The dynamic Italo Fontana founded U-Boat in the location of Lucca, Italy. The company started life in the year 2000 as a fashion brand and predominantly sold in high-end boutiques. I first encountered these imposing watches at a prestigious men’s clothing store in Manchester, England. My lasting memory was how large these timepieces were in comparison to other watches available on the market at the time. Since then their designs have evolved and become a lot more sophisticated including the marvellous Unicum U-42.
While looking through his grandfather Ilvo Fontana’s old papers Italo found detailed drawings of watches specially designed for naval forces. Essentially these illustrations resulted in the development of one of the world’s largest wristwatches – the formidable 65mm U-1942. This phenomenal creation was limited to only 29 pieces and is currently sported by Arnold Schwarzenegger. The same layout has also inspired the production of the highly successful series of U-42 timepieces.
The superb Unicum is the latest addition to the range and displays all the distinctive qualities you would expect from the brand. With a diameter measuring 53mm (excluding lugs and the huge crown), this massive timepiece won’t appeal to everybody’s tastes. I personally favour large watches as I feel they make a very bold visual statement. Amazingly this piece felt very comfortable to wear and certainly didn’t feel cumbersome in any way. Primarily this is down to the choice of lightweight titanium used in the construction of the case.
Aesthetically the Unicum has Steampunkesque features although it isn’t directly marketed in that way. The case and bezel are treated with an IP black coating. This gives the timepiece a distressed and highly unique vintage appearance. I love the brass dial and open worked hour and minute hands which have been naturally aged. All these elements have been meticulously hand finished adhering to the finest artisan traditional techniques. Ultimately this intricate process makes each watch completely original and one of a kind.
Underneath the robust exterior U-Boat have equipped the watch with a specially modified ETA 2824-2 Caliber. This reliable 25 jewel automatic movement oscillates at a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour (4 Hz) and delivers a respectable 40-hour power reserve. Functionally the Unicum features hours, minutes, seconds and is water resistant to a depth of 300 meters. Another characteristic of this great watch is the custom-made leather strap with various silver and bronze inserts including the awesome skull.
The Unicum is a limited edition of 99 pieces and is priced at $12,480.
http://www.uboatwatch.com
