#TBT The Sicura Smoke Watcher — Hold On To Your Chair

The Sicura Smoke Watcher has been around for five decades, but I discovered it only a few months ago. At first, I thought it was a joke, but it’s not! The Sicura Smoke Watcher is one of the most peculiar 1970s weirdos I have seen so far. And I have seen quite a lot of them…

Let’s frame the story with some context. During the 1960s and extending into the ’70s and ’80s, smoking was widely accepted and permitted in various settings, including workplaces, hospitals, schools, bars, restaurants, and even public transportation like buses, trains, and planes. However, as scientific evidence highlighting the health risks of secondhand smoke emerged during the 1970s and 1980s, regulations restricting smoking locations began to emerge more frequently.

The tipping point

In 1965, around 42% of adults in the United States were smokers, but by 2011, this figure had dropped to less than 20%. This decline represents a significant decrease in adult per capita cigarette consumption, which has decreased by approximately 70% since 1963, according to this report. The dissemination of information regarding the health hazards of smoking has been facilitated by the regular issuance of reports by the United States Surgeon General, starting in 1964. Furthermore, this period marked the peak of adult smoking rates, after which a downward trend commenced. Consequently, since 1964, there has been a notable shift in public awareness and attitudes towards smoking.

A marketing genius

Here comes Ernest Schneider, the mastermind behind Sicura and later savior of Breitling. Schneider compensated for his less-than-top-notch case materials and movement quality with generous case diameters, bezel creativity, and dial playfulness. Schneider was quite creative and paid special attention to details that others didn’t. Do you remember the Sicura Safari knife watch that I highlighted recently?

Image: Matt (@woolley7)

Inexpensive innovation

Schneider saw opportunities where others could not. That’s probably how the Sicura Smoke Watcher was born. According to Europa Star, the Sicura Smoke Watcher was introduced around 1969 and was created especially for smokers. “The request came from Mr. Richard E. Rudolf, the American [p]rofessor … well known for his research on the harmfulness of tobacco. Effectively, he [thought] that intoxication stems not only from the number of cigarettes smoked … but also from consumption frequency.”

Image: Matt (@woolley7)

The dial explained

The Sicura Smoke Watcher has an independent minute counter that the smoker can engage upon extinguishing a cigarette. He can use it to check the time elapsed before lighting up again and avoid doing so before the hand clears the highlighted areas of the dial. These red and yellow segments correspond to the life-endangering periods. Apparently, lighting another cigarette within two minutes is super dangerous, but after five minutes, it’s “OK” again. Well, I would expect hours, not minutes… Anywhere, here, it is essential to notice that the striking orange central hand is not a seconds hand but a minute counter. Does that remind you something? Correct, the Breitling SuperOcean ref. 2005, the so-called “slow-motion chronograph.”

This one made me smile — Image: Matt (@woolley7)

An uneducated seller may think the “central seconds hand” is broken, not realizing that it is a minute counter. “I bought mine as ‘broken’ because of that,” says Sébastien Chaulmontet, the head of innovation and marketing at Sellita. He and I share an affection for weird chronographs, so I had to share my new find with him. Of course, he knew about it and owned one already. “I bought mine NOS in Aarberg. I still remember the day; it was 15 years ago. This watch made my day back then.”

A grail watch?

Matt waited eight years before finally landing his Sicura Smoke Watcher. If you check his Instagram, you can find a set of excellent posts in which he looks at what’s under the dial. “After dismantling the watch, it’s clear this model has similarities to many other Sicura chronostop models, like the GT4B. It uses an EB8800 caliber … EB8806 configuration, and rotating inner bezel,” says Matt. He also points out another peculiarity that perhaps you already noticed. The pusher for the minute counter is not at the 2 o’clock position but at 3 o’clock! Weirdly enough, the date wheel is still legible.

Image: Matt (@woolley7)

That’s not all, folks

You may have also noticed the gigantic knob growing out of the upper right lug. What is it for? Interestingly, you do not rotate it, although it invites you to do so. It’s a button that clicks in and advances the decimal scale one step at a time. “By simply pressing the button, a recorder counts the number of cigarettes smoked daily,” reads the previously mentioned article from Europa Star.

Image: Matt (@woolley7)

Last thoughts on the Sicura Smoke Watcher

I am surprised that there is almost no online coverage of this watch. Not even a handful of examples seem to have resurfaced. It was a cheap watch in its time, and it is now probably a nightmare to service. Our friendship prevented my watchmaker from banning me from his shop after I walked in with cylinder movements.

Image: Matt (@woolley7)

If you have any additional information about this watch, maybe from old Sicura catalogs, I would be more than happy if you shared it with us. Also, I would love to add this weirdo watch to my cabinet of horological curiosities, so if you ever spot one, please let me know; I am in! Happy hunting!