Unimatic has continued to steadily refine their formula in recent years, and while they’ve never been shy about tapping into their creative side, today we see a more serious side emerge in a return to the Prodiver collection consisting of three new references. Each of the watches fall within the Modello Uno platform, and each bring something unique to the table that centers around “professional-grade functionality”, culminating in the titanium, 600 meter reference U1S-T-PD6-B. The 300m references U1-PD3-B and U1-PD3-OR round out the collection, though they largely remain close to the existing diver framework we’ve seen from the brand, using steel cases and Seiko NH35A automatic movements.
All three of the new watches represent a subtle but important shift from the brand that aims to layer in more robust build quality and feature sets, not entirely removed from what we saw in the release of the Toolwatch Series (reviewed here). In reality, the watches they’ve been producing feel plenty capable already, with 300 meter divers being a standard from the brand. What the Prodiver collection needs to accomplish, therefore, is a notable step in overall build quality and execution. The use of titanium takes and a Swiss-made Sellita SW200-1 movement are indeed welcome, though would have made more sense if applied to all three new references rather than one.
The collection begins with the U1-PD3-B with a black dial, and the U1-PD3-OR with an orange dial. Both use a fully indexed elapsed time black bezel insert (which is ceramic, btw) and white lume on the dial and hands. These are the 300 meter divers and use the 41.5mm U1 case (40mm at the case itself) measures 13.2mm in thickness. The case and dial design language will all be very familiar to fans of the brand, which isn’t exactly a bad thing. It’s a great platform for a reason.
The real draw among the new Prodiver references is undoubtedly the U1S-T-PD6-B (doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue), which uses a titanium case, and while it shares the same diameter as the above references, its thickness has been cut down to 12.3mm, which is all the more impressive considering it’s also boasting a 600 meter depth rating. There is a caveat to these numbers, however: they don’t include the crystal. In fact, all three are the same 14.4mm thick when factoring this in. That said, the slimmer case should sit a little easier on the wrist, and coupled with the fact that it is titanium should keep it in downright pleasant territory on the wrist.
The titanium model makes use of the SW200-1, and with it brings a date complication which is situated at six o’clock. This is a welcome configuration and one that I’d have preferred to see with all three of these watches, perhaps varying in dial color and use of date, as the other two don’t quite do enough to differentiate themselves from other Unimatic divers not under the Prodiver banner.
All three watches will be limited to 300 units, and each will ship with a fabric passthrough strap. The steel models can be specc’d with a steel bracelet. Pricing for the U1-PD3-B and U1-PD3-OR is set at €750, while the titanium U1S-T-PD6-B will run €1,500. Unimatic
