Big & Bold – Unimatic U3-F Review

A closer look at the Italian Microbrand’s U3 series.

Back in my younger days, I remember clamouring to the television in the evenings after rushing my homework earlier in the afternoon. For the generation familiar with Kids Central (shout out y’all are the cool kids), that’s when all the action shows ran and more specifically – Power Rangers.

I can’t remember which generation of the show I started watching from – probably Power Rangers Turbo? But that’s besides the point. I recall the Rangers would often be wearing some kind of an accessory through which they would transform and gain access to a whole slew of abilities. Slightly outlandish yes, but cool nonetheless to a 7-year old me.

These days, my taste in television has somewhat matured (though I did watch the 2023 film – a lil’ nostalgia never hurt anyone), but there are days where I look down at my watch and imagine a “morpher” in its place, just waiting for me to shout some (now slightly cringey) catchphrase.

Particularly if the watch is a big and chonky one.

More specifically, if that watch is a Unimatic U3-F.

I’ve been on the smaller watch trend, which if you ask me is a good development for the watch world especially since my wrists aren’t particularly huge, and I think the last time I wore something near these dimensions was my Seiko Safarnie, which has since left the collection reason being my wrists are clearly no Schwarzenegger. I have nothing against larger watches, but for some strange reason, looking at the U3-F on my wrist, I can’t shake off the idea that somehow I’m wearing something of a Power Ranger device. Coming in at close to 51mm lug to lug and a thickness close to 14mm, the U3-F is no small watch and it’s here to make a statement.

Big and bold are the 2 words that come to mind, with a striking black and white design which is immediately apparent. The watch feels well built, with enough heft to suggest quality though I felt that it could be a tad lighter, especially given its quartz movement. On wrist, its a watch you definitely feel especially when you sway your arms. Visually, I have this impression that the U3-F was carved out of a single block of metal, though I highly doubt that was the case.

Chronograph pushers are situated at 2 and 4 o’ clock, while a relatively large crown sits at 3′. The crown isn’t signed, but features some circular geometric patterns and knurling. The chronograph pushers are similarly knurled, which is helpful for gripping as they need to be unlocked prior to the chronograph operation.

The screw-down chronograph pushers have a decent tactile feel when operated, with the watch being powered by a Seiko VK64 meca-quartz movement. The chronograph hand sweeps across the watch face (as opposed to “ticking”), and the reset button sends it snapping back with much satisfaction. I’m a fan of meca-quartz movements and have always enjoyed how it combines the sweep of a mechanical movement together with the convenience and accuracy of quartz.

The watch features a 120 click unidirectional aluminium bezel – I found the bezel movement to be just a touch rougher than what I’d prefer, but really I’m nitpicking. The “clicks” are satisfying, and the bezel aligns properly (as it should). Every quarter is marked out with Arabic numerals, with the exception of 0/the 12 o’ clock position which is replaced instead with a lume pip. The bezel is also knurled to help improve grip. Unimatic describes the bezel as a “black aluminum professional diver insert” and the watch does offer 300m of water resistance.

Flipping the watch around, the U3-F has a screwdown caseback with a world time “complication” i.e a list of countries and their respective time zone differences. I actually didn’t realise this till I started writing this article, but if you ever need to know what time it is in New York City – well now you do. The case back, like the rest of the case is finished in a brushed finish, which I feel is appropriate for the U3-F’s tool watch nature.

An interesting easter egg Unimatic included was an engraving the of the model series (“U3”) on the case at the lugs. I’m not sure who will ever see this, but its nice to see when brands pay attention to the little details.

Coming back to the dial, we are greeted with what I feel is the main highlight of the watch – the aforementioned striking black and white design. White indices and hands are strongly contrasted against a matt black dial and legibility is definitely not a problem here. Indices are printed and not applied, though I do think borderless applied indices could potentially be cool (albeit likely to drive up the price point). The sub-dial at 9 o’ clock tracks the elapsed time, while the one at 3 o’clock displays a 24 hour time indicator.

I particularly like the handset of the U3-F, which also adopts a matching black and white style. When the hands align with the chronograph hand at 12 o’ clock, I’m reminded of medieval swords – literally and figuratively sword hands.

Maybe it’s just me, but doesn’t it look like a sword?

While the dial is relatively flat, it sits rather deeply in the case. Combined with the high contrast indices, a good sense of depth is created. The indices and lume pip have been coated with Super-LumiNova C1 white, so legibility is covered even in the dark.

Lug width comes in at 22mm; not my lug width of choice but it fits the U3-F’s larger proportions. The watch comes with a black NATO strap, with a few interesting Unimatic touches here and there, including an area to write your name.

The strap feels alright – not too stiff, but nothing much to shout about either in terms of comfort. Trying on a few other straps, I found that NATO straps suit the U3-F the best. My go to is a grey coloured strap, which I think matches the overall design best.

Here are some styling options I tried out:

Personally, I feel that the watch wears a bit larger on my wrist (16cm), but it sits on the boundary of what I consider acceptable and I think I can still pull it off. It’s definitely a piece whose heft is backed up by its visual presence, and I can see those with larger wrists enjoying this one.

While the U3-F was a limited edition run of 600 pieces (2019), it retailed for 525 EUR before VAT, which is about SGD$793 / USD$616. For what its worth, the watch is solidly built and there is an overall sense of meticulousness about what should or shouldn’t go into the watch in terms of both design and functionality. At this price point, I foresee that the watch wouldn’t be for everyone and I’m not sure I would have bought it at full retail either, given that there are other options out there also using the VK64 movement but at a significantly lower price point.For a tool watch enthusiast or for anyone who’s interested in the design however, you can be assured of the U3-F’s reliability and quality.

You can still buy the U3 Classic (non-limited) which shares many common design elements, being of the same platform albeit with a non-marked bezel, at 655 EUR / SGD$990.

Overall Thoughts

I’ve always wanted to try out a Unimatic and had been drawn to their designs since I first saw them – funnily the one I was more interested to try out was the U2 Classic but as fate would have it, an opportunity to pick this up came my way and here we are. Model aside, the Unimatic design language is highly consistent across the different lines, and I felt that the U3-F was a good example of a watch done right; a combination of sound design, sensible functions and quality construction. The larger case size and higher price point will likely see some shy away from it, but if you’re into big and bold – the U3-F may be the one for you.