In the landscape of contemporary watchmaking, certain brands carve a niche not by reinventing the wheel, but by refining it to its purest form. UNIMATIC, an Italian brand born from the minds of industrial designers, has built its reputation on this very principle. Since its founding in 2015, the company has consistently delivered timepieces that are both an homage to classic tool watch archetypes and a confident expression of modern minimalism. Their latest release, the Modello Quattro U4-BLB, continues this tradition, presenting a military-inspired field watch executed with an uncompromising commitment to a stealth, all-black aesthetic. It is a watch that forgoes ornamentation in favor of absolute function, distilled into a powerful and cohesive design object.
The story of UNIMATIC is intrinsically linked to its founders, Giovanni Moro and Simone Nunziato. Both trained as industrial designers at the prestigious Politecnico di Milano, their approach to watchmaking is shaped by a deep understanding of form, material, and user interaction. They saw an opportunity to create unique watches that synthesized historical design cues with a clean, contemporary sensibility. Instead of building ornate complications, they focused on the fundamentals: case architecture, dial legibility, and robust construction. This philosophy has allowed UNIMATIC to produce watches that feel both familiar and entirely new, earning them a dedicated following among design enthusiasts and watch collectors who appreciate their stripped-down, purposeful ethos.
Courtesy of UNIMATIC
The Modello Quattro U4-BLB is a direct product of this design-centric approach. At its core is the iconic Modello Quattro case, a 40mm stainless steel chassis that feels modern in its dimensions and purposeful in its geometry. The diameter is a versatile size, large enough to have a strong presence on the wrist yet compact enough for comfortable daily wear. The choice of 316L stainless steel provides a solid foundation, known for its corrosion resistance and durability. What truly defines the U4-BLB’s character, however, is the application of a black DLC coating across the entire case.
DLC, or Diamond-Like Carbon, is a sophisticated surface treatment that imparts a layer of carbon with properties similar to natural diamond. This coating dramatically increases the surface hardness of the steel, providing a significant level of scratch resistance that far exceeds traditional PVD coatings. It also creates a deep, non-reflective black finish that is central to the watch's tactical identity. UNIMATIC has opted for a brushed finish on the DLC, which diffuses light and prevents distracting reflections, further enhancing its stealthy appearance. This finish gives the case a soft, metallic sheen rather than a glossy polish, reinforcing its utilitarian roots.
The architecture of the Modello Quattro case is defined by its sharp angles and robust construction. The fixed monoblock bezel is integrated seamlessly into the main case body, creating a solid and unified structure with no extraneous parts. This design choice not only contributes to the watch's clean lines but also enhances its structural integrity. The lugs are thick and angular, flowing directly from the case and providing a secure anchor for the strap. An oversized 8mm screw-down crown, also finished in brushed black DLC, is protected by stout crown guards, ensuring both ease of operation and protection from impacts. This entire assembly is engineered to provide a formidable water resistance of 300 meters, or 1000 feet, a specification that speaks to the watch's capability to handle demanding environments.
Courtesy of UNIMATIC
Perhaps the most compelling feature of the U4-BLB is its matte black sandwich dial. This type of construction involves two distinct layers. The bottom layer is a solid disc coated in Super-LumiNova® BG W9, a high-performance phosphorescent material. The top layer, finished in a deep matte black, has the hour markers precisely cut out, allowing the luminous material below to show through. This technique creates a tangible sense of depth, with the indices appearing recessed into the dial. It’s a method famously used in historical military dive watches, chosen for its ability to hold large amounts of luminous compound for superior, long-lasting brightness in low-light conditions.
The choice of Super-LumiNova® BG W9 is significant. In daylight, it appears as a crisp white, providing sharp contrast against the matte black dial. When the lights go down, it emits a powerful and sustained blue-green glow, ensuring that the time can be read at a glance in complete darkness. The dial design itself is minimalistic, featuring long, clean lines for the primary hour markers, with shorter markers for the intervening minutes. This "long index" layout is uncluttered and prioritizes instant legibility above all else. A discreet date window is located at the 6 o'clock position, its black date wheel with white text integrating seamlessly into the design and preserving the overall symmetry of the dial.
To complement the dial, UNIMATIC has equipped the U4-BLB with a "minimal phantom" handset. The hour and minute hands are blacked out to blend in with the dial, with generous applications of the same Super-LumiNova® BG W9 lume. This design choice makes the luminous elements appear to float over the dial in the dark, further simplifying the act of reading the time. The seconds hand is a slender reverse lollipop design, matte black with a luminous tip, providing a clear indication that the watch is running without adding visual clutter. This entire system of dial, indices, and hands works in concert to deliver a clean, ultra-functional display.
