JOVIAL Two-Register Chronograph cal. Valjoux 7733 / 1970s Cushion Case

JOVIAL — a maker you may not have heard of.

Born in Switzerland in 1929, it moved its base to Biel, the centre of watch manufacturing.

The quartz crisis of the 1970s transformed the market for mechanical watches, and Jovial left Switzerland and turned toward selling in the Arab states of the Middle East.

Today it has evolved into a brand rooted in the Middle Eastern market.

Headquartered in Dubai, it sells more than 60,000 watches a year, mainly quartz, leading that market with a strategy of its own.

What has arrived here is a vintage chronograph from exactly that Jovial.

A rare thing: a bold cushion case with pink gold plating on a chronograph.

What beats inside is the Valjoux 7733.

Born in the 1960s as an improved version of the Venus 188.

Valjoux acquired Venus and used that technology to create the movement.

Not merely a change, but something that rewrote chronograph history.

The chronograph was once very expensive, available only to a few.

The Valjoux 7733 broke that barrier and opened the way for many enthusiasts.

The beat of that innovation, which changed how the market worked, continues today.

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