Unimatic’s Dive Watch Gets a Collection of One-of-a-Kind Dials

A byproduct, or perhaps a feature, of Unimatic’s minimalist industrial design is that it serves as an ideal canvas for collaborators to decorate.

The newest creative to have a hand at decorating Unimatic’s flagship watch, the Modello Uno, is the team behind San Francisco Market. The Korean retailer is celebrated for its curation of globally-sourced apparel and accessories, so it comes as no surprise that this collaboration is stunning.

Unimatic

To give the dial center stage, Unimatic and SFM stuck with the standard Modello Uno case and bezel. The 40mm stainless steel case is finished with satin brushing, and Unimatic’s signature Alchemical Sun screw-down crown is protected by a substantial crown guard.

The coin-edge stainless steel bezel, which overhangs the case by a millimeter and a half, holds a navy blue aluminum insert marked with a single blue-emitting lume pearl. Its 120-click unidirectional function is simplified to a place-marker for the dial.

Unimatic

SFM refined this diver with a navy quick-release strap secured with a stainless-steel pin buckle. However, if you want to take it in the water, it also comes with Unimatic’s new standard ultra-lightweight TPU pin-buckle strap in matching navy.

It’s electric!

Framed by the sturdy Modello Uno case is an alluring galvanic dial. As Unimatic describes it, the dial plate is “treated through an electrochemical process that creates an irregular, speckled texture.”

Unimatic

Each dial starts as a metal plate with a sunburst brushing that shows through the plating. The speckled pattern, resembling stars in a clear night sky, is unique to each watch.

The dial is then printed with a white field-watch-style military-time track, complete with a dash-minutes track with triangles at each hour encircling the dial. Despite being incongruous with the dive watch case, it makes the watch extremely legible.

Rotating overhead is Unimatic’s standard “ladder” hour and minute hands, and “reverse lollipop” seconds hand. And the dial is capped with the usual 2.5mm thick double-domed, AR-coated sapphire crystal.

Unimatic

The only dial detail that seems off to me is that only the hands feature blue-emitting Super-LumiNova. There may be an issue that I’m unaware of with the dial’s unique chemistry that prevents Super-LumiNova from being applied, but it feels like the military-time track should glow in the dark.

Deep space

I appreciate that SFM reserved its branding for the caseback. The brand’s wordmark is etched into the screw-on stainless steel caseback, within a speckled texture that resembles the dial.

Unimatic

Beneath the caseback ticks a TMI (Seiko) Caliber NH35A automatic movement. The Japanese workhorse is accurate to -20/+40s per day, and provides a 41-hour power reserve.

Availability and pricing

Years of strategic marketing and impressive design have positioned Unimatic as a collaborator of choice among independent watch brands. With so many releases, some are inevitably more memorable than others. The U1-SFM definitely stands out for its beautiful dial and practical use of the Modello Uno blueprint.

Plus, you can never go wrong with a monochromatic navy blue dive watch.

The Unimatic x San Francisco Market Modello Uno U1-SFM is available now from Unimatic for $1,220. SFM offers it as well, but only for the Korean market. It is limited to 111 pieces worldwide.

Unimatic

Unimatic X San Francisco Market Modello Uno U1-SFM

Specs

Case Size	41mm
Movement	Seiko Caliber NH35A autoamtic
Water Resistance	300m

• $1,220 at Unimatic

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