UNIMATIC Modello Uno ProDiver 600m Review

Until starting Hourstriker a few years ago, I never knew much about Italian watch brand UNIMATIC. I had of course seen some of their timepieces online, but I never looked deep into the brand or had any hands on time with their pieces. Covering UNIMATIC ended up really making me super interested in what was coming out of Milan and finally a few months ago I was able to get one of the watches in for review.

I was more than impressed with the Modello Uno ProDiver UNIMATIC sent and after the review I was eager to get more pieces in from the brand. Recently UNIMATIC asked if we wanted to review a new limited edition diver that they were about to release. Of course I said I was, and a few days later the newest ProDiver arrived.



Before we get into that watch, let's first take some time to go over the history of UNIMATIC. UNIMATIC was founded in Milan, Italy in 2015 by friends Giovanni Moro and Simone Nunziato. These two industrial designers met while studying at the Polytechnic University of Milan, where they instantly bonded over their love for vintage mechanical sports watches. When the duo decided to create their own watch brand, it was decided that the goal of the brand would be to create robust timepieces that followed their design goals and were also fully capable dive watches.

The first watch released in 2015 was the Modello Uno (U1-A), which was produced in a small limited edition batch of 300 pieces. This dive watch was extremely minimal in the design of the bezel and dial, stressing legibility over all else. UNIMATIC got off to a great start with the Modello Uno when it was featured by the Parisian boutique Colette, giving the brand a lot of early momentum. Early models stuck very close to the original idea of practical utility, even using the extreme easy to service Seiko NH35A automatic movement.

In 2017, UNIMATIC would release their second true model, the U2. This model was not a true dive watch like the U1, but rather a smaller watch with a fixed bezel. The U2 was inspired by traditional military field watches that Giovanni and Simone were big fans of as collectors. Even with its smaller size, the U2 still offered a dive worthy 300 meters of water resistance.



The U3 was next to launch, which was UNIMATIC's take on the chronograph. The goal of the U3 was to create an extremely readable chronograph that stayed true to the design aesthetic of the brand. UNIMATIC also wanted the U3 to be very reliable and accurate, which was accomplished by powering the watch by a meca-quartz movement. The beauty of this type of caliber is that you get the accuracy of a quartz movement with the smooth sweep of a mechanical movement. The U4 followed in 2020 which combined the bulky look of the U1 diver with a fixed bezel, bridging the gap between dive and field watch.

As UNIMATIC entered the 2020s, the brand started to experiment much more with materials. Up until this point, UNIMATIC watches were cased primarily in stainless steel. Understanding that some people, like myself, do not like the heft of stainless steel, the brand started to release cases made out of titanium, ceramic and carbon. UNIMATIC would now really start doing more limited edition collaborations as well. The brands UNIMATIC has done collaborations with go from pop culture icons to respected names in the watch industry. These range from SpongeBob SquarePants to NASA and New York creative studio Massena Lab.

Up until recently, UNIMATIC only released watches in small limited edition batches that would sell out rather fast. This changed when the brand introduced their Classic and Toolwatch series, which are always in stock catalog pieces. This not only made sure that there were always UNIMATIC watches available to order, but also allowed the brand to still have a bit of fun with their smaller production run models.



Initial Thoughts

When the Modello Uno ProDiver 600m arrived, the first thing I noticed about the watch was just how solid it felt. The watch isn't exactly heavy; it just feels very substantial in your hand and on the wrist. The ProDiver 600m weighs in at just 114 grams, which is only 2 grams more than the previous ProDiver we reviewed. The kicker here is that the new ProDiver 600m has 300 meters more water resistance. That UNIMATIC was able to achieve that without any real weight penalty is pretty amazing.

The next thing I noticed about the ProDiver 600m during my initial time with the watch was the super interesting use of lume on the dial and bezel. In normal lighting the ProDiver looks rather unassuming with its flat black dial and stark white markers. When the lights go down you really get to see something special though. UNIMATIC uses custom white/orange Super-LumiNova for all the hour markers as well as the hour and seconds hands. The hue is really very appealing in low light. The orange goes really well with the blue hue of the minute hand and bezel markers as well. I can't recall another brand using blue and orange lume, and the combination just works.

The final thing I noticed about the UNIMATIC Modello Uno ProDiver 600m when I first looked at the watch was the excellent black TPU strap. TPU is a lot less common than rubber when it comes to watch straps. TPU tends to be a bit stiffer than rubber, but it is much better at taking everyday impacts and is very resistant to scratches and abrasions. Unlike rubber, TPU isn't a dust magnet, so when combined with its increased durability, TPU straps tend to look newer longer than rubber straps. The TPU strap didn't seem too stiff to me and was rather supple. I know that over time it will actually conform better to your wrist's shape as well.