Courtesy of UNIMATIC
Protecting this carefully designed dial is a 2.8mm thick flat sapphire crystal. Sapphire is one of the hardest materials on Earth, second only to diamond, making it virtually scratch-proof in everyday use. The crystal’s substantial thickness adds to the watch's overall sense of durability. To maximize clarity, UNIMATIC has applied an anti-reflective coating to the inner surface of the crystal. This treatment is crucial as it minimizes glare and reflections that can obscure the dial, ensuring optimal readability from any angle and in any lighting condition.
Powering the Modello Quattro U4-BLB is the Seiko caliber NH35A, an automatic movement that has earned a reputation as a reliable and robust workhorse in the watch industry. It is a choice that aligns perfectly with UNIMATIC's philosophy of providing high-quality, functional timepieces at a competitive price point. The movement operates at a frequency of 21,600 beats per hour, which translates to a smooth sweep of the seconds hand. It features a power reserve of approximately 41 hours, meaning it can be taken off for a day and a half and will still be running.
The NH35A offers several practical features that are essential for a modern tool watch. It includes a hacking seconds function, which stops the seconds hand when the crown is pulled out to the time-setting position. This allows for precise synchronization with a reference time source. The movement also supports both bi-directional automatic winding via the motion of the wearer's wrist and manual winding by turning the crown. This combination of features ensures that the watch is not only accurate but also convenient and easy to use. The specified accuracy of -20 to +40 seconds per day is standard for this caliber and represents dependable mechanical performance.
Courtesy of UNIMATIC
The watch's all-black, tactical aesthetic is completed by a black heavy-duty nylon NATO strap. This style of strap was originally developed for military use and is prized for its durability, comfort, and security. Because the single-piece strap passes behind the watch case and through both sets of spring bars, the watch head will remain secured to the wrist even if one of the spring bars fails. The nylon material is resilient, waterproof, and comfortable in a variety of conditions.
UNIMATIC has ensured that every detail of the strap aligns with the watch itself. The hardware, including the buckle and the strap keepers, is crafted from stainless steel and finished with the same brushed black DLC coating as the case. This creates a visually cohesive unit from case to clasp. The buckle is also signed with the UNIMATIC logo, a subtle touch that reinforces the brand's attention to detail and complete design vision.
Turning the watch over reveals a solid screw-down caseback, a critical component in achieving the 300-meter water resistance rating. The caseback is engraved with essential information, including "Made in Italy" and the watch's technical specifications. Most importantly, it features an individual progressive number, marking its place in the strictly limited series. This unique identifier transforms each piece from a mass-produced item into a personal object, one of only ninety-nine in existence.
The complete package for the Modello Quattro U4-BLB reflects its tough, utilitarian nature. It is delivered in a UNIMATIC-branded tough case, a durable two-slot container designed to protect the watch during shipping and storage. Also included is a warranty card with a unique ID seal, authenticating the timepiece and covering it with a 24-month worldwide warranty.
Courtesy of UNIMATIC
This new release from UNIMATIC is a confident and focused execution of the modern military field watch. The U4-BLB is defined by its disciplined color palette and its emphasis on legibility and durability. Every element, from the DLC-coated case and the deep sandwich dial to the reliable automatic movement, has been chosen for a specific purpose. It is a watch that embodies the industrial design background of its creators—a tool where form and function are one and the same.
The UNIMATIC Modello Quattro U4-BLB is being offered as a limited edition of just 99 pieces, each individually numbered. The watch is priced at $870.00. Given the brand’s history of quickly selling out its limited runs, this stealthy and highly capable Italian-made military watch is expected to be in high demand among aficionados of modern, design-driven tool watches. It stands as a powerful example of how a clear design philosophy, combined with quality components and construction, can result in a truly compelling timepiece.
Case: 40mm diameter 316 stainless steel with a black DLC brushed finish. 300m water resistance. 2.8mm thick flat sapphire crystal with an inner side anti-reflective coating.
Movement: Automatic caliber Seiko NH35A. 41-hour power reserve, hacking seconds hand, 21,600 bph.
Dial: Matte black long index sandwich dial with Super-LumiNova® BG W9. Minimal phantom hands and a reverse lollipop second hand. Date window at 6 o'clock.
Strap: Black heavy-duty nylon NATO strap with black DLC brushed stainless steel hardware.
Price: $870.00
Reference Number: UWK-U4-BLB
Notes: A Made in Italy military watch in a limited edition of 99 individually numbered pieces. The watch features a stealth all-black execution and a luminous sandwich dial construction for depth.