U-Boat II 3H18 - Sapphire

When we think German, we think precision engineering and quality. And this is exactly what we have here today from Aristo. Aristo was founded in 1907 by Julius Epple in Pforzheim, jewelry and watch making city in black forrest, Germany. The company has been producing timepieces for the last three generations.

The Aristo U-Boat II - 3H18 - Sapphire is powered by a Swiss Made ETA automatic caliber, ETA2824-2, operating at 28,800 BPH (4 Hertzs) with hacking and hand winding capabilities. It has 25 jewels with a power reserve of 40 hours.

Aristo U-Boot II - 3H18 - Sapphire

The Aristo U-Boat II - 3H18 - Sapphire is clearly inspired by Flieger (German for Pilot) watches from the 60s. And that means it is designed with legibility in mind. The dial is kept simple and sticks to the basics. It's highly legible and the use of only black and white on the dial along with the minimal text leads to a refreshing and fuss free dial. The 3H18  employs a reserve luminous application. SuperLuminova is applied to the entire dial with black indices. This watch glows in a torch in the dark! The addition of a date window at 3 o'clock is certainly a welcome

Now, onto the case. As the name implies, the watch measures at a good size of 38 mm, a lug-to-lug size of 44.5mm, a thickness of 10.5mm and a lug width of 20mm. The 316L stainless steel case is made up of two parts; the combined mid case and concave bezel, and the screw down case back. The case is fully sandblasted giving it a low reflection finish commonly found in miitary equipments.

316L Stainless steel in matte finished with Sapphire crystal

What is more, it even comes with a display back for us watch enthusiast to admire the ETA2824-2 at work. The size of the case coupled with the short lug-to-lug dimension makes this a great fit on all wrist sizes. Oh, did we mention this watch is made specifically for Gnomon Watches with a sapphire crystal?

An interesting point of the U-Boat II - 3H18 is the rather huge dial opening. That means this watch is all dial. It makes it look visually bigger than the size suggest. This also takes legibility to another level while still being wearable on many wrist sizes.

Full luminous dial for super glow in the dark duties

The Aristo U-Boat comes on a dark green Military Nylon Strap with matte hardware to compliment the military theme.

In conclusion, the Aristo U-Boat collection is certainly worth considering if you are in the market for a good quality German design watch with an ETA2824-2 movement that doesn't break the bank. The good size and dimension also means this is a great everyday watch that will fit most wrist sizes, male or female. And especially at home on occasions that you need a smart looking that fits under the cuffs with a character to boot.

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