Wrong Movements Installed in Unimatic U1?

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Re: Wrong Movements Installed in Unimatic U1?

Post by demer03 » Thu Oct 11, 2018 7:06 pm

Haha, and this is a perfect segue to the project 300 thread.
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Re: Wrong Movements Installed in Unimatic U1?

Post by CGSshorty » Thu Oct 11, 2018 7:21 pm

Anyone care to take the back off theirs to see what's inside?
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Re: Wrong Movements Installed in Unimatic U1?

Post by toxicavenger » Thu Oct 11, 2018 7:23 pm

CGSshorty wrote:
Thu Oct 11, 2018 7:21 pm
Anyone care to take the back off theirs to see what's inside?
I will ping a few guys i know to see if they will. I bet this is a one off issue.

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Re: Wrong Movements Installed in Unimatic U1?

Post by manitoujoe » Thu Oct 11, 2018 7:24 pm

Hope so. This is deceptive AF. Thanks buddy
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Re: Wrong Movements Installed in Unimatic U1?

Post by Axelay2003 » Thu Oct 11, 2018 7:47 pm

Did anyone post something on WUS about this?
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Re: Wrong Movements Installed in Unimatic U1?

Post by mfxr » Thu Oct 11, 2018 8:02 pm

The plastic spacer seem like a cheap solution to an obvious production issue.
Having said that, Unimatic have now produced a few thousand watches. If all the watches were an internal disaster like the one in the video surely we would hear more about it :shrug: maybe time will tell. I haven't had any problems with the 3 I have owned - no moving around that I can tell.

Not trying to defend them though, as a customer I am not very happy about how they 'solved' this issue if this is indeed how they all are produced.

I am curious, but maybe not curious enough to open it up :lol:

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Re: Wrong Movements Installed in Unimatic U1?

Post by toxicavenger » Thu Oct 11, 2018 8:05 pm

i really call bullshit on this one. something isn't right. i wonder if that dude got it from Unimatic? Also isn't that a Maxi dial that just came out? Why would it go to Jake if it was under warranty? Weird to say the least.
Last edited by toxicavenger on Thu Oct 11, 2018 8:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Wrong Movements Installed in Unimatic U1?

Post by unixshrk » Thu Oct 11, 2018 8:15 pm

I wear mine all the time. Dial has never shifted. Has been in the Atlantic many times. In the event it ever needs to be opened I’ll take a photo.

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Re: Wrong Movements Installed in Unimatic U1?

Post by mfxr » Thu Oct 11, 2018 8:37 pm

toxicavenger wrote:
Thu Oct 11, 2018 8:05 pm
i really call bullshit on this one. something isn't right. i wonder if that dude got it from Unimatic? Also isn't that a Maxi dial that just came out? Why would it go to Jake if it was under warranty? Weird to say the least.
It is a U1-DN, which was last years production run released around May 2017 ( Maybe not be under warranty depending on purchase date)

https://www.unimaticwatches.com/u1-dn/

I had a U1-D, and a U1-DW from the same series which I have sold (had no problems while I briefly owned them)

I currently have the U1-B which was made the year before that. Goddamn I am curious what is inside now :banghead:

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Re: Wrong Movements Installed in Unimatic U1?

Post by toxicavenger » Thu Oct 11, 2018 8:45 pm

mfxr wrote:
Thu Oct 11, 2018 8:37 pm
toxicavenger wrote:
Thu Oct 11, 2018 8:05 pm
i really call bullshit on this one. something isn't right. i wonder if that dude got it from Unimatic? Also isn't that a Maxi dial that just came out? Why would it go to Jake if it was under warranty? Weird to say the least.
It is a U1-DN, which was last years production run released around May 2017 ( Maybe not be under warranty depending on purchase date)

https://www.unimaticwatches.com/u1-dn/

I had a U1-D, and a U1-DW from the same series which I have sold (had no problems while I briefly owned them)

I currently have the U1-B which was made the year before that. Goddamn I am curious what is inside now :banghead:
They have a two year warranty on them. It should have still been under warranty.

