Unimatic has a been a relatively illusive brand for us here on the WRB. I’ve reached out to them before, requesting to review and handle various new releases from them without luck. It wasn’t until just a few weeks ago that I finally made contact with their PR department, and actually this time they had reached out to me thanking me for the coverage of their new release Diving Heritage collection that I published on Forbes. Today, I’m happy to announce that we’re reviewing their new Unimatic ProDiver Modello Uno ref. U1-PD3-OR that they sent to us.
Unimatic is a young Italian watch brand founded in Milano, back in 2015. They make functional tool watches with a rather sterile design, just skimming the boundaries of what can be considered an almost “brutalist” or “industrial” aesthetic. What really sets them apart from being overly austere is their use of vintage inspired monochromatic dials with vivid oversized indices and very clean layouts. A philosophy often overlooked in the modern watch industry especially when it comes to microbrands, who attempt to stand out with overzealous color pallets, and questionable style choices.
The ProDiver U1-PD3-OR
The reference U1-PD3-OR that we have on hand today is a great example of Unimatic’s culmination of watches over the years. It’s devoid of any unnecessary complications, and it takes us back to Unimatic’s roots of dive watches. If the Rolex Submariner is the polished version of a Tudor Pelagos, than I guess you can say the Pelagos is the polished version of the ProDiver Modello Uno. This watch is truly a stripped down version of a classic dive watch, it’s ultra-functional, and Unimatic wants you to use it as a tool, just like you’d use a pair of scissors or pliers.
While this watch may be purely tool focused, the Italians know how to make an attractive watch, just like they know how to design a sports car, or perhaps even an espresso machine. It’s the raw underlying industrial design core of this watch that gives it soul. It has nothing to do with polished facets, complex engravings, or fancy dials – quite the contrary. What I love about Unimatic and this new release specifically is their use of flat angles, sharp blocky crown guards, and dull fully brushed cases. The U1-PD3-OR looks and feels like a proper piece of equipment, and that’s what draws the attention to it.
The bezel insert on the U1-PD3-OR is a very skinny piece of ceramic sandwiched in-between overly thick rims of 316L stainless steel. Running your fingers across the top reveals how flat and precise the fitment is. The crystal is slightly raised above the bezel, perhaps by half a millimeter, giving the impression of a reinforced and sturdy crystal that can easily handle the depths of the sea. As I double check it’s specs right now, it is indeed rated down to crushing depths of 300 meters under water.
The watch kind of feels thicker than the stated 13.2mm, but for some reason I’m not bothered by it. It’s the type of dive watch that should feel thick as it’s not trying to be elegant. Due to it’s fully brushed finish it looks good raised up off the wrist, it brings a little extra attention to the watch while you wear it. The case is very blocky, pretty much inline with the sharp angles found throughout the entire shape of this watch. The lugs don’t really curve down at all, instead they follow a very gradual curve starting from the center profile of the case. It’s very slab like in appearance, and the hockey puck like build of the watch gives the impression and sensation that this is a very sturdy and hardy watch.
Despite the brutalist like design of the watch, the overall size coming in at 41.5mm allows it to wear surprisingly well on even my small 6.5 inch wrist. The lugs do indeed flair outwards when I have it on wrist, but it’s kind of cool in a retro way. The watch feels vintage but robust on wrist, and gazing into the dive themed dial feels like looking into the weathered porthole of a ship. The thick inner chapter ring, absent of any engravings, really accentuates this feeling. The dial ties the watch together perfectly, and gives it that much needed flair to differentiate it from other dive watches. It’s a small compact dial, with much of its room already occupied by the wide bezel, but it’s ultra legible with its oversized white on black markers. The hour and minute hands are wide and sword shaped, following along the same theme, and are also marked with a small black horizontal bar near the base of the hands. The seconds hand is long and slender, and has a reverse lollipop design, with half of it being black giving the impression that it’s floating.
Movement and Final Thoughts
You may be wondering, what does an Italian chic industrial dive watch like this use as its movement? The surprising answer to that is: Japanese – more precisely the automatic NH35A movement. Part of me cringes when I see such fine European craftsmanship use imported movements, not that the NH35A is a bad movement, but the pureness of the Italian design feels tampered with. I would feel the same if a Japanese brand like Grand Seiko used imported Swiss movements.
There’s two main reasons why Unimatic is doing this. For one, Japanese movements, especially this particular movement, are very reliable and serviceable. Probably not the most accurate, but I believe a serious dive watch brand is going to prioritize reliability over minor accuracy fluctuation. Secondly, and probably most importantly, the affordability of the watch is going to come into play. A Swiss made movement, or Italian in-house movement, is obviously going to bump the price way up into another segment. As watch enthusiasts, we’d love to see this happen anyway, but we need to keep in mind that the price point of the ProDiver U1-PD3-OR is very attractive, coming in at only 907 euros.
For more information visit the official Unimatic website here.
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