Slimming down a watch, or creating a new watch from scratch with a thin case, has always been one of the most important challenges in watchmaking. From high horology mechanical watches like the Bulgari Octo Finissimo that utilizes a micro-rotor, to quartz watches like the new Undone Slim we have here today, no matter what complex engineering goes into the manufacturing, the overall end goal of the watch is to be ultra-slim.
A slim mechanical watch is usually a statement of extreme watchmaking skill and creatively, with the larger price tag to follow. In the case of slim quartz watches, the challenge is significantly decreased due to the simplicity and sizing of the quartz movement. The Undone Slim we have here today is a great example of an affordable ultra-slim quartz watch, with some additional design features like its integrated bracelet, compact 37mm sizing, and hexagonal crown.
Design Highlights and Wearability
My initial impressions of the watch are quite positive. For a 4.9mm thick quartz watch I was expecting a featherweight, almost insignificant feel in hand, but I’m happy to report that it actually has a touch of heft to it. Upon further inspection, this extra weight seems to be coming from the integrated bracelet, which feels surprisingly high quality for a watch retailing at only $295 USD. The links are solid and fluid feeling, and the fit and finish of the 316L stainless steel is actually quite nice, with very uniform brushing and precise but soft to the touch edges. Even the butterfly clasp feels excellent, with tight tolerances, great spring action when opening, and a nice satisfying click when closing.
The connection of the integrated bracelet into the lug area of the watch case is done really well, with nice gradual tapering of the bracelet. The case of the watch protrudes delicately outwards after the connecting section of the bracelet, helping accentuate its round shape rather than leaning into a rectangular design. Actually, as someone who daily wears a Rolex Land-Dweller, I have to say that the overall appearance and shape of the watch is extremely similar to the older Oysterquartz from Rolex. The positives to this observation being excellent proportions and classy retro appearance on wrist, and the only drawback being its own lack of original character and creativity aside from being “extra-slim”.
On wrist, the watch feels pretty much as good as you’d imagine for a 37mm extra-slim watch. It’s extremely comfortable, and its nice wide and uncluttered sunburst dial allows the watch to grab some adequate wrist presence. You could easily daily wear this watch, but it falls a little short as a travel watch due to its 30 meter water resistance, which gives me some concern in terms of swimming with it. Additionally, the Undone Slim does not have a screw down crown, most likely to keep the size of the crown mechanism minimalist and in-line with the case thickness. Despite the lack of screw down security, the crown and stem feel very solid, with zero wiggle, at least on my example here.
Dial and Caseback
I can really appreciate what Undone has accomplished here with the dial. Instead of getting fancy and attempting to make a statement with an extravagant dial design, they’ve kept it extremely minimalist and classy. The dial is wide open, with adequate breathing room, making the watch a joy to read while on wrist. The thin baton markers are generously spaced out, and the only text on the dial is the Undone logo at 6 o’clock, printed in a small font size. The time only dial consists of only two hands, minutes and hours, again leaving out the cluttering of a large or small seconds.
The simple dial allows the rest of the watches design to take center stage. Instead of observing what would have been averagely executed fluting or motiff designs, your eyes now wonder towards the unusually thin case and excellent implementation of the integrated bracelet. There’s certainly a level of form over function being implement in the Undone Slim that is seldom seen on Quartz watches. The example we have on hand here is the silver variant, but the watch can also be acquired in a black or blue dial as well. Before I forget to mention it, this watch also comes in a full black 316L case and bracelet, which by the photos appears to be DLC coated but I’m yet to confirm the application technique with the brand.
Flipping the watch over reveals a very thin solid steel caseback, engraved with the letter “U” on the bottom, and Undone gives you the option of adding a personal engraving above that. You’ll see on our example here that Undone has engraved “WRB” for us, just to add a nice personal touch.
Final Thoughts
The Undone Slim is certainly a very unique quartz watch offering. At the moment, much of the innovation and experimentation with watch design and manufacturing it happening in the mechanical watch space. It’s really nice to see a young brand like Undone take a small step to the side and do something different with a Quartz watch, that is classy instead of crass, and pretty much in-line with what enthusiasts want. There’s plenty of space to experiment with quartz watches, and Undone is taking advantage of one of its strong suits, which is the ability to create an extremely thin watch easily, without the complexity of re-engineering a mechanical movement to make it happen. This watch offers a lot for its price point, and it’s worth a look if you’re after a unique integrated bracelet quartz watch.
For more information on the Slim, visit Undone’s official website here.
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