biggest u-boat watches

A few years ago, U-Boat jumped in the gap – at that time – of big watches. A Panerai wasn’t affordable for everyone, so U-Boat produced large quartz watches and had a wide network of resellers. You could even get them at most clothing stores for men. Clever marketing made U-Boat a big name and even people who didn’t care about watches, seem to know this brand. Heck, someone in a clothing store even asked me whether I was wearing a U-Boat, while it was a Panerai.Perhaps not fully justified, but I’ve never given U-Boat watches a proper look. Dimer send me a few of his pictures that he took of this U42 model and telling me that he was very impressed by the watch and the watch box. Since I know Dimer is serious about watches, I am tempted to examine this U-Boat as well.For now, I have to base my opinion on Dimer’s pictures and to be honest, it actually looks like it has been well crafted by these guys in Italy. The price is also impressive, 3700 euro for this limited edition U42, only 999 pieces made. It is a 53mm watch and has a 3rd party movement (ETA or Sellita, U-Boat doesn’t tell).Let me know about your experiences or thoughts on U-Boat, by leaving a comment below this post.

Italo Fontana has very well figured out how to design big watches. U-Boat watches are between 45mm and 55mm in diameter and even reach 65mm in the particular case of the U-1942. One thing that has not been associated much with these gargantuan timepieces, however, are complications. Showing that they are at the height of more traditional watchmakers to produced complicated watches, U-Boat released the U-51 Rattrappante complicated model.With a complex system of levers, springs, and pinions, the “rattrapante” or split-second chronograph movement is one of horology’s finest mechanisms. Its function is to allow the user to mark a time measurement without stopping the ongoing timer. This is done by overlapping two independent seconds hands. After starting the chronograph as usual, a third chronograph pusher can be used to stop one of the overlapping second hands and allow the user to take a reading. This can be used for timing lap times for instance. The English name for this type of chronograph is derived from the action of splitting the hands. Once the button is pushed again the hand that had stopped catches up to the primary chronograph seconds hand instantly. This gives the function its French name: rattrapante.Mostly you will find such fine mechanisms in more traditional and elegant watches, but the U-51 is nothing like these. The colossal case is 51mm in diameter without counting the impressive crown cap and pushers. It is undeniably based on military styling with a protruding, protective bezel, five visible fastening screws, and a matte satin finish. Although the exact measurement is not known yet, the thickness of the case is evident. The screw-locking crown protector ??????? on the left as always with U-Boat watches ??????? has been greatly reworked from the company’s more basic models. So have the hinge system that secures the crown cover to the case and the start/stop pushers. A final, subtle touch of style is created by abandoning the lugs, making the strap seem integrated with the case.What makes the U-Boat U-51 Rattrapante special is that every part of it has been amplified. Even the strap has been adorned with the most extravagant alligator leather and fortified with a rubber border. All these extras earn the U-51 a price tag of roughly US$15,000, which places the watch amongst the most expensive stainless steel U-Boats, but it is also amongst the rarest. The U-51 will be produced in very limited quantities and is in its own category amongst the U-Boat watch collection.Written by Marco Gagliano. Marco is a specialist of at .