A Closer Look

Now that we've gone over both the history of UNIMATIC as well as my first impressions of the Modello Uno ProDiver 600m, let's now take a closer look at the watch. The case of the ProDiver is crafted out of 316L stainless steel, with a case diameter of 40 mm when measuring the case and 41.6 mm when including the slight bezel overhang. The ProDiver has a lug to lug length of 48.8 mm as well. The watch weighed in at 114 grams on the TPU strap and buckle and at its thickest point is 13.9 mm tall.

The UNIMATIC ProDiver 600m uses a double domed sapphire crystal with an anti-reflective coating on the inside. This is preferable to having an exposed AR coating, since the coating is easy to scratch, especially on a dive watch. Underneath the crystal clear sapphire is the matte black dial we spoke about earlier. Around the outside of the dial is a minute track printed in white. Each minute is represented by a thin hash mark, with each 5 minute interval getting a slight bolder mark.

The hour markers on the ProDiver 600m are made up of a mixture of markers. 12 o'clock is done with a large triangle, with 3 and 9 getting large bar markers. The rest of the hour markers are done in dot markers with 6 o'clock being replaced by a black backed date window. The hour markers all appear white in normal lighting and then glow orange in low light. This was made possible by a custom emission OL orange lume done for UNIMATIC by Super-LumiNova.



There are three centrally mounted hands on the dial of the UNIMATIC Modello Uno ProDiver 600m being the hour, minute and seconds hands. The hour and minute hands are fence post style while the seconds hand is slim and has a lollipop counter weight. The hour and seconds hands have matching white lume that glows orange to the hour markers, while the minute hand is done in Super-LumiNova BGW09, which glows blue that matches the bezel markings. Finishing off the dial is UNIMATIC, "MADE IN ITALY" and "600M ~ 2000FT" printed in white at 6 o'clock. The mixture of the blue and orange Super-LumiNova isn't something I've seen before, and it really works here on the ProDiver.

The bezel of the ProDiver 600m is uni-directional and takes 120 clicks to complete a full rotation. The bezel is also nicely scalloped and offers plenty of grip. Each turn results in a satisfying click with minimal back play. The bezel features a matt black ceramic insert with the dive time scale on it. One interesting design note here is that the ProDiver 600m skips any real markers for the 5 minute intervals between the Arabic numerals for each 10 minute interval. Instead like the 5 minute intervals on the minute track, they get a slightly bolder hash mark. 0/60 on the bezel is marked by a lumed pip. All bezel markers are coated with Super-LumiNova BGW9 which glows blue to match the minute hand.



Looking at the case of the ProDiver 600m, you can see that the entire case in brushed in finish. This is of course what you would expect from such a serious tool dive watch. I applaud UNIMATIC for not polishing the edges of the case like so many brands do on their dive watches. The profile of the ProDiver shows a rather flat case with the lugs having a slight down turn to form to the shape of your wrist. The profile view also shows that the lugs are drilled, which is just something I love to see. The easiest way to scratch your watch is during strap changes using a spring bar tool. By having drilled lugs, removing the strap is quick and eliminates the need to dig around trying to get the spring bar to release and possibly damage the case.

On the right hand side of the case is the large screw down crown that is completely protected by the large crown guards on either side. With the screw down crown, the ProDiver offers a staggering 600 meters of water resistance. The crown is also nicely scalloped like the bezel and is topped with the UNIMATIC logo. Un-screwing the crown lets you wind the automatic movement in the resting position. Pulling the crown out to position one lets you set the date, while pulling the crown out to position two stops the seconds hand and lets you set the time. Pushing the crown back in causes no jump in the minute hand and getting the crown to catch as you screw it back in takes no extra care.



The UNIMATIC ProDiver 600m has a rather standard lug width of 22 mm. The black TPU does not have any taper to it and is 22 mm at the brushed pin buckle with UNIMATIC branding. Even though the ProDiver has drilled lugs, the TPU strap comes with quick release spring bars. While TPU is similar to rubber, it is not often seen used on watch straps. TPU is a bit stiffer than rubber and takes some time to break in and form to your wrist. The big benefit is that TPU is much more durable than rubber to cuts, scratches and impacts. For a very serious diver like the ProDiver 600m, the choice of TPU makes total sense.

Flipping the watch over shows off the sold stainless steel screw down caseback.Important information about the watch such as water resistance and movement details are engraved around the caseback. There is also a large engraving at the center of the caseback with a distance and length conversion scale. Finally the individual limited edition number of the watch out of 300 total pieces produced is also engraved at the center of the caseback.

