Universal Genève White Shadow Owner Review : Beautiful, fine and elegant

I'd been wanting to buy an automatic watch with a micro-rotor for a while. Being a lover of slim watches, it was a naturally appealing design for me. After more than a year of hesitating between a Baltic MR01 and a Yema Wristmaster Micro Rotor, the lack of character in the former's Chinese movement and the latter's exorbitant price didn't stop me from taking the plunge. I'd been eyeing Universal Genève watches with micro-rotors for some time, but the PoleRouter design didn't really excite me, and I couldn't decide on a Shadow. It was probably difficult for me to spend over €1,000 on a watch when I couldn't see the point of buying it (that infamous micro-rotor). But in January 2025, I stumbled upon an eBay listing, from Vietnam, for a Whiteshadow 866101 in excellent condition at an unbeatable price (€450). I took the plunge and made my first watch purchase on eBay, on the other side of the world. When the watch arrived, I was in for a nasty surprise: the buckle was completely unoriginal and, like the strap, of utterly mediocre quality. This did, however, allow me to request a €30 refund from the seller. I replaced the strap, figuring I'd find an original buckle later. A few weeks later, while setting the time, I noticed that the minute hand was misaligned and sometimes caught on the 11 o'clock marker… the watch was significantly off. These minor setbacks eventually made me hate wearing it. A few months later, I discovered an amateur watchmaker on a Facebook group and decided it was time to have my UG serviced and repaired. €190, a new spring bar, and a quick cleaning later, the watch was back to its former glory. I could finally wear it without any problems. And ultimately, when worn, it's TOO comfortable; you forget you're wearing it, and it lacks presence. Perhaps with an original Gay Frères steel bracelet it would have more presence, but they're impossible to find and more expensive than the watch itself… So I'm abandoning the idea and have decided to put it up for sale. Which just goes to show, a good deal isn't always the right watch.