The Unit 7 Diver is a new Kickstarter offering from a group of seven watch-industry veterans, including the man behind Tempest Watches. Tempest has already brought a successful Kickstarter diver to market—the well-received $750 Viking—and the Unit 7 appears to bring that successful concept to the mid-$300 price point.
Powered by an automatic Miyota 8215 and claiming 500m water resistance—with the screw-down crown and helium escape value to back that claim—this is a serious diver.
The Unit 7 brings some personality to the depths with a minute register engraved around the rim of the dial. That rim register comes in black, blue, or red with a stainless case and hands, or rose gold-tone with case and hands to match.
The bezel and the dial are both lit up with Super-LumiNova C3 Lume. The dial markers appear to be applied, but not dressed up with any metallic trim. The 3:00 marker is half-sized to make room for a small date window; this mostly maintains the balance of the dial, although the black date wheel could have been white to take the place of the 3:00 marker, à la Seiko divers like the SKX007.
The hour and minute hands are half-skeletonized, half-lumed dagger-shaped pointers. The second hand adds a bit of elegance with a spear tip extending to a thin point that perfectly grazes the minute register.
The result of all this is a clean and very readable dial that maintains an aggressive and functional aesthetic.
The case is a big boy at 46mm wide and 50mm lug to lug. And those lugs are a gaping 24mm apart. Those bigger lugs mean a bigger strap, which should make the Unit 7 wear very large. The ventilated rubber strap helps reduce the heft—both visually and kinesthetically.
That size could be a deal breaker for us of skinny wrist, but the understated design might soak up some of those millimeters once we get this on the wrist.
Full Specifications
Case: Stainless Steel, with Helium Escape Valve
Crystal Material: Sapphire Crystal (Scratch Resistant)
Strap Material: Rubber
Case Diameter: 45.5mm
Case Length (L2L): 50mm
Lug Width: 24mm
Movement: Miyota 8215, 21 jewels movement beating at 21600 bph (non-hacking). Shock resistance using Citizen’s proprietary shock resistance technology “parashock”
Water Resistance: 500m / 1650ft
Lume: Super-LumiNova C3
