
Crystal: Acrylic with integrated polarising filter
Caseback: Swiss Made · Antimagnetic · Shockprotected
Edition: No. 34 of 125 pieces
Manufacturer: René Albrecht AG, Zurich (brands: Diarex / Zurex), c. 1970s–1980
The Pola-Spot Effect
The dial carries a finely engraved portrait of Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre (1787–1851), inventor of the daguerreotype. But look closely: as the seconds hand sweeps across the dial, the portrait rhythmically fades and reappears — vanishing at the 6 o'clock position, emerging again as the hand approaches 12. Every thirty seconds, Daguerre's face dissolves and returns. The effect is produced by a patented stationary polarising filter mounted beneath the crystal, over which the seconds hand rotates. It is, quite deliberately, a mechanical echo of the daguerreotype itself — an image that appears and disappears depending on how the light falls.
The Artist
The portrait was drawn and signed by J. Holliday, an American artist resident in Switzerland during the 1970s and 1980s. Her signature appears on the dial alongside Daguerre's own facsimile. This is a rare instance of a named artist's work appearing on a Swiss production watch dial.
The Watch
Movement: Zurex Pola-Spot Automatic, 21 jewels
Case: Stainless steel with gold-plated fluted bezel
Bracelet: Two-tone Oyster-style, steel and gold plate
Crystal: Acrylic with integrated polarising filter
Caseback: Swiss Made · Antimagnetic · Shockprotected
Edition: No. 34 of 125 pieces
Manufacturer: René Albrecht AG, Zurich (brands: Diarex / Zurex), c. 1970s–1980
Condition notes
New Old Stock (NOS) — unworn, in original Diarex presentation box. The movement runs. The crown is slightly stiff as expected from decades of storage; professional servicing (crown gasket replacement) is recommended before regular wear.