There are two easy ways to assess a product’s overall design. Instinct says to focus on what’s new and novel, like a sports car’s unique geometry or aerodynamic flourishes. In the case of Unimatic, a small Italian watch company founded in 2015, it may be more helpful to take the less obvious approach — looking not for features its timepieces have brought to the table but which ones they’ve removed.
“We try to condense in our product,” says Unimatic cofounder Simone Nunziato. “Everything that might get in the way of you pursuing your day, we take it away.”
Nowhere is the brand’s streamlined design philosophy more apparent than with its flagship timepiece, the U1 Classic. Measuring 41.5mm in diameter, the watch riffs on famous dive watches of yesteryear, a pared-back mashup of a Blancpain Fifty Fathoms and Rolex Submariner with most of the markings removed. What little is left — pale-green indices and a minimal amount of text — pops off the matte-black dial. A blank rotating bezel creates a simple yet elegant border.
HodinkeeUnimatic U1 Classic
The watch’s character comes from its lack thereof, resulting in a harmonic timepiece that fetishizes utility and approachability above all else. It costs less than $600.
“When I think of the iconic tool watches that people want, they’re not practical,” Nunziato says. “People are paying crazy secondhand prices. It kind of loses its original identity as a tool watch. We try to make watches you really want to wear. Your daily driver.”
