Invisible glass, Lego hands, submarine steel: the German brute that became my favourite twerp
Something we've never had on the channel
Something quite exceptional tonight. Even the packaging's good. The Sinn U1, full Tegiment, launched in 2005 and Sinn's best-known diver. The full Tegiment goes for about 2,850 pounds new. Mr Jun bought this one mint and unworn from eBay for 1,750. Someone bought it new in December 2022, never wore it, and sold it for over a thousand pounds less. That's what's possible if you're clever. Well done, Mr Jun.
It's a pure tool watch, purpose built for diving. Brutal design. It can't be mistaken for anything else.
The most legible watch I've ever seen
Look at these thick hands. Lego, Roblox hands. You always know the time when this is on your wrist. Matte black dial, syringe-tipped markers, the seconds hand floating round the track. There's nothing like it in the world. And the double AR-coated sapphire? Almost no reflection. You feel like there's no glass on it, like you could just reach in and poach the hands out. Next to my SLA023, the Sinn wins on that one, 24/7.
Tegiment: what the hell is it?
Bead blasted, so it doesn't matter how greasy your hands are, you won't put a fingerprint on it. Carbon gets diffused into the steel surface under 500 degrees, and you end up with a hard layer around 30 microns thick: 1,200 to 1,500 Vickers, against about 220 for normal 316L and about 500 for Seiko's Diashield. Not impervious, but you'd have to bang it up pretty hard. The steel's the same stuff they build German U-boat hulls from, resistant to seawater and totally non-magnetic. Frozen at minus 30, baked at plus 70, still working perfectly.
A big lump on the wrist
44 mm, 14.7 thick, about 50.4 lug to lug, 222 grams with all links. I wouldn't recommend it for any wrist under seven inches. On my 7.5 it's almost stretching the limit. Smaller wrists, there's the U50. Inside, a Sinn-regulated Sellita SW200-1, 26 jewels, 38 hours. Plus 6 in 6 days on the winder. Less than a second a day. The feeling on the wrist is pure pleasure, and it gets a lot of looks.
Bezel and clasp: I changed my mind, bros
In my first review the bezel was a negative: 60 clicks, extremely stiff, massive back play, and slightly misaligned at nearly 3,000 pounds. Seiko aren't the only ones playing those tricks. A few months later I'm saying it's not to everybody's taste but it does feel very good, and it's captive, so you won't lose it to a shark.
Same with the clasp. First time round it was the worst thing about the watch: press fit, no double deployant, no ratcheting, a crap dive extension, hard to open. Later? The quality is staggeringly nice, hex screws on the first three links, and I'd take the H-link over the Seiko bracelet. But Sinn, add on-the-fly ratcheting. Loom's not terribly bright, but it lasts. Lumibrite beats it.
Verdict
First time: highly recommended, but I wouldn't pay full money for it. Then it became my favourite watch. It's got character, it's rugged, you never have to polish it. Against the SLA023, the German is a powerhouse, fantastic but extremely basic next to that Japanese warlord. Based on loom and movement, I couldn't decide. I absolutely love both. Never give up, bros.