Open yours up and I will pay for it to be pressure tested! :salute:

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Re: Wrong Movements Installed in Unimatic U1?

Post by mfxr » Thu Oct 11, 2018 8:53 pm

^ I probably should know that about the warranty :lol:

I will see how adventurous I feel this weekend, and maybe open it up. :popcorn:

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Re: Wrong Movements Installed in Unimatic U1?

Post by toxicavenger » Thu Oct 11, 2018 8:57 pm

mfxr wrote:
Thu Oct 11, 2018 8:53 pm
^ I probably should know that about the warranty :lol:

I will see how adventurous I feel this weekend, and maybe open it up. :popcorn:
I will send you money for a 6 pack :salute:

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Wrong Movements Installed in Unimatic U1?

Post by BacoNoir » Thu Oct 11, 2018 9:07 pm

Is it possible the owner bought it second hand and that the previous owner did the movement swap after f-ing up the original movement? This seems too fubar to come from someone who’s been in the business that long. This is JV league shit.
Last edited by BacoNoir on Thu Oct 11, 2018 9:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Wrong Movements Installed in Unimatic U1?

Post by BacoNoir » Thu Oct 11, 2018 9:08 pm

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Re: Wrong Movements Installed in Unimatic U1?

Post by toxicavenger » Thu Oct 11, 2018 9:18 pm

BacoNoir wrote:
Thu Oct 11, 2018 9:07 pm
Is it possible the owner bought it second hand and that the previous owner did the wrap after f-ing up the original movement? This seems too fubar to come from someone who’s been in the business that long. This is JV league shit.
that is my thought

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Re: Wrong Movements Installed in Unimatic U1?

Post by manitoujoe » Thu Oct 11, 2018 10:23 pm

toxicavenger wrote:
BacoNoir wrote:
Thu Oct 11, 2018 9:07 pm
Is it possible the owner bought it second hand and that the previous owner did the wrap after f-ing up the original movement? This seems too fubar to come from someone who’s been in the business that long. This is JV league shit.
that is my thought
That was my first thought but that dial tho. All that stuff was too small, right? Even if it was a movement swap that dial was theirs and wasn’t a good fit. Unless the cold meds are keeping me from getting it...


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Re: Wrong Movements Installed in Unimatic U1?

Post by Ryeguy » Fri Oct 12, 2018 4:21 am

First, yes, from everything I've read and talked about with Dan from OWC, watch cases are machined to accept specific movements. It is challenging to swap movements for exactly the reasons Jake demonstrates in that video. The other issue is the stem height. I haven't checked of the difference between the 9015 and the 6r15, but I'd be concerned about stress on the keyless works and even water resistance if they are not identical.

Seeing how loose that movement was in the case as Jake fiddled with the crown makes me wonder about the 300m water resistance. You'd think the seals in the stem tube would've been a bit more snug on the stem.

I do think the 6r movement could have possibly been used if a proper / custom spacer had been manufactured (again, assuming stem height was the same).

Where they went sideways was using that cheap nylon spacer from some random quartz movement. It didn't provide the necessary rigidity.

Someone with a 3D printer could probably make a spacer pretty quickly, but as previously stated, you shouldn't need to do any of this with a new watch.
Last edited by Ryeguy on Fri Oct 12, 2018 4:31 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Wrong Movements Installed in Unimatic U1?

Post by mfxr » Fri Oct 12, 2018 4:23 am

Well, that sucks......

Plastic spacer = yes
IMG_20181012_201453.jpg

Not attached to anything = yes
IMG_20181012_201905.jpg

Lots of room to move once spacer is removed = yes
IMG_20181012_202052.jpg

Everything moves freely without spacer = yes
IMG_20181012_201938.jpg
I have put the spacer back in and put the case back on again. When using the crown I can notice the dial etc moving slightly (I never noticed this before it was brought to my attention :crybaby: )

What a ballache :banghead:
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Re: Wrong Movements Installed in Unimatic U1?

