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This Seiko-Powered, Travel-Ready Tool Watch Mixes Affordability with British Motoring Heritage

It’s amazing what a new paint job can do.

Close-up of a wristwatch with a blue dial, silver bezel marked with 24-hour numerals, and a beige leather strap. The watch has silver hour and minute hands, with a triangular marker at the 12 o'clock position. The crown is textured for grip and positioned on the right side of the watch case. The background is a gradient light blue.Unimatic
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By Brad Lanphear

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Unimatic is known for its sturdy, affordable tool watches and distinct minimalist design language. But a simple combination of a radiant dial and a luxurious strap transforms the same watch into an elevated travel accessory.

This elegant refinement comes courtesy of a partnership with Morgan Motor Company, a small, century-old British car manufacturer.

A wristwatch with a stainless steel case and a textured beige leather strap. The watch face is dark blue with white hour markers and hands, featuring the brand name "UNIMATIC" and "Made in Italy" text. The bezel has engraved numbers, and the watch is placed on a wooden surface next to metal tools.
Unimatic and Morgan Motor Company reunite for a modest, yet luxurious, fully-capable GMT.
Morgan Motor Company

Morgan Motor Company has more in common with luxury watch brands than most automotive companies because it still produces cars designed in the 1910s and 1920s. With small batches and large price tags, it could be considered the Breguet of the motoring world.

The British brand applied its eye-catching paint job and supple upholstery to Unimatic’s Modello Quattro with an added GMT complication. The dial color, strap leather and numeral font are all pulled from Morgan’s catalog.

A wristwatch with a blue textured leather strap and a silver bezel, placed on a wooden surface. Next to it are two beige textured leather strap pieces, two metal wrenches, and a black card with the text "MORGAN UNIMATIC INTERNATIONAL WARRANTY." A black case is partially visible in the upper right corner.
The U4-GMT-MMC comes with two pebble grain leather straps matching Morgan’s upholstery.
Morgan Motor Company

The U4-GMT-MMC has a monobloc fixed bezel atop the 40mm brushed stainless steel case, creating a 13.7mm height. It makes a sturdy impression that conveys the watch’s durability and 300m water resistance.

Despite the eye-catching dial and wrist-pleasing pair of pebble grain straps provided with the watch, this fully capable travel accessory can handle anything thrown at it.

A modest traveler

The U4-GMT-MMC is a caller GMT, meaning the GMT hand is set independently with the crown in the first position. It is powered by an SII (Seiko) caliber NH34A automatic movement with a 41-hour power reserve and a modest beat rate of 21,600vph.

A wristwatch with a blue dial and silver bezel featuring white numerals and markings, worn on a wrist with a light beige leather strap. The watch face shows the brand name "Unimatic" and has silver hour and minute hands, along with a second hand. The wrist is resting on a red leather surface.
The 40mm steel case wears big because of the 14mm case height, dominated by the large bezel.
Morgan Motor Company

The 24-hour GMT scale is etched into the fixed bezel and, as an automotive tie-in, starts with “00” at the 12 o’clock position, rather than ending with 24. The numerals on the bezel, as well as the six and nine on the dial, are Morgan’s proprietary font.

Being a Unimatic, the U4-GMT-MMC is a genuine tool watch. It features a large crown guard, a screw-down crown, a 2.8mm flat sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating and independently tested gaskets.

A wristwatch with a blue dial and silver bezel, featuring a blue leather strap, is placed on the white hood of a car. The car has a chrome emblem with wings and the word "MORGAN" prominently displayed.
The font of the numerals on the dial and bezel is Morgan’s signature font.
Morgan Motor Company

Unimatic’s signature handset has green-glowing Super-LumiNova in the hour hand, minute hand and seconds hand counterbalance dot. However, there is none on the dial, bezel or GMT hand.

Luxury upholstery

Although only Unimatic’s name appears on the dial, Morgan’s presence is felt in the strap and dial texture. The U4-GMT-MMC comes with a pair of straps made from the same supple pebble grain leather used for the brand’s upholstery.

One matches the dial with British Blue, and the other has the ackingly-Anglo name Biscuit Pebble. Both straps have classic pin-buckle clasps and quick-release pins.

A wristwatch with a blue textured leather strap and a silver bezel, featuring a blue dial with white hour markers and hands. Next to it is an additional beige textured leather strap. Both items are placed on a black surface with a label that reads "MORGAN UNIMATIC.
The U4-GMT-MMC comes in a Unimatic hard case.
Morgan Motor Company

The centerpiece of this beautiful travel watch is the radiant dial, colored in Morgan’s Sport Blue. It looks like the exterior of a luxury sports car, with a perfectly polished glow that doesn’t use any brushing texture.

Morgan’s name only appears etched into the stainless steel screw-in case back, alongside Unimatic’s logo and the phrase “Dribing Home.” Each watch in the tight 100-piece production is numbered on a stripe along the center of the caseback.

Silver wristwatch with a deep blue dial and matching blue leather strap. The watch face features large, bold white hour and minute hands, a distinctive arrow-shaped second hand, and a date window at the 7 o'clock position. The bezel is silver with engraved 24-hour markings. The brand name "UNIMATIC" and "MADE IN ITALY 300m=1000ft" are printed on the dial.
Only the hour hand, minute hand and lollipop counterweight on the seconds hand have lume.
Unimatic

This second collaboration between Unimatic and Morgan birthed a gorgeous travel watch that elevates the Italian watchmaker’s pragmatic minimalism with the British motoring brand’s classically understated elegance.

The most impressive aspect is that it retains Unimatic’s appreciated affordability. Despite the added luxury materials, it still only costs $1,002.

Availability and price

The Morgan Motor Company x Unimatic U4-GMT-MMC is available now exclusively from Morgan Motor Company for £746, which currently exchanges for $1,002.

It is an extremely limited production of 100 pieces. Even though it is a bit pricey for a Unimatic, this gorgeous collaboration will likely sell out quickly.

A wristwatch with a silver metal case and a blue dial. The watch has large, bold white hour and minute hands, and a distinctive arrow-shaped second hand. The dial features minimalistic hour markers with the numbers 3 and 9 prominently displayed. There is a date window at the 6 o'clock position. The bezel has 24-hour markings, and the watch is paired with a textured beige leather strap. The brand name "UNIMATIC" and "MADE IN ITALY" are printed on the dial above the date window.Morgan Motor Company

Unimatic U4-GMT-MMC

Specs

Case Size 40mm
Movement SII caliber NH34 automatic
Water Resistance 300m
About the Author: Brad Lanphear is an associate editor at Gear Patrol covering watches and style. Before joining the publication, he previously wrote for Heddels and Men’s Health. Now, he’s on a never-ending quest to find the perfect pair of Japanese denim.

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