Union Glashütte Belisar review

I took delivery of my Union Glashütte Belisar Chronograph Speedster Limited Edition #355 of 388 (D009.427.11.052.09) about a week ago and wanted to share my impressions. This is my 4th chronograph, out of my total collection of 10 watches. So yes, I obviously have a problem 😊 Chronograph’s just really appeal to me at the moment. I was looking to expand my collection with a German watch, and have had my sights on a Glashütte Original, but then ran across this model and fell in love with it. It’s funny, so much about this watch goes against my list of things I typically don’t like:

·        No Arabic or roman numerals, only indices

·        No painted logo’s only applied

·        No different colored sub-dials

And yet for whatever reason this instantly caught my attention and pulled me in. I think part of it is that I wanted a blue that looks blue in all light conditions. Too many watches have darker colored dials, that turn almost black depending on the lighting. My Omega AT (both blue and green) are like this, more so with the green. And my blue Brellum to a lesser extent. This watch, since it’s such a light colored blue, never has that issue.

One of the downsides of going outside  the mainstream brands is that it’s hard to find information or reviews on something like this. I’ve heard very positive things about Union Glashütte in general, but almost nothing on this specific model. These are also very rare to find in any mainstream watch shop. For example, I’m in the US, and I couldn’t find one anywhere on the East coast. I was even in London for a week and none of the shops there had it either.  So it’s taking a leap of faith when making the purchase.  I purchased this new on Chrono24 from a dealer in Germany and it took exactly 3 weeks to arrive. Once again, at least for me, great experience with Chrono24 purchases.

Basic facts:

·        44mm diameter

·        15mm thick

·        44mm lug to lug (Edit: specs state 44mm but measured is 52mm)

·        21mm lug width

·        Movement: UNG-27.S1 (base ETA/Valjoux 7753) 29 jewels

·        Hacking and hand winding

·        Date, and chronograph functions

·        Frequency of 28,800 bph

·        65hr power reserve

·        100m water resistance

·        Saphire crystals front and back

I’ll start off with the negatives:

Cons:

1.       Virtually no lume, only on the hands and fades very quickly, I mean really quickly.

2.       At night in low light, very difficult to see the hands to tell time since the hands are black and not highly polished.

3.       Out of the box there were 2 issues:

a.       The last link before the end link on one side is slightly stiff. Seems to rub ever so slightly against the inside of the lug. I feel this will wear in over time, not really an issue, but something that should have been found in quality control.

b.       On the same side, the quick release bars are very sticky. I personally don’t plan on swapping the bracelet on this watch, but it’s obvious there is an issue there. Again, a better QC process should have caught this.  

4.       The edges of the bracelet are a little too sharp, would have liked a slightly more rounded, softened edge.

Other points:

·        Note that this is a larger watch, but its’ very similar to my Tag Heuer Carrera, so that works well for me, but might not suite all wrist sizes.

·        I don’t love the design of having to date jump using the pusher on the left-hand side. It works, I just feel that a standard 2nd detent in the crown works so much better than this.

OK, onto the good stuff. The watch arrived in beautiful packaging. A real wooden box, very well constructed. This is probably the nicest packaging I’ve come across so far. And that includes my Grand Seiko.

The movement on this thing is at a base an ETA/Valjoux 7753, but from my understanding entirely reworked. This is a quote from Monochrone:

A trained eye will recognize the familiar design of the Valjoux calibre 7753, but not quite. To mention just one improvement, it has up to 65 hours of power reserve, not the conventional 46. Also, the bridge, the balance cock and the regulator look different. Contrary to what one would expect, with Union Glashütte being part of Swatch Group, the calibre is not supplied as an ébauche but comes as individual parts that are decorated and assembled, with some components manufactured by Union – like the branded skeletonized rotor. The calibre is equipped with a silicon balance spring, making the movement less sensitive to magnetic fields and temperature fluctuations.

It really is a beautiful movement to look at:

I’ve had the watch for about a week now and it’s been a pleasure to wear. I absolutely love the way it feels and looks on the wrist. The butterfly claps works perfectly, there is no micro-adjust but it does have half links, and I was able to get a very nice fit for my tastes, I like my watches a little on the loose side. It does come with an additional black rubber strap, I’ll probably never use it, but I like that it gives you the option without having to make a 2nd purchase. The crown is onion shaped, and very easy to wind. I’ll say it again, I don’t love that you can’t set the date at the crown. I put this on my Timegrapher and in 5 positions it never deviated more than +4, 290 amplitude and 0.1 beat error. As far as the chronograph function goes, I can say that it works, and I had no issues with it. I love the style of chronographs, but I don’t really use the function, so can’t say that I extensively test this on my watches.

I want to point out that none of the cons listed above are deal breakers for me in any way. Overall, this watch is a gem, and in my opinion a great value compared to others based on features and price point. For those that like chronographs, and are looking for something of this size, I can highly recommend it. There is a lot to like here.