Unimatic was born as “one hundred percent a game”, according to Giovanni Moro, co-founder of the company. It was the first collaboration of two design graduates at Politecnico di Milano, Moro and Simone Nunziato, who used to buy, as they were students, vintage watches on eBay as a joined hobby. A few years later, the two decided to join forces and co-design a watch that would combine their passion for vintage and contemporary design. A business plan was nowhere in sight, so they approached the task with the sole intention of designing the watch they always had in mind. Moro and Nunziato’s first model under Unimatic was released in 2015 with the name Model Uno U1-A. It was a relatively simple slim watch with a flat black dial and lumed hour markers in different geometric shapes. To their surprise, the demand got high in a very short period. As the number of pieces produced continued to be limited, the company became one of the most sought-after micro brands. So far, Unimatic has released 39 models, produced in small quantities of less than 3,000 pieces a year.
The history of producing water resistance watches goes back to the 17th century, when they were usually sold as one-off custom-made pieces called “Explorer’s Watches”. Since the early 20th century, such watches have been commercially produced for military and commercial distribution. Unimatic sees itself as a watchmaking lab constantly exploring the idea of a diving watch as a physical object and a designed piece. To do that, the two designers take inspiration from various classic diving watches, blending them into one modern, minimalistic, refined design. Nunziato and Moro believe in simplicity as their design method. They walk on the fine line between functionality and aesthetics, keeping in mind that a dive watch should first serve as a tool. Given that, the two aim to offer an updated piece without adding unnecessary features. Another goal was to produce the watches locally and to make them accessible to the vast at the same time, to ensure unique, high quality, and valuable pieces for an affordable price. And indeed, to this day, all the assembly and testing phases are made solely in Italy.
The new S-M series by Unimatic combines the ultra-minimal Italian approach with the acclaimed Swiss classic design. The letters representing the series stand for Slim Minimal, referring to the watch’s design and super slim height. Still made in Italy, it now contains the Swiss automatic movement, which guarantees an ideal time accuracy. The new series includes an ample 8mm crown and a UNIMATIC logo in SuperLumi-Nova luminous paint, which grants the watch a high-quality glow in the dark. As for water resistance, an underwater diving watch would feature a minimum of 1.0 MPa, the equivalent of 100m; the S-M series holds an impressive figure of 1000ft, which is 300 meters underwater. Unimatic’s new series contains two models, both colored in black. The first model is the minimal dive Uno U1S-M/U1S-MN and the second is the field watch Modello Due U2S-M / U2S-MN. The models are sold with two different finishes- brushed stainless steel and black DLC finish. Both models are offered in limited editions of 500 and 400 pieces for the stainless steel and the DLC, respectively. The typical features of the original case remained intact at the S-M series, including lugs with beveled edges and spring-bar holes drilled through, in order to maintain an old-school vibe. All the watches are equipped with two straps, one made from Italian calf leather for the more formal attire, and a second made of a seatbelt nylon strap for a casual appearance.
The distribution of Unimatic’s new series is carefully chosen among leading retailers across 13 nations and through a direct e-commerce platform, reaching more than 70 countries. Similar to previous series, this limited production of the S-M series grants it preservation or rather increasing value, as the watches become an object of desire by various collectors worldwide.