Underneath the solid caseback beats the Swiss made Sellita SW200-1 automatic movement. The SW200-1 beats away at 28,800 vph (4Hz) and has a power reserve of 38 to 41 hours. The SW200-1 is rated with an accuracy of +/- 12 seconds a day, but we typically find that these movements test much better than that. On our timegrapher, the SW200-1 inside of the UNIMATIC ProDiver 600m showed an accuracy of +6 seconds per day when averaged out over several positions. This is extremely accurate and the movement showed zero beat error as well.



On The Wrist

On my 7.25 inch wrist with a flat area of around 55 mm, the UNIMATIC Modello Uno ProDiver 600m wears remarkably well. For the most part I prefer a watch with a lug to lug length of 50 mm or just over, but the ProDiver has great wrist presence and doesn't favor one side of my wrist over the other. The 114 gram weight is also a little bit more than the 100 grams I prefer for this size of watch, but not by much. The watch doesn't feel top heavy at all, which is nice.

The TPU strap does a great job keeping the case in place on the wrist. While the strap isn't as supple as some quality rubber straps, it by no means is too stiff or uncomfortable. I'd imagine over time that the strap would become even more comfortable as it forms to my wrist. It kind of seems like winter is over here in Austin, with temperatures already reaching into the 90s. On these warm days, the TPU strap dealt well with the swelling and contracting of my wrist.



On longer wearing stints, the ProDiver was a great wrist companion and there was never any hint of wrist fatigue. While the watch isn't a super lightweight, like if it was made out of carbon, ceramic of titanium, the ProDiver pretty much disappeared on the wrist, never becoming an annoyance. The mostly black, white and silver aesthetic of the ProDiver also meant that the watch went perfectly with my typical dress of a black t-shirt, shorts and sneakers.

To test the legibility of a watch, I use a simple test where I see how easy it is to read the time at just a glance while driving. In this test, dive watches do the best since they have high contrast dials and large markers, while complicated and skeleton watches do the worst, since they value design over legibility. I wasn't too concerned that the ProDiver wouldn't do well in this test since its minimalist designed dial stresses legibility. My hunch proved correct and the ProDiver required nothing more than a quick glance to decipher the time. The use of two different lume colors along with the amount of luminous material used on the dials makes low light time telling a breeze as well.



While wearing the UNIMATIC ProDiver 600m out and about on boring everyday errands as well as out to dinner and drinks, the watch didn't get noticed too much. When testing pieces back-to-back for Hourstriker, the contrast between them can be striking. We recently spent time with the aggressive, black and orange carbon-cased Freak X from Ulysse Nardin, a piece deliberately designed to pull focus and invite questions about its flying carousel. Shifting from that to the ProDiver 600m highlights exactly what makes the UNIMATIC succeed as a dedicated tool watch. Its fully brushed case and no-nonsense black TPU strap are built to fly under the radar, quietly doing its job until an excited collector actually spots it in the wild. This is exactly what happened, when a super excited UNIMATIC collector asked about the watch and was very excited to see it. I did show the ProDiver to a few friends as well, and they were all very impressed with it. Most were impressed with the 600 meters of water resistance and loved the two colors of lume used on the dial. Everyone was pleasantly surprised by the asking price of the ProDiver 600m as well.

Value and Position in the Market

Speaking of price, the UNIMATIC Modello Uno ProDiver 600m retails for $1,820. For that price you're getting an extremely robust dive watch with two to three times the depth rating of standard dive watches. The watch is also powered by a very accurate and easy to service and repair Sellita automatic movement. Finally the ProDiver evolves the classic UNIMATIC design language including a custom orange Super-LumiNova hue. Now is the time in the review where we look at other watches with similar features and specifications to see how the ProDiver holds up in terms of value.



First up is the Matic from Squale which has a 44 mm case crafted out of stainless steel. Squale made a name for itself by producing water tight cases for early dive watches from other manufactures. The Matic has the classic vintage look of early Squale cases with the crown at 4 o'clock. The watch offers a matching 600 meters of water resistance to the ProDiver 600m. It also runs on the same Sellita SW200-1 automatic movement as the UNIMATIC. The Squale is a bit less expensive than the UNIMATIC at $1,595.

Next up we have the Black Bay from Tudor which has a 41 mm case made out of stainless steel. The Black Bay has been the modern go to for a no nonsense diver that is a more affordable alternative to its big brother, the Rolex Submariner. The Black Bay is powered by an in-house automatic movement with 70 hours of power reserve. The Black Bay only has a third of the water resistance found in the ProDiver though at 200 meters. The Black Bay is also much more expensive than the ProDiver at $4,975.