Post by mfxr » Fri Oct 12, 2018 4:28 am

It sucks, because I really like it.

It is a very sought after model (I regularly get asked if I want to sell it), but I would actually feel like an asshole trying to sell it at this point.
IMG_20181012_204507.jpg
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Re: Wrong Movements Installed in Unimatic U1?

Post by Ryeguy » Fri Oct 12, 2018 4:38 am

Well, if you are able to mount hands, a proper fix is only $100 away (maybe a bit more if you have to relume the new hands to match the existing dial. Just buy the 9015 movement and some new hands and mount the existing dial with dial dots.

Option "B" would be to custom machine a nicer spacer. If you have access to a 3D printer, it wouldn't be a challenging job.

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Re: Wrong Movements Installed in Unimatic U1?

Post by Ryeguy » Fri Oct 12, 2018 4:46 am

You can clearly see the alignment groove machined into the case to accept the 9015 stock movement ring alignment tab.

Just now thinking - I wonder how that dial is mounted to the movement? It stands to reason that if Unimatic lost their intended Miyota movement supply very late in the production cycle, they may have already acquired their dials with dial feet positioned for the Miyota as well. Curious to see if that dial still has it dial feet or if those have been clipped and it is just held on with dial dot stickers.

Then again, I think Jake mentioned 9015 dials are typically larger in OD to allow them to fit snugly inside the case so who knows?

Truly a cluster for certain.

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Re: Wrong Movements Installed in Unimatic U1?

Post by dnslater » Fri Oct 12, 2018 4:46 am

mfxr wrote:
Fri Oct 12, 2018 4:28 am
It sucks, because I really like it.

It is a very sought after model (I regularly get asked if I want to sell it), but I would actually feel like an asshole trying to sell it at this point.

IMG_20181012_204507.jpg
Maybe they will have correct spacers made that can be retrofitted? Damage to dials has already been done though. That watch is very nice looking.

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Re: Wrong Movements Installed in Unimatic U1?

Post by mfxr » Fri Oct 12, 2018 5:37 am

I think an improved spacer is the easier way to solve the problem.
As per the Dagaz video, the 9015 mvmt fits very nicely, but then I would have to deal with dial/hands/crownstem not fitting.

This has now turned into a practical exercise for me, rather than theory, so if anyone has experience or ideas for making or sourcing a spacer, I am all ears. the 3D printing idea is a good suggestion, although I do not have access to a printer.

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Re: Wrong Movements Installed in Unimatic U1?

Post by JBZ » Fri Oct 12, 2018 6:01 am

This is probably going to annoy people, and it's just my 2 cents, but...

This is an extreme example, and there are certainly examples of QC issues with the big boys (or outright fraud *cough* Panerai *cough*), but anecdotally most micros can't or don't manufacture their watches to the same tolerances and standards as the big boys, regardless of their marketing or claims. And while many/most of them offer warranties, the service there is spotty (again, anecdotally - some are very good).

Overall, IMVHO, if you want a relatively inexpensive mechanical or auto, go with Seiko, Hamilton, or Oris. Much safer.
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Re: Wrong Movements Installed in Unimatic U1?

Post by mfxr » Fri Oct 12, 2018 6:15 am

Oh I agree for the most part.
I generally dislike most micros for this kind of reason, but have dabbled a couple of times in the <$500 price range and enjoyed what I have got.

I think I paid less than $500 for this watch, and that is the level of expectation I have for it, just like an equivalent Seiko etc. I am obviously not happy with this, but am not going to cry myself to sleep over it.
Actually just a bit disappointing as I think Unimatic has some great design aesthetics, but sadly not backing it up with good engineering/production in this case.

I am sure I can fix or improve this issue, and then just wear/beat this watch like any other.

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