Welcome the new U-Boat Capsule 40 and 50 PVD and SS Watches
Tuesday - 02 May 2023
U-boat is still considered a relatively young brand in the industry, yet its roots go back much further. The company’s story began with a man named Ilvo Fontana who had a strong vision of developing robust and reliable military wristwatches for the Italian Navy, yet his vision never came to fruition until a lot later when his grandson discovered his designs and finally bought the brand to life. Ever since then, U-Boat has been churning out a constant stream of memorable designs one after the other. Recently, we covered the new wristwatches belonging to the Darkmoon series, adopted by the Capsoil concept – an oil-filled bath inside the watch that not only works to balance the pressure within the watch but enriches the intensity and colour of the dial.
Whilst the Darkmoon is a quirky and retro watch underpinned by modern technology, the Classico collection is where you would go to find a clean and legible watch that adds subtle vintage elements to an otherwise contemporary design. There are two main differentiating features of the U-Boat Classico watch collection – one is its left-sided crown and the other is its specially engraved serial number etched into the surface of its case side. Similar in design to the Classico are the Capsule 45 and 50 watches that take inspiration from bathyspheres of the 1930s. These models have steam punk aesthetics and draw upon Italo Fontana’s fascination with depth gauges. The Capsule watch collection was first introduced in 2015 and the watches from this line still feature that instantly recognisable left-sided crown protection system. This crown placed at the left side of the U-Boat Capsule watch is a defining feature that tells you instantly that you’re looking at a U-boat watch. Each model is crafted by hand at the brand’s main watchmaking location in Lucca and features a guard that fits over the crown between the 7 and 8 o’clock locations. Designed like a crown cap and attached by a metal hinge, it lifts off to reveal the crown sitting underneath it for amending time.
The new U-Boat Capsule Limited Edition 45 and 50 watches
The new Capsule watches from U-boat are limited editions of just 200 pieces each and the good news is that they are offered in both 45 and 50mm sizes with a choice of a black dial with blue elements and a black dial with beige elements. Both models feature a black PVD-coated stainless steel or plain brushed stainless steel case (depending on their respective blue or beige detailed dial elements) that is inspired by the design of primordial submarines. Rounded in shape and featuring porthole windows made from water pressure-resistant glass, the submarines were built with these spherical portholes clamped to the outside of the design using a system of levers. U-boat Capsule watches are designed with a domed sapphire crystal glass to amplify the view of the dial sitting underneath, creating a magnifying effect that is similar to those seen on submarines. The glass is sealed to an independent external bezel by five external screws. The patented pusher used for easy crown extraction can be seen alongside a see-through slit that offers an additional view to the dial.
Robust and hard-wearing, there is no denying the practical advantages of wearing one of these bold and daring U-boat Capsule 45 and 50 watches on the wrist. Each of the models features a sleek black dial with either beige or blue-coloured Super-LumiNova dial elements These are shown in the hour track, represented by Arabic numerals and stick markers together with the central hour and minute hands and a needle fine seconds hand in a matching colour. The “Made In Italy” lettering can be seen in the southern hemisphere against a beige background, whilst the date window is located in the unconventional location of 3 o’clock.
Inside these new Limited Edition U-boat Capsule 45 and 50 PVD and SS (stainless steel) watches is the Sellita SW 200 Movement with a total of 26 jewels, a power reserve of 41 hours and a performance of 28,800 vibrations per hour. The blue dial model with a black PVD-coated case is fitted on an aged black calf leather strap, whilst the other version is fitted on a brown aged calf leather strap. Both the 45 and 50mm versions feature a special engraved caseback denoting the 1930s primordial submarine from which the watch takes inspiration.
If you’d like more information on these new U-boat Capsule 45 and 50 PVD and SS Limited Edition watches and would like to own one of the 200 pieces in either design, you can check the new releases out here online at Jura Watches or call and speak to a member of our sales team on 01335 453453.
