A timeless object - The Botta Uno

One hand watches are a tricky thing, sometimes they are hard to read and sometimes they could be also a bit plain, I mean there is not much to play with, look at Tudor for example, the overall shape is very generic, doesn’t say much but those snowflake hands really do

wonders on the final product, I guess it all comes down to feeling, some people like to have a cluttered dial filled with text making the watch look like an instrument and some others want the aesthetics to be as clean as possible, minimal, but we can all agree that no one wants a boring watch. One of the reason we approach Botta design to make a review of their one hand watches was because we couldn't think of a better designed watch dial than this, it was simple but crisp, understated but yet different, basically it had all the elements needed to make an object stand out without screaming ''look at me''. If you love watches and are into design you will know that this is not an easy thing to do, the guys from Botta have been perfecting the one hand watch since 1986 and the results today are outstanding, they managed to evolved not only the proportions of the watch but also the materials used like titanium cases and vegetable painted straps, all modern, all German. Our idea was to review the classic Uno which we got a few weeks back and below our thoughts on this refreshing approach to watchmaking.

The specifications:

The version we opted for was the 40mm in white with titanium case (yes!), this is the classic design that started all, the watch has beautiful round proportions with many hidden details,

if you catch the very slim profile side you can see a beautiful flowing curved flanks which have purpose (more on that later), the long and only hand on the Uno is fully black to make a high contrast against the dial with a short counterweight which goes from thick to very thin giving a good flow to the overall aesthetic, it kind of looks like a long sword ready to attack. The tip of the hand reaches to the far end of the dial perfectly pointing to the numerals which are divided in 15 minutes interval, easy to read and easy to understand. The are many powertrains for the Uno and all of them are Swiss movements, weather they are automatic or quartz, I believe the battery version is spot on because three reasons: it keeps the movement very thin, the watch remains extremely light at 32 grams (yes you read correctly) which is also achieved by the titanium and for the purist there is no second hand ticking.

On the wrist:

The feeling of wearing this watch is an experience itself is the lightest and thinnest piece I ever wore on my 6.25 inch wrist, it is so comfortable that if it wasn’t for the white crisp dial you wouldn’t note that is there, this comfort is due to the case design and materials, the curved raised flanks that I've mentioned earlier keep the center of the watch flat into your wrist and lifted on the edges so air can flow under the watch, after a day of wearing the Uno there are no marks and no signs that you wore anything, making me thing that this watch is the anti-Panerai (I own one so I am speaking from experience). The beautiful leather strap provided is also very light, complete with a titanium buckle (thank you!) the whole package is feels irresistible.

Conclusion:

I have review many watches this year and still amazes me the amount of different approaches that a watch company can have, some of them go for big heavy pieces, and some other for sleek and elegant design. I believe that the Uno is a great bridge between both approaches, yes it is slim but by no mean is a super dressy piece, is something that you can wear with a suit or also with some shorts to the beach, it just fits anywhere, I could be a tool watch or a cocktail companion, with all of those corners covered I think the guys at Botta have a timeless design that would look as good in the next 20 years.

For more information visit https://www.botta-design.de/en