Introducing the Unimatic X NOUS U1-NU, a Stealthy and Minimalist Dive Watch

The Paris-based street culture lab NOUS (“We” in French) has teamed up with the Italian firm Unimatic to offer a limited edition of 50 watches called the U1-NU. This 40-millimeter, all-black DLC watch fits seamlessly with NOUS’s self-proclaimed street culture aesthetic. What, exactly, is street culture? Visually, hip-hop is a strong influence, but so is skate culture, hardcore-punk, and (though older) rave culture, all decidedly positive forces that celebrate the diversity and cosmopolitanism found in large, modern cities. Street culture is largely expressed through fashion, and the U1-NU is exemplary.

The case measures 40 millimeters across, while the bezel measures 41.5 millimeters. I own watches with bezel overhang (the Rado Captain Cook reissue, for example), and that feature has always translated into an easy grip and effortless twisting. The lug-to-lug span is 49 millimeters with a modest angle down to the spring bars, likely making for a versatile fit. The thickness is 13.6 millimeters, which ought to compliment a hoodie’s cuff better than a button-down’s.

The U1-NU maintains the rugged, minimalist look of other Unimatic offerings, but here we get a California Dial (mixing Roman and Arabic numerals), and a black, uni-directional bezel with an anodized aluminum insert. Both a V-weave black and a fluoroelastomer mil-strap from Unimatic are included, and each sports matching black hardware. The effect is striking.

The technical specs demonstrate the watch’s toughness in real terms: 300 meters of water resistance, 2.5-millimeter double-domed sapphire crystal, screw-down crown, no-date (no fuss), C1 Super-LumiNova, and the proven NH35A automatic movement from Seiko offering as much as 41 hours of continuous power and a respectable anti-magnetic rating of 4,800 A/m.

Altogether, it’s a tough looking watch totally in keeping with the bold, fist-up aesthetics of both Unimatic and NOUS. Though French and Italian designers are behind it, the U1-NU is delightfully agnostic in terms of nationality, and thus projects the no-boundaries mindset of street culture.

The U1-NU will be available on June 18th, so interested folks will want to move quickly to get one of the 50 individually numbered units. It will retail for around $750, and it can be reserved today through Unimatic’s website. Unimatic