Moving on is the U1 from Sinn which has a 44 mm case crafted out of German submarine steel. The U1 also shares the vintage dive watch look with the Squale, with the crown positioned at 4 o'clock. The U1 does offer an incredible 1,000 meters of water resistance though. Like the UNIMATIC and Squale, the U1 is also powered by the Sellita SW200-1 automatic movement. The U1 retails for a good deal more than the ProDiver 600m as well at $3,260.

Finally we have the Reef from Formex which has a 42 mm case made out of stainless steel. The reef has an aggressive and modern look to it and even offers an interchangeable bezel. The Reef has half of the water resistance of the ProDiver at 300 meters.The Reef is powered by a slightly up-market Sellita SW300-1 automatic movement with 56 hours of power reserve that is also chronometer certified. The Reef is a bit more expensive than the ProDiver 600m at $2,085.



Looking at the above four watches, you can see that the ProDiver 600m compares very well to even much more expensive dive watches. The truth about the dive watch market is that it is a genre of watch that offers an incredible amount of choices. For the most part, when picking a dive watch it comes down to taste and how a watch's design appeals to you. With the ProDiver 600m, UNIMATIC offers an extremely capable watch with excellent specifications that also looks completely unique while not being another Fifty Fathoms or Submariner clone.

Closing Thoughts

So in the end, is the UNIMATIC Modello Uno ProDiver 600m for me? In most respects the watch really is for me. I do have a rather dated preference for larger cased watches, but the lug to lug length of the ProDiver only falls about 1 mm short of my desired 50 mm measurement. In all honesty, the watch has enough presence on the wrist to make up for that small size discrepancy. I would also have liked to have seen this watch in titanium, which UNIMATIC actually did release recently, but at 114 grams, the ProDiver 600m in stainless steel doesn't incur too much of a weight penalty for sticking with the more dense material. In all honesty, most collectors prefer stainless steel over titanium, so once again just a weird preference of mine.



Otherwise there really isn't anything I can critique negatively about the ProDiver 600m. The design language of the watch is on point and it just takes a glance to identify it as a UNIMATIC watch from across the room. The matte black dial and bezel are exactly what you'd expect from a tool dive watch as well. Legibility in both normal and low light situations is excellent, with the stark white markers contrasting perfectly with the black dial during the day. In the dark, the orange and blue lume just look awesome and the minute hand being the only blue dial element helps you identify it quickly and sync it up to the blue markings on the bezel to gauge your dive time. With 600 meters of water resistance and a durable TPU strap, you can tell that UNIMATIC was out to design their ultimate deep diver with the ProDiver 600m.

Would I then recommend the ProDiver 600m to a collector looking for a real no nonsense dive watch? Like I mentioned earlier, there are a ton of options when it comes to quality dive watches. The ProDiver offers excellent value for the specifications and features it provides. The design language is truly un-offensive and legibility is at the forefront of its design. The watch also runs on a very accurate Swiss made caliber that is easy for any local watchmaker to work on and repair. If somebody is a fan of the design of the ProDiver 600m, then I would recommend it in a heartbeat with no reservations. With only 300 models available for this black dialed version, along with another 300 blue dialed variants also available, if you're interested in the ProDiver 600m, it's probably best to take a good look at the series before they inevitability sell out.



I'd really like to thank UNIMATIC for sending over this Modello Uno ProDiver 600m to review. This is now the second ProDiver model that we have reviewed, and just like the first model, I left this review extremely impressed for the solid high quality watches the brand produces. Also Giovanni and his team over at UNIMATIC have been nothing but extremely welcoming to us over the past few months. It's great to see genuinely nice people behind a brand making awesome watches. Hopefully in the next few months we will get some more pieces from UNIMATIC in to review as we continue to explore the brand.

For more information about the Modello Uno ProDiver 600m please visit : UNIMATIC

Technical Specifications

Reference Number: UWK-U1S-PD6-B

Retail Price: $1,820

Case Size: 40 mm (41.6 mm with Bezel Overhang)

Lug to Lug: 48.8 mm

Thickness: 13.9 mm

Weight: 114 grams

Case Material: 316L Stainless Steel

Bezel: Uni-Directional with 120 Clicks and a Ceramic Inlay

Strap: Black TPU Strap with Stainless Steel Pin Buckle

Movement: Swiss Made SW200-1 Automatic Movement

Functions: Hours, Minutes, Date and Seconds

Power Reserve: 38 - 41 Hours

Water Resistance: 600 Meters