One of the emerging brands of the 60's and 70's is the French brand Lip. With it's extremely attactrive designs, it's not surprising that everyone wants in on the action. Perhaps Lip was known for their partnership with brands such as Breitling and Blancpain for distributing their watches in France.
 
During the partnership with Breitling, Lip produced an almost identical line of watches with their own brand on the dial. But the late 60's and 70's is when Lip became creative with their own designs. Thats when the Mundi, the Orange Mechanique, the famous blue Lip "Paul Newman", and of course this watch, known as "Ninja".
 
It's hard not to get enamoured by the dial. It is striking to see it in pictures and in real life. The navy blue works well with all the other colors such as pink, and neon orange. There is a sublte tachymeter scale around the outer part of the dial as well. The Lip Ninja has quite a few itterations over the years but I'm certain that this configuration is the original. Not only that, this is true vintage compared to others out there that were recently made from Lip parts (it's Lip but not made by them). We can see that by looking at the import stamp on the side of the case (visible in one of the photos). I also love the fact that the original burgundy plastic box that it came with is in mint condition as well as the original leather band still unused after many years. The watch functions as it should, it stops and resets at zero.
 
The 70's was a cruel time for mechanical watchmaking. Many companies couldn't survive after Quartz watches took over the industry. Lip was eventually sold in the mid 70's. Gone are it's heritage and never to be seen or heard of ever again. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why this is such an exciting vintage brand. These 70's watches weren't made to last. They were inexpensive alternatives. In fact, most of them uses chrome plated case (such as this watch). But it's exciting to see a survivor like this piece with very little wear to it.