Sooner or later, it seems like every watch gets a GMT hand. And why wouldn’t they? In a purist-driven world of micro-mechanics and granular craft, it’s nice to get some legitimate utility thrown in now and again.
Unimatic is one brand who uses the GMT sparingly. While we’ve seen it pop up on the Italian microbrand’s U4 divers in the past, the flagship U2 field watch has never had the ability to track a second time zone… until now. Known for its incredible legibility and minimalist design language, the U2 now gets a fourth hand while still preserving its finest selling attributes.
The Modello Due Legacy
First introduced in 2017 by founders Giovanni Moro and Simone Nunziato, the U2 — officially dubbed Modello Due — was conceived as Unimatic’s compact field watch counterpart to its dive-focused Modello Uno. The design ethos has always been about stripping away ornamentation while maintaining serious capability: 300m of water resistance, a double-domed sapphire crystal, and those signature phantom ladder hands that define the brand’s utilitarian elegance. Over the years, the U2 line has evolved through limited editions including titanium variants and collaboration pieces, but the GMT function remained conspicuously absent before this week.
Same Beloved Aesthetics
The U2-GMT doesn’t deviate from what makes the Modello Due special. It retains that compact 38mm brushed stainless steel case and overall design language. The matte black dial adds a 24-hour scale around the perimeter and a fourth hand with a hollow arrow tip filled with Super-LumiNova C1 — a subtle but effective visual cue that doesn’t clutter the composition. There’s also a date window at 6 o’clock now, which doesn’t disrupt the dial’s symmetry at all. For styling, the watch is adorned with a charcoal grey tapered TPU strap.
Inside sits the workhorse Seiko NH34A automatic GMT movement, a caller-style caliber that offers 41 hours of power reserve and the ability to independently adjust the 24-hour hand. The caseback gets engraved with a timezone conversion chart, a nice touch that nods to the “World Timer” designation, even if it’s not accessible while on the wrist.
That dramatic 2.7mm double-domed sapphire crystal remains a defining characteristic, giving the watch its distinctive profile. And despite all the additions, Unimatic maintained the 300m water resistance that makes this field watch far more capable than most dress GMTs.
Spec Sheet
Model: Modello Due U2-GMT “World Timer”
Case Material: 316L stainless steel
Case Size: 38mm
Lug-to-Lug: 47.5mm
Case Thickness: 12.7mm (15.7mm with crystal)
Movement: Seiko NH34A automatic GMT
Water Resistance: 300m
Crystal: 2.7mm double-domed sapphire with anti-reflective coating
Lume: Super-LumiNova C1
Strap: Charcoal grey tapered TPU strap
Limited Edition: 300 pieces
Pricing & Availability
Limited to just 300 pieces, the Unimatic U2-GMT is available now through the brand’s website for $964.
Recap
Unimatic U2-GMT “World Timer”
Unimatic just dropped its first GMT version of the beloved U2 field watch, adding travel functionality to that clean 38mm case without messing with the minimalist aesthetic that made it a fan favorite.
