Watch review: U-BOAT AS1 53mm

My first watch post here. I wrote this way back in July 2008 so information may not be the most updated. Also, my feelings towards this watch and brand may have changed. Nonetheless, I hope you find this review useful. :)

Here's a review of my 53mm. Better pictures to come soon... weather is lousy for phototaking!

Case: 53mm steel, lug length 60mm, case thickness 17mm



Packaging: The U-boat comes in an outer cardboard box, and a black leather box with a “coffin style” compartment for the watch. Lifting the compartment reveals two slots for placing extra straps and a pocket for manual and warranty card. Overall feel is good, as I have seen watches that are more expensive come with inferior packaging.

Watch: This is a huge chunky watch that oozes STYLE. Mine comes with brown strap with double deployment. This also comes with sapphire crystal instead of mineral glass on previous batches of watches. There are no markings anywhere on the watch to indicate that, but I have learnt that the alphabet Z would mean that it comes with sapphire crystal. For example, if you see the hangtag, it should read Classico Z 53 AS. The crown protector at 9 o’clock screws in nicely and houses a rather tiny crown for a watch this size. Since this is an auto, I think most people won’t have complains if they wear it frequently. I handwind it almost every morning since I don’t wear it everyday.

Accuracy is OK for me so far. I don’t use this for any operational or professional purpose so I obviously can’t be a good judge on this issue.

Caseback is transparent although I cannot confirm if it’s made of mineral or sapphire glass. Movement is relatively small compared to the case, but I guess the ETA2824 was used also to keep the watch at this price point. The Flightdeck 50 ABO has a bigger movement with black rotor, but I’m also sure that watch costs more than my Classico.



Dial: Dial diameter is approximately 46mm. My Classico 53 has black face with big off-white indices, giant numbers 12, 4, 8, and all three hands coated with SL. They don’t glow as bright as a Panerai, Glycine or even some Seikos, but it was decent and lasts the whole movie when I was in the theatre last week.

The date window is placed near the centre of the dial because of the small movement - white numbers on black datewheel. I feel that this makes the dial even cleaner than the other Classico’s (white dial) colour combo.

Under the white U-BOAT logo, there is Italo Fontana written in dark grey. This is a change from earlier Classicos with IFO written in white. You can also see one of the ruby and the words LEFT HOOK AUTO written at the bottom of the dial.

In all, the dial is simple and clean, making it a breeze to read the time.

Strap: My Classico comes with a brown leather strap with white stitches and beige liner on the underside. It has a double deployment buckle. I have no complains about this and plan to wear it on the stock strap. Other owners may not like it because U-BOAT has 23mm lug width, and may limit aftermarket strap options.



Impressions: The U-BOAT is definitely eye catching. So far, it has been a great conversation starter and I received plenty of complements from friends. Many may argue that the brand uses ETA movements and priced too high. In my opinion, the money spent is worth it for its unmistakable style. It is quite an icon with the huge dimension, left hand crown and simple dial layout.

While B&R are synonymous with big square cases, Panerai with lever locking crown protectors and Rolex with cyclops date lens, U-BOAT definitely comes to mind when I see watches with big cases with left crown and simple dial layouts.

Since the watch is humongous, I would advise owners to steer clear of people who wear jewellery or watches on your opposite side. Given the larger area, I’m sure it is more prone to knocks and scratches than smaller watches.

The Classico wears quite comfortably due to the relatively short lug length, and does not appear as big or “silly” as most detractors say.

While the U-BOAT does not come across as a dressy watch, it does offer some versatility to me. I wear this with shirt and jeans (I don’t wear officewear or suits at all), and sometimes T-shirt and jeans. It never looks out of place so far.

Nothing is perfect and U-BOAT has its shortcomings too. One thing that comes to my mind is the lack of a proper serial number. I can’t find a serial number anywhere on my watch. Despite having a big N.0012 lasered onto the right side of the case, I see no other documentations of it on the warranty card. In fact, the warranty card only writes the model name and can be used for all the Classico models. For example, card says AB-AS-A925. This means it could be good for any model within the Classico range. While it may be no concern to most people, it may possibly affect the “collect-ability” of this brand. Perhaps the brand will sort out this issue in the future.

Meanwhile, I am happy with this brand.