Unimatic has spent the past decade proving that two industrial designers from Milan can take on the Swiss establishment with little more than some brushed steel and plenty of negative space. It’s a formula that rarely changes, and includes sparse dials, sterile bezels, small numbered runs that sell out in a matter of weeks.
So when the brand actually decides to shake things up a bit, it’s worth paying attention. This time around, the shake-up is tactile, arriving in the form of the ten-watch Impronte Collection.
The Fingerprint Treatment
Impronte is Italian for imprints, and Unimatic took that design brief literally (although we wouldn’t expect anything less). Dial details that would normally be printed are instead pressed into the surface, so the seconds rail, marker frames, and branding all sit debossed below the dial plane.
The bezel flips the formula in the other direction, with numerals raised above the insert rather than engraved into it. And then there’s the caseback, which looks like someone shrink-wrapped a sheet of crushed foil in stainless steel. It doesn’t serves any function whatsoever, but we still love it anyway.
Each reference comes in two finishes, with AEB models going murdered-out matte black and AEG models wearing a brighter sandblasted aluminum tone.
Ten Watches, Three Familiar Faces
The ten references spread across three platforms Unimatic diehards will recognize on sight. The Modello Uno handles diver and GMT duty, the Modello Tre carries a single-register chronograph layout, and the stripped-back Modello Quattro covers time-only and GMT with a fixed monoblock bezel.
Underneath, it’s classic Unimatic value engineering. Brushed 316L cases measure 40mm (41.5mm across the bezel on the Uno and Tre), water resistance holds at an impressive 300 meters across the entire lineup, and Seiko’s NH35A and NH34A automatics handle timekeeping while the VK64 meca-quartz runs the chronograph.
Spec Sheet
Collection: Unimatic Impronte (10 references)
Platforms: Modello Uno, Modello Tre, Modello Quattro
Case Material: Brushed 316L stainless steel
Case Size: 40mm (41.5mm across the bezel, Uno and Tre)
Water Resistance: 300m
Movements: Seiko NH35A / NH34A automatic, VK64 meca-quartz (Tre)
Crystal: Double-domed sapphire with anti-reflective coating
Lume: Super-LumiNova C1
Straps: Two seatbelt NATO straps (black and olive drab)
Limited Edition: Yes, 250 pieces per reference
Manufacturing Origin: Made in Italy
Pricing & Availability
The Impronte Collection is live now through Unimatic’s website and select retailers, with pricing running from $780 for the time-only Modello Quattro up to $1,050 for the Modello Uno GMT. Every watch is individually numbered, capped at 250 pieces per reference, and ships with both NATO straps in the box. Head over to Unimatic’s website before your favorite reference disappears.
Recap
Unimatic Impronte Collection
Unimatic trades its usual flat minimalism for full-on texture with ten limited divers, GMTs, and chronographs featuring debossed dials, raised bezels, and gloriously crinkled casebacks.
