Field Watch Dreams of Foreign Skies
A utilitarian Italian field watch equipped for international travel presents the curious tension of purposeful design chasing the increasingly anachronistic function of mechanical timezone tracking.
The Field Watch That Wanted to Travel
In watchmaking’s landscape of calculated tensions, few are as intriguing as the field watch that aspires to worldliness. Unimatic‘s latest offering—the Modello Due ref. U2-GMT World Timer—embodies this tension with remarkable clarity. Here stands a timepiece born from utilitarian minimalism suddenly equipped with globetrotting functionality, like finding a passport tucked into the pocket of military fatigues. The brand known for ruthless simplicity now adds complexity, albeit in the most restrained manner possible. What emerges is a curious hybrid—a field watch that dreams of airport lounges while remaining steadfastly committed to its pragmatic roots.
A Milanese Minimalist on a Global Itinerary
Founded in 2015 by industrial designers Giovanni Moro and Simone Nunziato, the Milan-based brand has carved out a distinct niche in watchmaking’s crowded middle market. Unlike heritage-heavy Swiss houses or marketing-dependent fashion brands, Unimatic operates in a liminal space between the two—design-forward yet technically respectable. At €690 (ex VAT), the U2-GMT positions itself as an accessible alternative to entry-level Swiss GMTs while offering a more sophisticated proposition than the Seiko 5 GMTs sharing similar NH34A movement architecture.
This release reveals a telling development in independent watchmaking circa 2025: the continued democratization of complications once reserved for luxury segments. What Tudor did for the GMT market in 2018, brands like Unimatic now do one tier below—making previously aspirational functions available to enthusiasts unwilling or unable to spend four figures.
PR Promises and Mechanical Realities
The brand claims the U2-GMT combines “utilitarian design with refined precision,” yet the reality requires a more considered assessment. While Unimatic’s design ethos emphasizes utility, the movement choice—Seiko’s NH34A—represents a pragmatic compromise rather than refined precision. This workhorse caliber offers reliability and serviceability, but its timekeeping remains solidly within tool watch tolerances.
The press materials tout “seamless timekeeping across multiple time zones,” though industry insiders recognize the NH34A employs a “caller GMT” configuration—the less sophisticated implementation where the 24-hour hand is independently adjustable rather than the local hour hand. This makes it less convenient for actual travelers who must stop the movement to adjust local time upon arrival, unlike “flyer GMT” movements that allow independent adjustment of the hour hand.
The Ritual of Setting Time
Yet for all these practical considerations, there remains something genuinely compelling about the ritual of setting a mechanical GMT. In an age when smartphones automatically adjust to new time zones, the deliberate act of rotating the crown becomes a meaningful gesture—a moment of mechanical communion. The U2-GMT’s clean execution of the GMT complication, with its minimal 24-hour track subtly integrated into the field watch architecture, creates an object that respects both the historical purpose of the complication and contemporary aesthetic sensibilities.
Marketing Myth and Collector Reality
The reality is that few U2-GMTs will likely perform regular timezone duty. Unimatic frames the watch as “tailored for the modern, globe-trotting individual,” but most will spend their lives tracking a single additional timezone, if used functionally at all. The 300-meter water resistance—a curious specification for a traveler’s watch—suggests a product designed more for theoretical capability than practical application. Most will glimpse their double time under office lighting, not in the international business class cabins or remote expeditions implied in the marketing.
The “limited to 300 individually numbered pieces” promises exclusivity, though industry observers recognize Unimatic’s standard practice of creating artificial scarcity through numbered editions frequently refreshed with subtle variations. The marketing conjures images of adventurous travelers spanning continents, but collector patterns suggest these watches more commonly join stable collections of enthusiasts already owning multiple GMT watches.
Minimalism Without Myth
Unimatic’s brand narrative is notably free of the invented heritage that plagues so many watch companies—a refreshing rejection of horological mythology. Founded just a decade ago, the company makes no attempt to fabricate connections to aviation pioneers or mid-century expeditions. Instead, they have built their identity on design integrity and functional minimalism.
The genuine craft value lies in the cohesive execution of the U2-GMT’s design language. The success is in details like the unobtrusive date window at 6 o’clock that maintains dial symmetry, the restrained use of text, and the thoughtful integration of the 24-hour scale without compromising legibility. The double-domed sapphire with inner AR coating demonstrates attention to both form and function, allowing the matte black dial to maintain its visual depth from any angle.
Symbolism Over Function
What the U2-GMT actually provides its owner is less about global timekeeping and more about the psychological comfort of potential capability. The contemporary watch enthusiast rarely purchases based on genuine functional need—any smartphone handles multiple timezones more effectively. Instead, the appeal lies in what the watch represents: the freedom to travel spontaneously, the membership in a community of global citizens, the attachment to mechanical tradition in a digital age.
The U2-GMT embodies horological sincerity without self-seriousness—a mechanical device built with integrity, even as its function has been largely superseded. There’s something nobly quixotic about crafting a travel timepiece with meticulous attention to detail when most travelers navigate time differences through their phones.
A Contradiction Worth Keeping
The collectors who pursue the limited 300-piece run understand this contradiction inherently. They appreciate both the genuine craftsmanship and the slight absurdity of mechanical timekeeping in a digital age. This knowing engagement—recognizing the functional obsolescence while appreciating the mechanical execution—represents the most honest relationship between contemporary enthusiasts and their timepieces.
What makes the U2-GMT worthy of consideration is precisely its refusal to overstate its importance. In an industry awash with hyperbole and artificial heritage, Unimatic’s straightforward approach feels like a breath of fresh air. The watch succeeds not despite its contradictions but because of them—it is a field watch that travels, a minimalist design with added functionality, an accessibly priced timepiece with genuine design intelligence.
About the Author
Sergio Galanti is an independent writer and brand strategist exploring the intersections of luxury, culture, and time. As editor of WatchDossier, he examines watchmaking through the lenses of craft, history, and strategy.
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