What’s more hip and hyped than a Unimatic watch? Rolex, maybe. Ok, what else? How about a limited edition Unimatic collab? There’s good reason for all the enthusiasm, too, as the Italian brand seems to release interesting and unique designs at every turn. For the latest, they teamed up with the website Uncrate on a new version of their quartz chronograph, the Modello Tre, or U3.
And guess what: if you want one, you’ll have to get it secondhand, because the 100 examples are already sold out.
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Here’s what fans and speculators snapped up so quickly: The base model is the brand’s U3 Chronodiver featuring the case and bezel of its U1 dive watch tweaked to fit a Seiko VK64 mecaquartz chronograph movement and pushers. The already minimalist design is pared down even further here, adapting the striking look of the rotating dive bezel devoid of its usual markings save for a single lumed dot. This looks cool and unique, yes, but it doesn’t sacrifice (much) functionality because the bezel can still be used to mark elapsed time.
CourtesyThis version for Uncrate has a couple features that stand out, the most notable being a sandblasted gunmetal-gray PVD finish for the case, which is a first for the brand. Like the bezel design, other features have appeared on Unimatic watches previously but are combined in a new way here: for example, rather than full lume dots for the hour markers, they’re basic outlines, lending to the overall minimalist aesthetic.
No sooner were the Unimatic x Uncrate Modello Tre U3-U Chronodiver announced and sold out than the watches began appearing on the likes of Ebay for significantly more than their original retail price of $750. But it just might be a watch cool enough to warrant a bit of a markup.